Former First Larne Presbyterian Church,

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A two-storey building with a rusticated and pilastered entrance front in an Italianate style. Main entrance faces west.

West elevation symmetrical, of two storeys, three windows wide. Hipped roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses behind parapet which steps up at centre to contain datestone inscribed ‘1627’. Walls stuccoed and painted but paint cracking and peeling. Ground floor has channelled rustication. First floor smooth stuccoed with rustication to extremities; single pilasters with fluted upper portion, between central window and outer windows, with paired pilasters beyond to each side. Two moulded string courses at intermediate level; moulded entablature; prominent dentil cornice. First floor windows have moulded surrounds with keystone and cornice on ornamented brackets; windows segmental headed but openings blocked up with chipboard panels. Ground floor windows similar but rectangular headed openings, also blocked up as previous; cornice and ornamented brackets as previous, with fluted frieze running across front between openings, extending to each extremity. Doorway in centre, segmental headed within rectangular surround; mouldings, brackets and keystone as previous. Terrazzo floor to recessed porch with shutter door in front of rectangular glazed aluminium doors with rectangular fanlight; wired glazing.

North elevation: two-storey, eight windows wide to first floor; smooth rendered wall, painted as previous, with quoins to extremities, and moulded plinth. Windows blocked with smooth cement render except extreme right ground floor, covered over with fibre glass security glazing. Moulded cast iron gutter; cast iron rectangular section downpipe to left hand end, with bottom portion missing; damaged circular cast iron pipe to right of that; circular metal downpipe, damaged, centrally positioned. Windows to first floor segmental headed in unmoulded openings; rectangular headed to ground floor, openings also unmoulded. String course near top of each row of windows and level with cills to both floors. Ground floor windows in line with first floor except where new wide rectangular opening created near left hand end; smooth cement finish to new opening.

East elevation: gable end of main body of building with lower gabled projections. Main gable painted stucco as previous with large patch of later unpainted smooth cement render; round headed window at upper level, now blocked with unpainted render; slated roofs as previous to lower projections; plain blank walls so far as can be seen.

South elevation: as north, with 8 windows each floor, all blocked with cement render. Moulded cast iron gutter with square PVC downpipe to right hand end; rectangular cast iron gutter centrally positioned. Some spalling to lower sandstone string course and one cill.

To right hand end lower single-storey extension with roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses, metal gutter damaged and partly missing; PVC downpipe. Wall smooth rendered and painted. Rectangular doorway to left, flush door with rectangular fanlight, glass missing, now blocked with chipboard; to right three rectangular windows, first two timber sliding sash, vertically hung, 1 over 1 with horns, metal security grilles attached; third window at end blocked with cement render. Three concrete steps up to doorway, with concrete plinth walls surmounted by wrought iron railings, original, with ball finials. Plinth wall and railings return across front to right to contain concrete steps down to basement area.

Setting: the building stands on a corner site within the built-up area of the town, facing a main road and set back slightly from it behind boundary walls and railings. It is abutted to the rear by a two-storey cement rendered building and has a modern elevated reinforced concrete road running alongside it to the south. Boundary to front: smooth cement rendered wall with sandstone coping surmounted by original cast iron railings with central gateway consisting of a pair of square sandstone piers with moulded caps, with a pair of original cast iron gates. Wall and railings terminate at right hand extremity with a square sandstone pier; to left of front gateway wall and railings curve round to new square pier of concrete blockwork with wide opening to north-west corner of site. North boundary wall and railings similar to front but with short concrete block return wall at west end, ending in new concrete block pier; smooth cement rendered pier to left hand side with original moulded cap; wide opening to left of that with original sandstone pier and moulded cap to extremity abutting side wall of adjacent property. Around building, concrete area to north side bounded to east by high cement rendered side wall of adjacent building in Point Street; concrete area to front of building, with concrete pavings from front gate to doorway; concrete and loose stoney area to south of building, partly closed off at front by a section of original railings.

Historical information

Built c 1837 as a Presbyterian church to replace an earlier one on the site; with an addition made in 1877 to enlarge its seating capacity. The date 1627 on its entrance front relates to the foundation of a congregation rather than the date of any fabric in this building. This building appears for the first time on the OS map of 1857. Ceased to be a church when congregation moved to a new one elsewhere, due to re-routing of roads in the vicinity; last service took place on 26 February 1978. Unoccupied for some years before becoming a furniture store and later a snooker club.

References - Secondary

1. G.H. Bassett, The Book of Antrim (Dublin, 1888), p 369.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This is a building of distinct architectural proportions, designed in a classical style, and of some local interest as a former church, but which has been so altered both inside and outside that its architectural qualities have been very severely diminished, and it can no longer provide a positive environmental influence in an area of the town where the original setting has been badly spoiled by the immediate presence of an elevated highway.