Old Parish Church Tower

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A 2 stage tower attached to a gable wall, the only remaining elements of a former church. Doorway in tower faces south but main elevation of tower and gable faces west.

West elevation of tower: walls of roughly coursed basalt rubble rising in diminishing stages, with chamfered sandstone dressing to projected plinth, plain sandstone cornice to lower stage and moulded sandstone cornice to upper stage. Lower stage contains a 2-centered Gothic arched opening, which looks like an original doorway, later closed up with rubble, with shaped basalt voussoirs; a later cast iron downpipe projects just above plinth level. Above Gothic archway is a wide elliptical opening with shaped basalt voussoirs, later closed by tongued and grooved timber sheeting. Upper stage contains a tall narrow Gothic arched lancet with shaped basalt voussoirs, and plain projecting sandstone cill, containing horizontal timber louvers. Moulded cornice projects on sandstone corbel course, and is surmounted by a rubble stone crenellated parapet, with plain sandstone copings, and square piers at each extremitiy in coursed basalt with ahlar sandstone pinnacles.

Extending to left of tower and set back to rear face of it is a gable wall of basalt rubble with rougly squared basalt quoins; gable carries brickwork steps surmounted by sandstone copings. Top portion of main wall just below steps contains an arched opening now closed.
Extensding to right of tower is a corresponding gable wall of similar design and materials.

North elevation is similar to west except no Gothic arched opening to ground floor. In the angle between the north wall of the tower and the north end of the gable wall is a small burial plot contained within iron railings.

Rear or east elevation comprises a stepped gable of rubble basalt with old brickwork to the extremities, the central part being surmounted by the upper stage of the tower, of similar design and materials as previous elevations of tower; shaped sandstone copings to brickwork stepped up each side of gable with plain sandstone stringcourse. In centre of gable is a lower elliptical archway now closed up and broken through by later filling of rubble and brickwork. Above it is a tall Gothic arched opening, also closed up with basalt rubble and brickwork. Former central openings now contain recessed wall plaque and memorials in poor condition. To each side of central opening at low level are projecting stone wall memorials; above them is a pair of semi-circular arched recesses with rendered reveals and inner face.

South elevation is similar to west except Gotic arched opening at ground level is a doorway containing a toungued and grooved sheeted timber door or panel ina chamfered timber frame, later boarded over up to arch springing level;part of walling to ground floor area has been crudely repointed with smeared mortar.

SETTING: The structure stands in an old churchyard and faces the main street, set on a axis along a tree lined avenue from the entrance gateway.

Entrnace gateway comprises a pair of tall iron gates with a lower series of spear-headed railings and an upper tier of fleur-de-lys finial headed railings, set between a pair of tall square piers of coursed Tardee granite;ashlar sandstone capstones and moulded cornices; projecting basalt plinths. Extended to each side are short lenghths of snecked basalt screen walls.

Gateway is set well back back from main street, up a slightly inclined entry flanked each side by street front buildings; entry surfaced with small modern pavoirs.
Gateway leads up to a tarmac driveway flanked each side by low basalt rubble retaining walls with sandstone copings, and along a pathway lined by tall trees.
Tarmac avenue extends as path around the base of the tower and gable and also a short distance to the east of it.

The churchyard is grassed and contains a number of 19th century headstones and other memorials, some with ornamented cast iron railings, but most ina state of disrepair while others are derelict:none is of any special architectural or art-historical interest.
Of minor historical interest is a recumbent cross-slab to Ensign John Dyas who died in 1860, a figure of some fame in the annals of the 51st Foot under the Duke of Wellington at Badojaz in 1811 in the Penninsular wars; it is situated along the south boundary wall.
There are also some 18th century headstones, along the southern part of the western boundary walls, including that of Susansa Courtney (d. 1797), Florence McBean (?) (d. 1756), Elizabeth Edmonston (d. 1764) and Barbra Ferguson (d. 1734).
Boundary to south formed partly by basalt rubble wall and partly by a rendered wall; boundary to east is similar; boundary to north is formed by basalt rubble wall and gable of an adjacent building; boundary to west is similar.

Historical information

Built in 1822 as a tower for the Church of Ireland parish church, for the Board of Works by William Dean at a cost of £320. The church was originally built in 1707, consecrated in 1721, used as a barrack in 1798, gallery inserted in 1822 at the same time as the tower was added, church enlarged in 1826, last service held in 1855, the congregation having built a new church that year in Castle Street, old church demolished sometime before 1933.

In the Ordnance Survey Memoirs in the 1830s the old church was described as "a plain edifice 66 feet long and 27 feet wide, and has a plain square tower 40 feet high, at its western end. It contains (including the gallery) 55 seats and would accommodate 380 persons [but elsewhere reported as accommodating 330 persons]….There is a small organ."

This tower was one of seven in the town at one time, giving rise to the epithet 'Ballymenagh of the Seven Towers' which was reputedly coined by Sir Alexander Shafto Adair whose family were long time owners of the Ballymena estate. Of the seven original towers only this one and 2 others remain, they are the present Church of Ireland church tower and the Roman Catholic church tower.

References - Primary Sources
1. OS Map 1833, Co. Antrim 32 (shows church)
2. OS Map 1857, Co. Antrim 32 (shows church)
3. OS Map 1933, Co. Antrim 32 (shows tower only)
4. Dublin Penny Journal Vol II (Dublin 1834) - engraved view of Ballymena.

Secondary Sources
1. Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland, Vol 23: Parishes of County Antrim VIII, 1831-5, 1837-8 (Belfast 1993), pp 90, 94,
116, 117.
2. L. Ewart, Handbook of the United Diocese of Down and Connor and Dromore (Belfast, 1886), pp 64-66
3. UAHS, Antrim and Ballymena (Belfast 1970) p 17.
4. J. Adams, Ballymena: No mean town (Ballymena 1984) p 1.
5. C.E.B Brett, Buildings of County Antrim (Belfast 1996) p 45.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

This is an early 19th century tower in a Gothic Revival style, built originally as part of a church but now free-standing due to the main body of the church having been demolished except for the west gable which still adjoins the tower. It enjoys a pleasant setting, in an oldgrass-covered graveyard with an approach avenue of tall trees entered through a handsome gateway. It is of considerable local interest, and has an important historical association, in being one of only 3 remaining towers of the original seven referred to in the epithet `Ballymenagh of the Seven Towers' by which the town is still popularly known and widely identified today.