Alfred Eadie Hall

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Single storey / one bay early 19th century hall with 20th century additions, at right angles to the east side of Newcastle Street.

Pitched natural slate roof with red clay ridges to main pitch and blue to wings. The main roof is gabled and coped to front and wings are hipped. Eaves are flush with timber fascia. Half round cast iron gutters with matching downpipes.

All walls are roughcast rendered with a smooth rendered plinth and smooth render dressings to all openings, all painted. Front elevation is abutted at centre by a single storey porch. Porch has a pitched natural slate roof with projecting eaves (as main building); the slating carried out over the verge. Gable has decorative cusped painted timber bargeboard. On its front wall is a pair of painted sheeted timber doors set within a Gothic headed opening. Both cheeks of porch are blank.

In apex of gable above porch is a circular louvred vent, below which is a granite rectangular datestone inscribed ‘ 1832 / 1935’, with labelled drip mould over. To front wall on either side of porch is a single double-height lancet window, with cinquefoil head and leaded diamond glazing.

The front wall of the left and right wings is a continuation of front wall of gable. That to left contains a window as those to front gable, but is horizontally divided by a render transom. The right wing is slightly wider than the left on and contains a window at right similar to that on left wing. Left of this latter window is a granite date plaque ‘1962’, and below is a second stone inscribed ‘The Alfred Eadie Hall’.

Right gable of the right wing has a modern three-pane painted timber window to ground floor, with similar above. Rear elevation of this wing is abutted by a single storey flat roofed extension, which contains a modern glazed stained timber door and top-hung two-pane window to ground floor, and two modern similar windows to first floor. The right cheek of this extension has a top-hung two-pane to each floor and a chimney in the corner with the side wall of the main block.

The exposed right elevation of main block has two tall semicircular headed windows, each with a timber frame forming a pair of lancets (with an opening vent set into each spandrel) and painted cills.

The rear gable of main building was originally the party wall the original manse (now demolished). It is abutted to ground floor by a modern float roof garage belonging to the present manse. The exposed gable of the main block is rendered and blank.

Left elevation and rear elevation of left wing, and left side wall of main block are dashed and blank.

A dashed dwarf wall with relatively modern steel railings and two sets of gates encloses the front (to street).

1950s manse to rear has two dressed granite datestones inset into its porch wall; both were salvaged from the original manse. The larger one, at bottom, states ‘Church of the United Brethren/ 1832’. A smaller tablet above reads ‘AD 1828/ Revd. I.A.’. .

A granite rubble wall to rear of manse encloses a Moravian graveyard. It contains mainly late 19th and 20th century gravestones, all laid horizontally, without surrounds. One stone is to Charlotte Josephine O’Neill, ‘Who died 13 Sept. 1937 as a result of a motor accident’.

Historical information

Moravians originally worshipped at Mourne Abbey from 1763 to 1817. Present church erected 1832, along with dwelling to rear. The 1832 datestone, now in the porch of the manse, was formerly above the main door on the street-facing gable. Last Moravian service held on 28 February 1915. Premises subsequently sold to Kilkeel Presbyterian Church. Original manse demolished to make way for present one in 1950s.

Primary sources
1. RSJ Clarke, Gravestone inscriptions, vol.10 Co Down: Barony of Mourne, pp 38, 40.
2. W. Lawrence photograph, National Library, Dublin (WL C3821).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Much altered early 19th century church no longer of any architectural interest.