Ringsend Presbyterian Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A simple barn Presbyterian church with gabled porch, much modernised with large extension; built c.1835 and extended 1897; located to the west side of Cashel Road southeast of Coleraine. Rectangular plan with modern porch to front, gabled extension with lean-to abutment to north and adjoining modern church hall to south.

Pitched natural slate roof with cast-iron ogee rainwater goods on bracketted eaves. Walling is dry dash on a smooth rendered plinth. Replacement pointed-headed Y-tracery timber windows in cement rendered surrounds with projecting concrete sills; original leaded-and-stained glass windows to south only (boarded).

The principal elevation faces east is lit by three window and has projecting gabled bay at left, having date stone to apex inscribed “R.J.O MOORE/PASTOR/A.D. 1897” and window at right cheek; gable is abutted by the almost full height modern entrance porch.

The south gable has four boarded windows (inner openings are taller).

The west elevation is four windows wide.

The north gable is abutted to centre by the gabled extension (lower); opening to left cheek with a modern panelled timber door accessed by three steps; lean-to abutment at right is flush with gable; both are similarly styled as the main church.

Setting:

Situated on a rectangular plot in rural surroundings to the west side of Cashel Road. Set back from the road with graveyard to front, having a variety of headstones dating from the mid-nineteenth century. Bounded to road by a rockfaced stone wall with sandstone coping, ending in modern pebbledash and rendered square gate piers supporting cast-iron entrance gates. To rear is a graveyard with modern day headstones, bounded to surrounding farmland by pebbledash wall. Modern church hall to south and tarmacadamed car-park opposite, to east side of Cashel Road.

Roof: Natural slate
Walling: Dry dash
Windows: Leaded-and-stained glass or replacement timber Y-tracery
RWG: Cast-iron

Historical information

Ringsend Presbyterian Church was built between 1833 and 1835 and extended in 1897 and c1976. The church is first shown on the second edition OS map of 1849-52, captioned ‘Presbyterian Meeting House’. A ‘Burial Ground’ is also captioned.

The origins of the church extend back to 1826 when a celebrated ‘Peace Sermon’ was preached at Ringsend by Dr John Brown of Agahdowey (History of Congregations; OS Memoirs). This event is recorded in the OS Memoirs and took place after a procession of Orangemen marched through the district, where there was ‘very bad feelings between the two races’. Rev Brown gave a fortnight’s notice to both chapel and meeting house of his intention to preach in the townland of Ballymenagh and more than 1,000 people attended, two thirds Catholics. The subject was ‘benevolence and the forgiveness of injuries’ followed by a personal appeal to the gathered congregation. Waylayings and beatings in the district stopped from that time and the sermon was afterwards known as the ‘Peace Sermon’. Dr Brown preached again several times in the same place and after a few years the present meeting house was built near the spot where the sermons took place, work beginning in 1833 (OS Memoirs).

OS Memoirs of 1836 record that the meeting house had just been built and give a full description of the building which was ‘very neatly slated and whitewashed’ and had ‘a creditable appearance from the road’. The building measured 50 feet 6 inches by 23 internally, with side walls 10 feet high. The floor was of earth and there were 30 pews with accommodation for 210 ‘hearers’. The building was lit by eight square windows and had a ‘good yard and gate’ with a small detached sessions house to the south. Building costs had been reduced through the congregation providing volunteer labour. (OS Memoirs) Thomas Beare was ordained as the first minister in 1835 (History of Congregations).

Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64) records the ‘Presbyterian Meeting House, offices and graveyard’ at £5.10s and 10s for the graveyard. There are no further changes in Annual Revisions, but the original church building was enlarged in 1897, by adding a gabled entrance porch to the east elevation (it appears that the north elevation was also extended at this time) and raising the roof. Rev Robert Moore, the minister from 1912 to 1960 was an MP and Minister of Agriculture for twelve years (Kirkpatrick).

At the time of the First General Revaluation in the 1930s the meeting house was revalued at £36. It was in fair to good repair and the heating was by hot water pipes. There were 300 seats but no gallery and graves were given free (some meeting houses charged for grave plots). The associated plan shows the church with porch to the east and attached coal shed to the north, a separate heating chamber to the north (now gone) and a detached sessions house to the south east. Stables (partially remaining) were located to the south west of the church.

An extension was built to the front elevation of the church c1976, replacing the former sessions house, during the peruiod between the First Survey and the listing of the church in 1977. On 1st January 1995, the congregation was united with Second Dunboe and the membership currently stands at about eighty-five families. (Kirkpatrick)

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/5/11/1 First Edition OS Map 1831-2
2. PRONI OS/6/5/11/2 Second Edition OS map 1849-52
3. PRONI OS/6/5/11/3 Third Edition OS Map 1904
4. PRONI OS/6/5/11/4 Fourth Edition OS Map 1923
5. Griffith’s Valuation online (1856-1864)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/18A-E Annual Revisions (1864-1929)
7. PRONI VAL/3/C/6/3 First General Revaluation 1933-57
8. PRONI VAL/3/D/6/3/T/1 First General Revaluation 1933-57
9. HB file – 03/04/001

Secondary Sources

1. “A History of Congregations in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland 1610-1982” authorised by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Belfast: Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland, 1982 (available at www.presbyterianhistoryireland.com)
2. Day, A., P. McWilliams, English L., eds. “OS Memoirs of Ireland, Parishes of County Londonderry XII, 1829-30, 1832, 1834-6, Vol. 33.” Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, 1995.
3. Kirkpatrick, L “Presbyterians in Ireland” Booklink, 2006

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A simple barn Presbyterian church with gabled porch, much modernised with a large extension o the road side; built c.1835 and initially extended 1897; located to the west side of Cashel Road southeast of Coleraine. The large modern extensions and other alterations such as the replacement windows have substantially degraded this church's architectural interest. The church is of historic interest as it was constructed close to the location where a Dr John Brown gave several open air sermons in 1826 on the subject of peace between local people of different religious persuasions, who before the sermons had been regularly attacking each other.