Church of the Immaculate Conception (RC)

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Simple single storey ‘Irish gothic’ RC church of 1875 by O’Neill & Byrne, in squared basalt with gabled side porch, bellcote, buttresses and sandstone dressed pointed openings. The church is set on the S side of the New Road, close to the coast at the SE end of the village of Glenarm.

To the left of centre of the W elevation is the projecting gabled porch which has a double timber sheeted entrance door set within a pointed arch door opening with drip moulding with label stops. In-out dressings to the door and the quoins of the porch are in red [possibly Dumfries ] sandstone. To the centre of the N and S faces of the porch is a small gothic arched window. To the left of the porch is a tall pointed arch window while to the right there are three more, each with in-out dressings. Each corner of the main elevation has a shallow buttress. To the far right the W face of the chancel has two windows as before.

The S gabled elevation (of the chancel) has three pointed arch windows, the central of which is taller. To the apex of the gable is a small stone finial fashioned as a Celtic cross.

To the right side of the E elevation are five lancet windows as before. There are buttresses at each end of this elevation. To the left side the E face of the chancel is obscured by the lean-to vestry. The lean-to roof merges with the chancel roof, though the chancel roof has a much steeper pitch. The E face of the vestry has a large mullioned window to the left and a small window to the right; both are square headed. The N face has a square headed door opening. The S face has one centrally placed mullioned window. All windows and door openings have in-out sandstone dressings.

The N gabled elevation has three small low level quatrefoil windows each with a pointed arch shaped dressing. Directly above are three tall pointed arch windows with that to centre taller. The gable is surmounted by a ‘gabled’ stone bellcote with battered sides. A small wrought iron finial sits on the apex of the bellcote. ‘Cocks Comb’ style fireclay ridges sit on each ridge.

The roofs are all covered with natural slate and they all have stonecopings. Cast iron rw goods. Decorative cast iron railings sit on low stone base. The gates match the railings.

Historical information

This church was built in 1875 to designs by O’Neill & Byrne of Belfast. The main contractor was Archie McNeill (who lived in near by Altmore Street) and the total cost amounted to roughly £3,000. The building was renovated in 1903 and again in 1961 (when the present altar was installed).

The small school house to the immediate east of the church was built in 1888 and remained in use as a school until the 1960s when a new larger building was constructed to the west side of the church. The older building now appears to serve as the church hall.

According to local historian, Felix McKillop (secondary source no.2), in ‘the mid-19th century’, prior to the building of the church, Glenarm’s Catholic congregation worshipped in a house in Altmore Street, where the parish priest lived, later worshipping in a converted barn at the rear of the property. He also states that this barn was also used as a school house during weekdays and that house itself later became the ‘Seaview Hotel’. The writers could find no other evidence to confirm all of this, however, in the valuation of 1859, the parish priest (Rev Starkey) is recorded as living in Toberwine Street- not Altmore Street.

Within the Antrim Papers is a letter dated 1861, from Lady Londonderry (a daughter of the Countess of Antrim) to her agent, Richard Wilson, in which she proposes building a Catholic church at Glenarm. Nothing appears to have come of this plan, though she was responsible for the building of a new Catholic church in Newtownards in 1877.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI D.2977/3A/4/1/24
2 PRONI OS/8/103/1 OS town plan of Glenarm, 1903
3 PRONI VAL/12E/31/1 Valuation town plan of Glenarm, 1907-[1935]
4 PRONI VAL/3G/20/1 Valuation town plan of Glenarm. 1936-57

Secondary sources
1 C.E.B. Brett, ‘Historic buildings…Glens of Antrim’ (Belfast 1971), p.16
2 Felix McKillop, ‘Glenarm- A local history’ (Glenarm 1987), pp.56-7, 68-9

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Simple single storey ‘Irish Gothic’ RC church of 1875 by O’Neill & Byrne, in squared basalt, with gabled side porch, bellcote, buttresses, and sandstone dressed pointed openings. To the rear there is a small lean-to vestry projection. It merits listing at the B2 grade.