Methodist Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A single storey church on a rectangular plan, with rendered facade and hipped roof, with a terrace of two-storey cottages.

Entrance faces south. South facade three openings wide: semi-circular headed doorway in centre flanked by a semi-circular headed window to each side. Hipped roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses. Cast iron gutter, but linking with returns of PVC to side elevations. Wall smooth rendered, lined and blocked, with raised quoins at the extremities; offset plinth to base. Door of two-leafs, each leaf triple-panelled in varnished wood, replacement of 1984 presumably to original pattern, set below a fanlight of intersecting glazing bars, original, surmounted by oval datestone inscribed ‘Wesleyan Methodist Church MDCCCXXIX’, and by a modern wall mounted light. Two sandstone steps set in concrete, to front door with recent metal ‘Tubeclamp’ handrail to one side. Windows divided by three transoms and a central mullion into six square panes of translucent glass and two upper quadrant panes of decorative leaded work, all fixed except for one opening light, none original, all later replacements for original Georgian glazing bars; sandstone cills, painted.

West elevation blank: roughcast finish, using crushed stones, with smooth rendered and painted quoins to right hand extremity; roof as previous; PVC gutter with cast iron downpipe. To left and set back slightly, a later single storey flat roofed extension of late 20th century appearance, to rear of church: asphalt roof covering; timber fascia; wall roughcast using crushed stones; flush wooden door with translucent glazing; one window, timber fixed light with top-hung vent.

North or rear elevation of church: roof as previous; PVC gutter with cast iron downpipe; wall roughcast as previous; two large semi-circular headed windows divided by two mullions and a transom into three square panes of translucent glazing with decorative leading.

North elevation of rear extension: wall roughcast as previous; PVC gutter and downpipe; one window as on west facade of extension. East face of extension as west, with timber ledged door. To left of extension, a flat-roofed glazed porch of poor quality, with glazed ledged door, sidelight and infill tongued and grooved timber panelling, linking rear extension with a small roughcast lean-to block adjoining adjacent terrace of houses; first two windows of house to left light ancillary rooms of church; windows timber rectangular fixed lights with side hung casements with black painted cills.

East facade of church four windows wide; hipped roof as previous; wall smooth rendered and lined; cast iron gutter with PVC link at end to gutter on front facade; cast iron downpipe; windows semi-circular headed, timber fixed lights divided by 3 horizontal and 2 vertical glazing bars into 12 near-square panes below a transom, with a semi-circular top panel of intersecting tracery; sub cill of cement to second window from north is damaged.

Abutting rear end of church and projecting to east is end of a row of gabled 1½ storey cottages roofed with Bangor blue slates in regular courses with cast iron gutter and downpipe, and roughcast wall using crushed stones: ground floor of first bay next to church is part of church premises, a lobby, containing one window, timber sliding sash, vertically hung, with horns, 2 over 2 with vertical glazing bars (the roof space over the window is part of the accommodation of the cottage at 302 Middle Road).

The church stands on a level site in a rural location set back slightly from a corner of the road from which it is easily visible. Front and side boundary wall to church smooth rendered and painted with square piers and iron gates, all replacements; lawns to side and front of church with central tarmac path edged with concrete curbing.

Historical information

Appears on OS map of 1832. Built in 1829 as a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel according to datestone over entrance, and opened on Sunday 13th September; cost about 565 pounds; designed to accommodate about 450 persons. Meeting room to rear added in 1978. The front gate piers were previously whitened circular piers with conical caps, boundary wall to west pier whitened rubble, and gates of vernacular flat iron with loops, as seen in a photograph taken in 1940.

References - Primary

1. OS Map 1832, Co Antrim 41.
2. Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland, Vol 10: Parishes of County Antrim III (Belfast, 1991), p 78.
3. Old photographs in the possession of the church in 1997.

Secondary

1. C.E.B. Brett, Buildings of County Antrim (Belfast, 1996), p 49.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Church of simple vernacular Georgian charm which forms an attractive group with the adjoining houses. Unfortunately it has been much altered internally and externally and does not have sufficient architectural character to warrant listing.