Downshire Road Presbyterian Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Classical styled church on a prominent corner site facing east onto Downshire Road.

Shallow pitch natural slate roof with pedimented gable to façade and flush verge to rear. Cast iron ridge light behind gable, and ventilator to centre of ridge. Cast metal rainwater goods.

Painted line render walls set on a two-course granite plinth.

Facade has central recess framed by two-storey pilasters and, pairing these to inside faces, fluted Ionic columns.

Four granite steps from forecourt rise to central entrance. Modern wrought iron handrails to each side of steps, splayed and freestanding with urns to top of steps on granite plinth. Doorcase has a moulded cornice supported by foliated console brackets and shallow pediment with simple acroteria at ends. Double doors are painted six panel with two fixed panel transoms. Above doorcase is an architraved plaque with raised gold letters reading ‘AD 1843’.

The central pilasters and columns support a deep entablature across the whole of facade, broken slightly forward over the central bay. To each end of the façade are paired pilasters forming a bay on each side of door. Each bay has a tall semicircular-headed recess enclosing a recessed stained glass window framed with moulded archivolt and pilastered jambs (with moulded capitals and bases). The entablature is finished with a deep cornice and triangular pediment with plain tympanum.

The first (eastern) bay of each side wall is treated in a similar manner to front facade with pilasters to each corner supporting entablature and eaves cornice with blocking course over. The middle section of the bay has a full height recess with segmental headed blind window to ground floor and flat-headed stained glass window above. The remainder of each side elevation has four window openings to each floor, set into shallow recesses in the otherwise plain lined render wall on granite plinth, with plain granite eaves course. Ground floor windows are segmental headed stained glass. First floor windows are semicircular-headed stained glass. All have granite cills.

The rear wall of the church is blank and abutted by a contemporary two-storey return. Behind and offset to left is a larger, more recent hall.

The return has pitched natural slate roof with chimney to end gable, and second chimney to left pitch (as viewed from rear). Metal rainwater goods. The right cheek of return has three openings on each floor. At centre, three steps up to door. Flanked at each side by a segmental headed 6/6 margin-paned sliding sash window. In line at first floor are three semicircular-headed 9/6 sashes. Back gable has low flat roofed extension with two small toilet windows, of no interest. The exposed section of return gable is unpainted lined render with two semicircular-headed windows as right cheek. Left cheek is abutted by large double height hall which also abuts the back gable of the church.

The hall has a single storey block to front, with passage between it and right elevation of church. At the back of this passage, squeezed awkwardly between the two buildings, is a granite doorcase with entablature and shallow pediment. Plain double doors and narrow transom light give into hall. Wall above has three segmental-headed high level 10-pane fixed windows, with stringcourse over and high plain render wall rising above to cornice and coping with arcaded detailing. Lower block has two segmental headed windows to front elevation and three plain flat-headed casements to side facing passage. The whole composition is very plain and does not contribute to the quality of the group. Walls on both sides of hall are blank. The rear wall is unpainted plain render, with six tall rectangular windows.

The hall, which stands separately to left, has granite datestone reading ‘1991’. Plain lined rendered walls and pedimented gable.

The site is bounded to Downshire Road by fine cast-metal railings set on a low granite plinth with granite gate piers to front centre. Square granite piers in two blocks with recessed panels to all faces on granite plinth. Corniced capping with domed square top block. Identical piers to boundary with adjoining telephone exchange and corner of Downshire Road and central double gates directly in line with front entrance. Spear finials to circular bars with central and lower embellishments. Railings are similar with occasional restraining posts. Railings finish approximately level with the church rear wall abutting a square rendered pier at end of a rendered wall bounding rest of road frontage and continuing around rear of site. Ground around church is tarmaced, with grassed area to Downshire road frontage.

Historical information

Erected 1843.

More recent internal renovations carried out by Alex Whelan (Newry contractor) to specifications by architects Young & McKenzie at cost of about £500. This included a new pulpit of pitch pine, yellow pine and American walnut.

Primary Sources

1. Datestones on church and hall.
2. Archaeological Survey Co Down, p.348 (entry 417.5).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H+. Alterations enhancing the building
I. Quality and survival of Interior

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

A classic Presbyterian preaching house, restrained on the outside, but with a dramatic interior. All largely original and well maintained.