North Street, Newry, County Down

North Street, Newry, County Down
North Street, Newry, County Down

Wednesday 29 March 2017

Anne Biddulph [abt. 1843-1901], Birr, County Offaly


Anne Biddulph was the daughter of Nicholas Biddulph of Congor House, Borrisokane, County Tipperary and Fortal, King’s County. Her mother was Nicholas’ second wife Isabella La Touche, daughter of James Digges La Touche, of Sans Souci, Dublin. An item in the Nenagh Guardian of February 19th, 1873, gives us a little insight into her life.
Late Concert at Nenagh: ...Through some inadvertence we omitted the names of Miss Anne and Miss Grace Biddulph, who sang at the Concert and are members of the Choral society.
Anne Biddulph died of uremia and cerebral haemorrhage on the 21st of September 1901 at Birrview, Crinkill. Her brother William was present at her death. She was 58 years old and unmarried. She appears to have lived in Birr all her life. She is buried in Congor graveyard which once surrounded Ardcroney Church.
In memory of Mary Biddulph who died 1st January 1914. Also her sister Annie who died 21st September 1901. Birr View, Birr. ‘I am the Resurrection and the Life.’
There is  a memorial window to Annie Biddulph in Ardcroney Church.
Sacred to the memory of Annie Biddulph died September 21, 1901.
But the church itself is no longer at Ardcroney. It was moved lock, stock, and barrel, to Bunratty Folk Park. The following account of the removal of the church appeared in the Independent.[1]
Tierney is best known for dismantling a Protestant church in Ardcroney, Co Tipperary, and re-erecting it at the Bunratty Folk Park a living, working museum dedicated to capturing what life was like in 19th-century rural Ireland. Tierney says all elements of the church were carefully removed, including the cast-iron windows, the roof slates and all the interior woodwork. Even samples of the delicate stencil work on the interior walls were removed and copied. The stone from the church was moved on special pallets and stored at Bunratty for later reconstruction. In 1997 planning permission was sought from Clare County Council. Once secured, Shaffery Associates, a Dublin-based architectural firm who specialise in the restoration of historic buildings, was appointed to oversee the reconstruction of the church. The painstaking job of reconstructing the building took one year to complete and a FAS group from Roscrea, Co Tipperary, assisted in the sourcing of furniture and fittings. Now the church, which was originally built in 1824, is an integral part of the Folk Park.



[1] http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/moving-house-stone-by-stone-26156646.htm

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