Abbey Presbyterian Church

About

Abbey Presbyterian Church is a church located at Parnell Square, Dublin. Designed by architect Andrew Heiton of Perth, Scotland, it is a decorated Gothic building, with a spire 180 feet (54.9 m) high. The church was erected in 1864 with funding from Alexander Findlater (1797–1873), a Dublin merchant and philanthropist, and is known colloquially as "Findlater's church", and it is referred to in two of James Joyce's novels as Findlater's Church.

History: The Church was built on the north eastern corner of Rutland (now Parnell) Square and North Frederick Street. It was built on the site of Headfort House (sometimes Bective House), which was owned by the Earl of Bective (also the Marquess of Headfort), and named after his family's County Meath estate at Headfort House. The Earl had moved from a house of the same name in Smithfield which had by that time become an unfashionable district. One of the first preachers was John Hall (1829–1898). The congregation had previously, from 1667 until 1864, worshipped on Capel Street, on the site of the old St. Mary's Abbey. It was founded by a preacher from Bull Alley, the Rev. William Jacque, who left along with some of its congregation to form...