NewWhitechurch: taken between 1869, when the chancel was added and 1876, when the Vestry Room was built. (Guinness Collection)
ed a piece of ground comprising one rood and twenty-six perches on the Marlay Estate by John David LaTouche with William Caldbeck paying the price of the land. In return for the latter, Caldbeck was later granted the free use of a pew in the new church. What appears to have been the first vestry meeting actually held in the parish took placeinthehouse of Mr. Porter on 23rd February 1824 when it was unanimously resolved that the minister and churchwardens be empowered to memorial the Board of First Fruits for a loan of £1,200 towards the cost of erecting a parish church on the site approved. The two churchwardens had been elected at a vestry meeting held two days earlier in Tallaght church— these were John David LaTouche and Jeffrey Foot. The latter died in December 1824 and was replaced by William Porter of Willmount. By February 1825 agreement had been reached as to the design of the new church, that of John Semple being accepted. Semple was now requested to obtain estimates for a church, including gallery, capable of accommodating 300 people. Little is known of John Semple although we know that he replaced Joseph Welland as architect to the Board of First Fruits for the province of Leinster in 1825, Welland resuming this post again in 1833. We also know that he came from a remarkable family of architects, bricklayers and architects, one of whom, George Semple, rebuilt Essex Bridge in 1753. In June 1825, two estimates were received, one from Mr. Lewis proposing to build the church, tower and spire, vestibules and vestry for the sum of £2,500, the second from Mr. Moyers for £2,167-13-7. The latter offered to reduce his estimate by £200 if the vestry and spire were omitted. Both estimates were thought to be on the high side and a special sub-committee was instructed to obtain further estimates. A month later, two new estimates were to hand, William Cockburn for £2,700 and Mr. Shaw for £1,984. Mr. Moyers then came back with a revised figure of £l,845-14-8 1 /2 and he was awarded the contract. The total cost was actually £1,938-5-0, of which £830-15-0 came by way of a gift from the Board of First Fruits, the balance by way of a loan repayable at four percent. Pending the completion of the new building, church services were held in Mr. Taylor's factory at Newbrook Mill during 1823 and 1824 and in the schoolhouse from then onwards. D'Alton in his 'History of Co. Dublin' published in 1838 interestingly describes the church as being a very handsome structure with lancet windows and situated on a splendid eminence. This is interesting because in another chapter he describes Kilternan church as a 'tasteless edifice'. Maurice Craig in his book Dublin 1660-1860 describes Semple's architecture as being 'like cubist painting, everything being reduced to the severest geometry: buttresses, pinacles, mouldings—every thing is a contrast of planes. Scholarship and orthodox notions of scale are flung to the winds'. Craig goes on to say that it has been asserted that Archbishop Magee in his later years suffered from delusions and refused to consecrate any church which was not capable of being used as a fortress, because he believed that the Protestant population was in danger of being massacred while at worship. Hence, we are told, the extraordinary solidity of the Semple churches. Other examples are Donnybrook, Monkstown, Rathmines, Kilternan and Tallaght as well as St. Mary's Chapel of Ease in the city, otherwise known as the Black Church. Another of Semple's designs is the Round Room in 13
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