The Meeting House of Bessbrook Presbyterian Church,

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Five-bay mid-Victorian granite Presbyterian meeting house built in 1855 (datestone) in a simplified Gothic Revival style to designs by an unknown architect. T-plan form facing S towards Convent Hill having a gabled rectangular plan block to E, orientated N-S, and a later two-storey three-bay hipped roof block with dormers to W, added in 1865. The original block has a later gabled porch to its S and a projecting gabled session-room block to its N (both likely added in c. 1876, see plaque).

The Meeting House of Bessbrook Presbyterian Church is located within private grounds being set back from a main road leading to Bessbrook known as Convent Hill. The site is bounded by a low hedge along Convent Hill to S and the associated graveyard to E. A tarmaced drive leads from Convent Hill via a set of gates to the Presbyterian Manse at N side of church; painted cast iron vehicular gates hung on square-section pillars of rock-faced granite blocks. A tarmaced footpath leads from the drive towards the front S porch of church (original main entrance) and around perimeter of building with main entrance to W end of hipped roof block. Church is surrounded by sloping grounds set to lawn with some mature trees to N.

Pitched natural slate roof of rectangular block to E has angled black clay ridge tiles and a decorative moulded granite finial to S gable; decorative ironwork finial to N gable. Later block to W also has a hipped natural slate roof with roll top ridge tiles to dormer windows and a rectangular section chimney (now rendered) with a single pot to its W end. Flush eaves with original church block to E having granite corbel course and moulded kneelers. Generally uPVC RWGs; half-round guttering discharging to rectangular hoppers and circular-section downpipes.

Generally pointed arch lancet windows with replacement uPVC fixed casements having modern coloured and leaded glazing set within uPVC casements and protective glazing. Some upper windows, have modern coloured glazing. Walling is of random-coursed rock-faced local granite with some strap work pointing visible; splayed pecked granite cills and splayed surrounds to windows with stepped jambs. Bays of rectangular block to E are divided by two-stage 3/4 height buttresses, angled at SE, SW and NE corners. Attached gabled porch block to front S and large gabled vestry block to N also have buttresses.

Principal elevation
Main elevation faces S towards Convent Hill and consists of a two storey gabled block with a moulded granite finial to gable apex, louvered trefoil ope to gable and a window to FF composed of two recessed lancets surmounted by a quatrefoil light, all recessed within a pointed arch. Elevation is fronted by a single storey gabled side-entry porch to centre; window to S side of porch is recessed within pointed arch and painted sheeted timber door to E side has a pointed segmental arch head and decorative painted iron hinges.

Later hipped roof block is set back and attached to W; two-storey three-bay block having narrow gabled dormers to FF and pointed arch windows to GF.

West elevation
West elevation consists mostly of the later projecting hipped roof block which is flanked by single bays of E block (original church) to either side having pointed lancets to GF with reduced height lancets in-line above. Hipped roof block has a gabled dormer in-line above central pointed arch doorway (main door); two-part painted chevron sheeted square-headed door with chevron sheeted pointed blind fanlight above. There is a chimney to W end wall at N side of gabled dormer.

North elevation
Rear elevation faces N towards the Manse and consists of a two storey gabled block with a decorative ironwork finial to apex, louvered quatrefoil ope to gable and two lancets to FF. Elevation is fronted by a lower gabled projecting side-entry session-room block which has, roll top ridge tiles, three tall lancets set within a pointed arch in flush stone to N, a single lancet to its E and a door to W; square-headed painted sheeted timber door. Hipped roof block is set back and attached to W; two-storey three-bay block having narrow gabled dormers to FF and pointed arch windows to GF.

East elevation
East elevation consists of a central two storey block with a single bay lower block to N gable and a single storey single bay porch to S gable. Central block is of five bays, each divided by two-stage buttresses, there being a blind lancet to centre bay flanked by tall pointed lancets and outer bays with single pointed lancets to GF and similar shorter windows in-line to FF of outer bays. Elevation is fronted by a tarmac foot path and a grass bank which leads down to an access road; road leads from Convent Hill to the S towards the Manse to the N.

Setting
The meeting house is located on a slightly elevated and sloping site, within private grounds, being set back from a main road leading to Bessbrook known as Convent Hill. The site is bounded by a low cut hedge along Convent Hill to S and the associated graveyard to E. There is a decorative timber notice board with moulded timber burning bush in low relief to top. A tarmaced drive leads from Convent Hill via a set of gates to the Presbyterian Manse at N side of church; painted metal vehicular gates hung on square-section pillars of rock-faced granite blocks. Manse is two storey with a pebbledash finish, dormers, canted bay window to S side and a two storey entrance bay to centre at E with dentilated detail above GF opes. The Church of Ireland (HB16/22/021) is located a short distance to the E on the opposite side of the graveyard.

Materials:
Roof: Natural slate
RWGs: uPVC
Walls: Granite
Windows: Upvc

Historical information

Bessbrook Presbyterian Church, a mid-19th century rubble-stone house of worship located on Church Road at the western entrance to the village, was constructed in 1855. This church was constructed for the local Presbyterian congregation as part of the social development of Bessbrook, which had been initiated by the Richardson family from as early as the 1840s. Bessbrook had been effectively founded in 1845 when John Grubb Richardson (1813-1891), a linen merchant from Lambeg, purchased one of the derelict mills at the site and began to build housing for the textile workers in the immediate vicinity. Bessbrook was established as a ‘model village’ in a number of phases with the layout influenced by the work of William Penn, an American Quaker who had been responsible for the planning and development of Philadelphia in the late-17th century.

Richardson was a member of the Religious Society of Friends and, according to Harrison, possessed a ‘typical Quaker mix of pragmatic and altruistic expectation to provide jobs and good working conditions for his employees.’ By providing his workers with good standards of living Richardson hoped to ensure good relationships between employers and the employed. He therefore established the village as a social experiment where his workers could both live and work in contentment. Harrison states that Richardson’s philanthropic spirit led him to bring the poor, the unqualified and beggars from the surrounding countryside to work and live at Bessbrook, hoping that he could encourage them to improve themselves and excise old habits. Bessbrook is often referred to as a village without the ‘Three P’s’ due to Richardson’s stipulation that there would be no ‘Public House’ or ‘Pawn Shop’ in the settlement and therefore no need for ‘Police’ to be stationed there. In exchange for keeping the village free of alcohol Richardson provided recreational and educational facilities at the Institute (HB16/22/009), a number of well-stocked shops (located at nos 1-5 Charlemont Square East) and also had milk, tea and cocoa distributed to his mill workers. The strategy was effective as the majority of the population voted to preserve the ordinance in the 1870s and, to this day, there remains no public house at Bessbrook. Police were not stationed at the village until the turn of the 20th century (Harrison; Brett, p. 243).

Despite Richardson’s principles and his relocation of many labourers of the Quaker faith to the village, Bessbrook possessed a sizeable Presbyterian population in the mid-19th century. Bailie notes that the Presbyterian families in and around Bessbrook were gathered together as a congregation on 9th August 1853 by the Newry Presbytery. The congregation originally met at the upper floor of the Co-operative Shop at No. 2 Church Road (HB16/22/007) which was also utilised as a place of worship by Society of Friends. Harrison suggests that Richardson facilitated the development of the Roman Catholic, Presbyterian and Episcopalian communities by providing plots of land on which their houses of worship were built. However, in his history of the congregation, the Rev. Thomas Cromie records that the plot of land was granted to the congregation by Lord Charlemont, through his agent Hugh Boyle. Bessbrook Presbyterian Church was constructed in 1855. The meeting house was first recorded on the second edition Ordnance Survey map (1861) which depicted it as a simple rectangular-shaped structure; the western extension was not added until a decade later. The map also noted that a manse was located to the north of the site; this dwelling had been erected in 1858. The contemporary Griffith’s Valuation (1862) set the total value of the church at £25 (exempt from taxation). Bessbrook Presbyterian Church was opened by the Rev. James McCosh on 13th March 1855 and had a second opening service on the 16th March which was officiated by the Rev. Henry Cooke of May Street Presbyterian Church, Belfast (Bailie; PHS).

The Dublin Builder notes that the western extension of the church was added in 1865, resulting in the enlargement of the church and the increase in its value to £50. A second renovation was carried out in 1876 although no source records what work was carried out at this time. The church was depicted along its current layout on the Ordnance Survey Town Plan (1906) suggesting that no major structural alterations have been made to the building since the early-20th century. The current church organ was added to the church as a memorial to members of the congregation who gave their lives during the First World War. The value of Bessbrook Presbyterian Church was increased to £86 under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) and was further raised to £92 by the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72). The Bessbrook Presbyterian Church Hall, located to the west side of the church, was officially opened and dedicated on 28th February 1975 (PHS).

References

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/2/26/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1861)
2. PRONI OS/6/2/26/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1906)
3. PRONI OS/8/31/3 – Ordnance Survey Town Plan (1906)
4. PRONI VAL/12/B/15/6A-6F– Annual Revisions (1866-1929)
5. PRONI VAL/12/B/15/5A – Annual Revisions (1924-29)
6. PRONI VAL/3/C/2/12 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57)
7. PRONI VAL/4/B/2/20 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
8. Dublin Builder (15 Feb 1866)
9. George Bassett: The Book of County Armagh (1888)
10. Ulster Town Directories (1880-1918)
11. Presbyterian Historical Society Church Files (Bessbrook: 1855-1975)

Secondary Sources

1. ‘Bessbrook: A record of industry in a Northern Ireland village community and of a social experiment, 1845-1945’ Belfast: Nicholson & Bass Ltd., 1945.
2. Baillie, W. D., ‘A history of congregations in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland: 1610-1982’ Belfast: Presbyterian Historical Society, 1982.
3. Cromie, T., ‘The first minister and church at Bessbrook, Co. Armagh: A brief sketch of their history’ Newry: Newry Telegraph Office, 1904.
4. Brett, C. E. B., ‘Buildings of County Armagh’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1999.
5. Harrison, R., ‘The Richardson’s of Bessbrook: Ulster Quakers in the linen industry (1845-1921)’ Dublin: Original Writing Ltd., 2008.
6. ‘Bessbrook Conservation Area Guide’ Belfast: Department of the Environment (N. I.), 1983.

Online Resources

1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie/

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

Five-bay mid-Victorian granite Presbyterian meeting house built in 1855 in a simplified Gothic Rivival style to designs by an unknown architect. T-plan form facing S towards Convent Hill having a gabled rectangular plan block to E, orientated N-S, and a later two-storey three-bay hipped roof block with dormers to W, added in 1865. The original block has a later gabled porch to its S and a projecting gabled session-room block to its N (likely added in c. 1876). The church shows evidence of an historical development within the village and retains good quality walling and external detailing with a very fine, and increasingly rare, original interior with horseshoe-shaped gallery. The Meeting House of Bessbrook Presbyterian Church, and its graveyard, is of local historic and social importance. It is located close to the listed Christ Church C of I (HB16.22.21).