TULLYVALLEN SECESSION MEETING HOUSE

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A modest single-storey four-bay rendered hall type church built in 1851 to designs by an unknown architect. T-plan form facing SE having a rectangular plan main church block orientated SW-NE which is flanked by smaller entrance blocks to gables, there being a later single storey rear return to NW. The building was re-roofed and uPVC windows installed in c.1986. The Meeting House of Tullyvallen Session is also known as the 'Bog Meeting House' and is located in a rural upland location to the NW side of Tullyneil Road. The building is set within an associated graveyard primarily accessed via a set of modern galvanized metal gates to the SE with concrete footpaths leading to entrance blocks and around the church. There is a church hall, built c.2006, in a similar style to the SW.

Pitched fibre cement tile roof with half-hipped gables to main block and angled black clay ridge tiles. Flush eaves with painted timber fascia. Generally aluminium ogee guttering discharging to square-section uPVC downpipes. Rear return has square-section aluminium downpipes.

Walling of main church has a painted rough cast render finish with smooth render detailing; surrounds to window and door opes, rendered band to plinth and raised quoins. Windows of main church are pointed arch Gothic uPVC casements with y-tracery, opening sections and painted dressed stone cills; those of rear return are square headed top and side opening uPVC casements. Rear return has a rough cast cement render finish with slim concrete cills and a smooth cement rendered plinth.

Principal elevation
Main elevation faces SE and consists of a four-bay main church block with four Gothic pointed arch windows and a datestone, near eaves, to centre of facade displaying: 'TULLYVALLEN SESSION MEETING HOUSE BUILT 1851'.

Main section of church is flanked by two lower entrance blocks, both of which have two painted vertically sheeted timber doors to SE; block to SW is the main entrance porch and block to NE is now disused. Generally a painted rough cast render finish to facade with raised render quoins.

Southwest elevation
Side elevation faces SW towards the new church hall and consists of half-hipped gable of the main church block which is fronted to centre by a lower gabled single bay entrance porch; square-headed uPVC window to centre of porch has six ‘panes’ and a painted stone cill. There is an entrance to SE elevation of porch. Painted smooth cement render plinth to main church block only on NW side of porch and a modern flood light to SE side of hipped gable.

SW elevation of rendered rear return is significantly set back from SW gable of church having a glazed uPVC door opening onto a concrete footpath next to main church with three uPVC windows to NW side of door.

Northwest elevation
Rear elevation faces NW and consists of the main church block flanked by blind walling of entrance blocks to its SW and NE gables. Church block has a single Gothic pointed arch uPVC window off-centre towards SW and is fronted by a lower single storey rear return towards its NE end. Rear return has no opes to its NW gable.

A trace of a second pointed arch window can be seen on walling of the main church block where the pitched roof of rear return attaches, suggesting the church originally had two pointed arch windows to this elevation.

Generally a painted rough cast render finish to main church (similar to front SE) and a rough cast render finish to rear return.

Northeast elevation
Side elevation faces NE and consists of hipped gable, belonging to main church, which is fronted to centre by a lower gabled single bay entrance porch; square-headed uPVC window to centre of porch has six ‘panes’ and a painted stone cill. There is an entrance to SE elevation of porch.

NE elevation of rendered rear return is significantly set back from NE gable of church having two three part uPVC windows.

Setting
The Meeting House of Tullyvallen Session is also known as the 'Bog Meeting House' and is located in a rural upland location to the NW side of Tullyneil Road. The building is set within an associated graveyard which has some mature trees to N and which is primarily accessed via a set of modern galvanized metal gates hung on square-section pillars to SE; pebbledash finish to pillars and reconstituted stone pyramidal caps. Two concrete footpaths diverge from the main gate and lead to separate entrance blocks at SW and NE gables of church. The graveyard is bounded on the SE by dwarf modern block walling which is has a smooth render finish which to SW of main gate is topped by modern galvanized metal railings. Walling to NE of main entrance has a pebbledash finish. There are two similar sets of gates along SE boundary with one to NE of main entrance leading to graveyard and one to the SW leading to a gravelled and concreted area of parking to front and side of church hall; five bay hall, built c.2006, in a similar style to the church having a pitched natural slate roof, six panel polished timber doors and uPVC pointed arch windows with Y-tracery.

Materials
Roof: Fibre cement
RWGs: Aluminium and uPVC
Walling: Rendered
Windows: UPVC casements

Historical information

Tullyvallen Secession Meeting House, an early-Victorian Covenanters meeting house located in the townland of Tullyvallan, was constructed in 1851. The seceding Presbyterian Church was founded in Scotland in 1733. In that year the Seceders had split from the Church of Scotland over fundamental issues of patronage and in opposition to State control of the Church. The first Seceding minister in Ulster was installed in Co. Antrim in 1746 and by the end of the 18th century there were 46 seceding clergymen in the province (Bell, p. 21).

The Seceding congregation at Tullyvallen was formed following a schism at Clarkesbridge Secession Church in the mid-19th century. Clarkesbridge Meeting House was formed in 1791 as a seceding congregation. However, in 1843 the Rev. William McAlister joined Clarkesbridge to the Presbyterian General Assembly without consulting his congregation on the details of the procedure. A minority refused to follow their minister and spilt from the congregation, the division led by a number of McAlister’s own elders. The Rev. Bell notes that those who left Clarkesbridge did not possess a meeting house of their own but continued to worship at the church in Clarkesbridge, which led to numerous disputes including one violent instance when an elder attacked the entrance door with a sledgehammer so that the majority could gain entrance to the meeting house. The minority congregation contested ownership of the meeting house and attempted to bring a legal case against the majority, however they were thwarted in this effort as final say fell to the landlord who sided with the General Assembly. This defeat led to the decision to construct a new house of worship for the seceding minority. The congregation met for a time at a disused building in Milltown, Cortamlet, but in 1851 the congregation built a permanent meeting house at Tullyvallen. The new church was known locally as the ‘Bog Meeting House’ and was located a mile to the north of Clarkesbridge Presbyterian Church (Bell, pp 38-39).

Tullyvallen Secession Meeting House was first recorded on the second edition Ordnance Survey map (1860) which depicted it as a simple rectangular structure which follows the layout of the current church. The map also depicted a small building to the south-west side of the church. Aerial photographs of the church, taken in the mid-20th century, show that this building (now demolished) was a single-storey dwelling, most likely occupied as a manse by the incumbent minister. The contemporary Griffith’s Valuation (1859) set the value of the Seceding Meeting House (exempt from taxation) at £11 and 5 shillings; the value of the site remained unchanged throughout the Annual Revisions (1864-1929) suggesting few structural alterations were made to the building during this period. Tullyvallen Secession Meeting House is characterised by its simplicity, both to its exterior design and interior arrangement. The meeting house takes the form of a simple hall which possesses a pulpit and pews but no ornamentation to the interior and no organ. The Tullyvallen Secession Meeting House is a typical example of a Covenanter Meeting House, its modest design and lack of decoration emphasising the importance the congregation placed on the study of the Bible and humble forms of worship. The Covenanters of Ireland: A history of the congregations records that the ministers of Tullyvallen made a number of unsuccessful attempts to bring the congregation into the Reformed Presbyterian Church during the late-19th and early 20th century but it was not until 1927 that the congregation at last joined the Reformed Church. Tullyvallen Reformed Presbyterian Church and the congregation of Fairview Reformed Presbyterian Church became a joint charge in 1934 when the Rev. R. B. Cupples was appointed as the minister of both congregations.

The Covenanters of Ireland notes that Tullyvallen Reformed Presbyterian Church underwent an extensive renovation in 1986 which included the reroofing of the church, the addition of the current lancet window frames, the construction of a new ceiling, the asphalt floor and the installation of a new heating system. It is likely that the single-storey north-facing extension was also added to the church as part of this renovation, however this cannot be confirmed with certainty; the return was not depicted on the fifth edition Ordnance Survey map (1955-56) but had been installed by the First Survey Record (1992). The meeting house was officially reopened with a special service on 26th September 1986. The First Survey Record for Tullyvallen Reformed Presbyterian Church described the building in the following terms: ‘A long single-storey five-bay hall church with projecting porches at each gable end. Pitched roof with bonnet ends covered with manmade slates. Porches and return at rear covered with manmade slates; uPVC gutters and downpipes; main building has a modern timber fascia. Walls finished in roughcast render; four gothic leaded window frames along front wall and one on rear wall of main building. Windows have dressed margins and dressed limestone sills. Projecting plaster quoins on main building and porches. Smooth rendered plinth on wall of main church. Entrance door into each porch is vertically-sheeted’ (First Survey – 1992). Tullyvallen Reformed Presbyterian Church was subsequently listed category B in 1993. The current church hall, located to the west side of the church, was officially opened by the Rev. S. McMahon, Moderator of the Reformed Synod, on 28th May 2006. Tullyvallen Reformed Presbyterian Church continues to be utilised as a house of worship; the Covenanters of Ireland notes that the congregation is made up of families from the north of the Co. Armagh border, drawing members from the Newtownhamilton and Keady regions (The Covenanters of Ireland; NIEA HB Records).

References

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/2/24/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1861)
2. PRONI OS/6/2/24/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1906)
3. PRONI OS/6/2/24/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1906-23)
4. PRONI OS/6/2/24/4 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1955-56)
5. PRONI VAL/2/B/2/16B – Griffith’s Valuation (1859)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/12/8A-8E– Annual Revisions (1864-1929)
7. First Survey Record – HB16/18/21 (1992)
8. NIEA HB Records – HB16/18/21

Secondary Sources

1. ‘The Covenanters of Ireland: A history of the congregations’ Cameron Press (2010).
2. Bell, J., ‘A history of Clarkesbridge and First Newtownhamilton Presbyterian Churches,’ (1969).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
U. Historic Associations
X. Local Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

A modest single-storey four-bay rendered hall type church built in 1851 to designs by an unknown architect. Facing SE and having a rectangular plan hall orientated SW-NE which is flanked by smaller entrance blocks to gables, there being a later single storey rear return to NW, likely built c.1986 when the building had uPVC windows installed and was re-roofed in fibre cement slates. Tullyvallen Reformed Presbyterian Church was originally known as The Meeting House of Tullyvallen Session and also as the 'Bog Meeting House' - it is located in a rural upland location to the NW side of Tullyneil Road. The building has well designed proportions and modest external detailing, retaining some original internal joinery. Although the building's character is compromised by a rendered extension, modern external finishes and uPVC windows, it remains of great local historical and social importance. The church has no organ and is characterised by the simplicity of its design and detailing, which reflects the ideological views of its congregation and which is further reflected in the peaceful rural nature of its setting.