Omagh Methodist Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A double-height over raised basement stone Gothic Methodist church, dated 1857, built to designs by William Elliot and William Mullan, located to the west side of Church Street.

Rectangular on plan, facing east. Pitched natural slate roof, roll-top blue/black clay ridge tiles, half-round uPVC gutters. Walling is random-coursed squared undressed basalt over chamfered plinth. Windows are gothic cusped latticed glazed casements with stained glass margin lights, splayed flush reveals and sills. Buttresses have off
setting; all elevations are symmetrical.

Principal (east) gable is three openings wide with gabled buttresses between openings, diagonal buttresses with gabled pinnacles at ends; centre has tripartite full-height cusped windows over former date plaque inscribed: “Methodist Chapple [sic] / AN. D. 1811;” apex has blind trefoil containing date plaque inscribed: “Wesleyan Chapel / 1857;” flanked to each side by bipartite windows with quatrefoils over, gothic vertically sheeted varnished timber doors, splayed surround, accessed by stone stairs.

South elevation is six windows wide, basements windows are square-headed casements.

Rear (west) gable is abutted by modern hall (of no interest). Exposed section is blank.

North elevation is detailed as south.

Church is situated in a tarmac parking lot on a sloping site, elevated to northeast, set back from road by lawn and enclosed by cast-iron railings over stone plinth between square stone piers with triangular caps, double gate.

Roof: Natural slate
Walling: Basalt
Windows: Latticed glazed casements with stained glass margin lights
RWG: uPVC

Historical information

The building carries a datestone of 1857. It is first shown on the third edition OS map of 1905-6, captioned Methodist Meeting House’ and also shown on Griffith’s Valuation Map of 1858.

It is recorded in Griffith’s Valuation of 1858 as the ‘Wesleyan Methodist Chapel and yard’. The building is valued at £33, and the lessor is Samuel Galbraith.

Valuation Revisions record the addition of a ‘house, office and yard’ in 1866 to the church site, the occupier of this house is the Rev. William Molloy, and it is valued at £24.

The authors of ‘Methodism in Omagh’ note that few ‘…people… are aware that there was previously another Methodist church on this site…’. This earlier church from 1811 ‘occupied much of the area of the [current] car park’ (Johnston & Preston, pg 23). (The datestone from the earlier building has been incorporated into the current church.)

In 1865, ‘ it was decided to build a more suitable residence for the senior minister, and this was built on ground to the south of the church on ground already obtained from Mr Samuel Galbraith, who had already provided the land for the church’. (Johnston & Preston, pg 26). Galbraith was a ‘prosperous businessman and local landowner’. (pg 639).

Congregation members were invited to submit designs and ideas for a new church in 1856 but only one submission was made; by building sub-committee member Mr. William Elliot who had visited Cookstown and Sligo Methodist churches and had been interested by Sligo’s basement. The basement was debated and finally included by that autumn. The detail design work, drawings and plans were done by the local builder Mr. William Mullan. An advertisement for builders for the new church was taken out in the “Tyrone Constitution” on 19 November 1856; additional advertisements appeared in the “Londonderry Sentinel” and the “Northern Whig.” When the works committee met on the 23rd December, they discovered there was only one high-priced tender from Mr. Mullan for £1,300. The Committee then decided to substitute a large tracery window in the west gable for the present three narrow ones and leave the basement unfinished to reduce the cost to £1,060. Following further negotiations, Mr. Mullan completed the basement for a total of £1,100 on the condition that he keep the slates and timbers of the former chapel. Work began in January 1857 and the Memorial Stone was laid by the Hon. H. T. Lowry Corry, senior M.P. for County Tyrone. The opening service was conducted by Dr. William Applebe on Friday, 25th September 1957. The following Sunday, the Rev. Dr. McClintock of the Methodist Episcopal Church of the United States presided. (Johnston and Preston, p.9)

The original church doors were replaced in 1977, and the church was renovated in 1997 when the new church hall was built and the former one was demolished.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/6/35/1-First Edition OS Map (1833)
2. PRONI OS/6/6/35/2-Second Edition OS Map (1854)
3. PRONI OS/6/6/35/3-Third Edition OS Map (1905-6)
4. PRONI VAL/1/D/6/6 -Town Plan of Omagh (1824-1844)
5. PRONI VAL/2/D/6/17 -Town Plan of Omagh (1849-1869)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/6/36 -Valuation Revisions (1860-1929)
7. PRONI VAL/12/B/41/37-Valuation Revisions (1903-1929)
8. PRONI VAL/12/E/186/1/5 -Town Plan of Omagh (1882-1909)
9. PRONI VAL/12/F/7/7/1- Valuation Revisions (1930-35)

Secondary Sources

1. Etd Dillon, Charles & Jefferies, Henry A. Tyrone: history and society. Dublin: Geography Publications, 2000.
2. Johnston, Norman and Preston, Desmond. Methodism in Omagh. A short history 1767-1982. Omagh, 1982.
3. “New Wesleyan Chapel, Omagh: Opening Services” Tyrone Constitution. September 1957.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

A double-height over raised basement stone Gothic Methodist church, dated 1857 and built to designs by church member William Elliot and local builder William Mullan. Part of an interesting collection of churches of four different denomination’s including Sacred Heart RC Church
( HB11/11/001A), Trinity Presbyterian (HB11/11/007A) and St. Columba’s Church of Ireland (HB11/13/002). Its design is typical of many other Methodist churches of the period and it is similar in detailing to neighbouring Trinity Presbyterian Church, which was built the year before and cited as this congregation’s inspiration to build its church. Although there has been some alteration and an adjoining modern hall constructed, this well-proportioned church retains its original character with fine stonework and other detailing displaying a high level of craftsmanship.