Ballyroney Presbyterian Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A double-height Gothic-style Presbyterian Church dated 1929. Rectangular plan form with a small abutment to the rear. Located adjacent to the former Post Office (HB17/09/022A) situated at the junction of Seafin Road and Tierkelly Road approximately 2 miles north of Rathfriland.

Pitched natural slate roof with clay ridge tiles; chamfered modillions supporting replacement uPVC rainwater goods. Hewn rubble masonry walling to the principal façade with ashlar dress stone; projected plinth; roughcast render to the other elevations. Leaded coloured lights set into pointed-arched openings with chamfered long-and-short surrounds and cill; Y-tracery with central horizontal masonry spandrel. Timber sheeted double-leaf door with wrought-iron strap hinges and ironmongery; leaded over light set into pointed-arch long-and short ashlar surround with hood moulding; accessed by five masonry steps with modern hand rail.

The principal gable faces east and is symmetrically arranged. Skew-table gable with stepped apex; triple pointed-arch windows (central window slightly taller) with blank quatrefoil over. Single-storey porch with shaped leaded parapet; centrally located door flanked by diminished-in-scale leaded windows; single-stage angle buttresses. Porch flanked by double-height projecting hipped bays with single windows centrally located; diagonal two-stage buttresses. Foundation stone to the left bay inscribed with “THIS STONE WAS LAID BY Wm STRANAHAN Esq J.P. NEWCASTLE 1929” Inscribed slate on the right bay “REBUILT BY SUBSCRIPTIONS IN THE YEAR 1832. ALEXANDER HERON PASTOR. KEEP THY FOOT WHEN THOU GOEST TO THE HOUSE OF GOD AND BE MORE READY TO HEAR THAN TO GIVE THE SACRIFICE OF FOOLS. ECC V.I.”

The left elevation is six bays wide. The far right comprising hewn rubble masonry walling with single first floor window with square-headed ground floor window directly below to the right; single door to the left. The five bays to the right are roughcast rendered subdivided by two-stage buttresses; each bay with a window.

The rear gable is blank; chimney over apex. Single-story hipped abutment at ground floor level; doors to either cheek; timber casement windows to west elevation.

The right elevation matches the left.

Setting

The site is accessed from the east by wrought-iron gates and piers; replacement railings extend to masonry piers with plaque “THESE GATES AND RAILINGS WERE ERECTED IN THE YEAR 1929 THROUGH THE GENEROSITY OF THE STEWARTS OF ROUGHAN”. To the south and west of the church are the burial grounds. North of the church is a church hall erected in 1979. Beyond the church boundary are a small number of buildings in the village beyond which is extensive rural landscape.

Roofing: Natural slate
Walling: Rubble masonry
Windows: Leaded coloured lights
RWG: uPVC Replacement

Historical information

The foundation stone of Ballyroney Presbyterian Church was laid 9th January 1928, the new church was designed to accommodate a congregation of 625 and cost £7,000 to erect (Irish Builder, p. 69). The current church was constructed on the site of a previous Presbyterian Meeting House that had stood since the early to mid-18th century. The first edition of the Ordnance Survey map in 1833 depicted the original church as a T-shaped structure in the townland of Lackan; the contemporary Townland Valuations (1830s) valued the church at £13 10s.

In 1836 the church was described as a ‘plain slated rectangular building ... [77.5ft by 52.5ft] containing two galleries.’ A stone tablet within the structure recorded that it was constructed in 1759 under the supervision of the Rev. Alexander Neilson. The Meeting House was originally a rectangular structure; however in 1832 it was rebuilt with the aid of subscriptions giving it a distinctive T-shape (Ordnance Survey Memoirs, p. 10). Griffith’s Valuation valued the Presbyterian Church and its sexton’s house at £17 and this value was maintained until the church was closed in 1927, prior to its demolition.

Young states that the first Meeting house in Ballyroney was constructed around 1708/09, however this was in fact the year that the congregation was formed by the Armagh Presbytery; the current site was not secured until 1733 (Kirkpatrick, p. 270; Young, p. 41). The first Meeting House on the site was constructed in 1759 under the supervision of the Rev. Alexander Neilson. Rev. Neilson, who was minister between 1751 and 1782, was the father of Samuel Neilson (1761-1803) a founding member of the United Irishmen and founder of the group’s newspaper The Northern Star in 1792; during the 1798 Rebellion Neilson was arrested and was only released in 1802 after agreeing to emigrate to America where he died the next year (Kirkpatrick).

Ballyroney Meeting House was rebuilt in 1832 in order to increase its capacity to meet the needs of a growing congregation; however in the 1870s structural problems were discovered and over the next 50 years the congregation debated whether to repair the damage or construct a new church building, resulting in the decision being made to close the church in 1927. The original 18th century church was demolished later that year; construction of the current building was started in January 1928 and was completed the following year under the supervision of the Rev. S. R. Jamison. The new church was dedicated in January 1929 (Young).

Ballyroney Presbyterian Church was listed in 1977 and continues to be a house of worship in the area; renovations to the building were carried out in 2003 and the current membership of the church stands at 175 families (Kirkpatrick). The church hall, situated to the north side of the building, was erected in 1979.

References

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/42/1 – First edition Ordnance Survey map 1833
2. PRONI OS/6/3/42/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey map 1859
3. PRONI OS/6/3/42/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey map 1901-1902
4. PRONI OS/6/3/42/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey map 1919-1920
5. PRONI VAL/1/A/3/42 – Townland Valuation map 1833
6. PRONI VAL/1/B/357A+B – Townland Valuation c. 1830
7. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/59/A – Griffith’s Valuation 1862
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/24A – Annual Revisions 1864-1878
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/24B – Annual Revisions 1879-1889
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/24C – Annual Revisions 1889-1897
11. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/24D – Annual Revisions 1898-1911
12. PRONI VAL/12/B/16/24E – Annual Revisions 1912-1929
13. Irish Builder (Vol 70, 21 Jan 1928)
14. Ordnance Survey Memoirs, Co. Down I, Vol. 3 (1836)
15. First Survey Record – HB17/09/008 (1970)
16. Ordnance Survey Map – 238-12 (1976)

Secondary Sources

1. Kirkpatrick, L., ‘Presbyterians in Ireland: An illustrated history’ Booklink, 2006.
2. Young, A. F., ‘Old Rathriland, Hilltown and Ballyroney’ Ayrshire: Stenlake Publishing, 2002.

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
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

A double-height Gothic-style Presbyterian Church dated 1929. Style and character remain largely unaltered, although the setting, with historic burial ground and gates, is somewhat compromised by the late twentieth century church hall. The interior is of note, with original fabric and layout intact. This church is a robust example of early Twentieth century design on an historic site.