Christ Church (C of I) parochial hall

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Plain, single storey gabled and rendered Methodist church of 1838, now used as a (C of I) church hall, with a small gabled projection added recently to the north end. The property is situated on a rise on the E side of Station Road, to S of Castledawson Main Street.

The front elevation of the hall faces W and is asymmetrical. To the left hand side is a large segmental headed archway with simple moulded ‘bands’ at arch-springing level. The archway leads into an open porch with a doorway within with panelled door and semicircular fanlight with gothick tracery. Above right of the porch archway is a painted stone panel which is inscribed ‘Wesleyan Methodist Chapel. Erected 1838’.

To right of the archway are three tall high level semicircular headed window openings. These all have Georgian-paned sash frames with gothick tracery to the arch (22 panes over 12). Each window is now covered by a security grill. Stone cills.

To the N gable there is a small single storey gabled and rendered projection, which was added in c.1980 (and which houses toilets). This has a modern window to its N gable and an overhanging roof with artificial tiles. To the immediate right of the projection (on gable of original building), there is an elliptical arched recess. One suspects that this recess was originally open (and lead into the open porch.) To the left of the projection is a small window with modern frame.

To the S gable there are two windows as W elevation, only slightly shorter and set at a slightly higher level.

To the E elevation there is a doorway (with plain sheeted door) at ground level with a slightly smaller plain sheeted door at upper level to right.

The building is finished in lined cement render, with a slated gabled roof and cast iron rw goods (PVC to projection).

To front of the building is a small sloping lawn bounded by a roughcast wall to W and a rubble wall to N. To S there is a drive, whilst to rear there is a tarmac covered area enclosed with modern fencing. There is a much larger car parking space beyond this.

Historical information

As the inscribed panel to the front tells us, this building was erected in 1838 as a Methodist chapel. It remained as such until the later 1970s, when it was acquired by the local C of I parish church (Christ Church) for use as a church hall. The projection to the north was added c.1980, with the internal changes to the hall carried out around the same time.

The chapel / hall is built on ground which was believed to have been the site of a large barrack, which was in use between c.1705 and c.1780.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI MIC/1E/22 Records of Magherafelt and Castledawson Methodist congregations: baptisms1825- [?1941]
2 PRONI VAL/1B/535/1-3 First valuation, Magherafelt parish, c.1835-38
3 ‘OS Memoirs…Co Londonderry vol.I’ [c.1836] ed Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB Inst. of Irish Studies, 1990)
4 PRONI VAL/1D/5/10 First valuation town plan of Castledawson, 1838
5 PRONI MIC/429/1/384, 493 Records of Magherafelt and Castledawson Methodist congregations: baptisms1841-45
6 PRONI VAL/2B/5/37h Second valuation, Magherafelt parish (Castledawson), 1858
7 PRONI VAL/2D/5/9 Second valuation town plan of Castledawson, 1859
8 PRONI VAL/12B/34/9a-g Annual valuation revision notebooks, 1860-1929
9 PRONI OS/8/71/1 OS town plan of Castledawson, 1906
10 PRONI VAL/3G/117/1 Valuation town plan of Castledawson, 1936-54

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Plain, single storey gabled and rendered Methodist church of 1838, now used as a (C of I) church hall, with a small gabled projection added recently to the north end.