In 1769, Edmund Henry Pery decided to replace a chapel of ease on his estate close to Limerick with a new church in a better location. As the church was likely to cost a large sum of money, Pery induced his relatives to assist. Sir Henry Hartstonge agreed to pay for the new church on ground donated by Pery in exchange of £50 in cash, the materials of the old church, and the four lots of ground upon which it was built. In 1771, Pery granted Hartstonge a lease of the four lots of ground. Soon after, Sir Henry Hartstonge let the lots for building. In 1797, Pery granted and released to church wardens Anthony Lefroy and Alexander Torrens part of the land whereupon the new church had been built. The local clergyman attempted to let the lot for building but the church wardens objected as they had not been empowered to let the land for that purpose. In 1804, Pery demised the lease to the Bishop of Limerick along with the right to do with the plot of ground what he pleased except for a space of 20 feet immediately contiguous to the church which was to be applied solely to the use and convenience of the church. Later that year, the Bishop leased part of the ground to John Meade Thomas, who subsequently expended a large sum of money on building on this plot of ground. By now, the new church had become inconvenient for the parish and a decision was made to replace it. An agreement was entered into with the Provincial Bank of Ireland for the sale of the lot that remained in the Bishop’s possession. However, as a consequence of the lease made in 1804, the Bishop did not have the power to dispose of it and an Act of Parliament was passed to enable him to do so. The Act made no statement that the premises ever belonged to the Earl of Limerick but it did state that the lot was part of the estate of the Earl of Limerick who was a consenting party to the act and entitled to the rent of five shillings a year if demanded. In c. 1833 the Bishop of Limerick attempted to sell this plot of ground to the Provincial Bank of Ireland for the construction of a bank. A dispute arose as to the title of ownership and resulted in a court case, to which the papers in this sub-series relate.
