Kilwarlin Moravian Hall

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Attached single-bay double-height single-storey rendered church hall, built c.1835, extended c.2000. Rectangular on plan facing north, attached to Kilwarlin Manse (HB19/05133B) and Kilwarlin Moravian Church (HB19/05/133A), set back on the south side of Kilwarlin Road in its own landscaped grounds.

Pitched natural slate roof, black clay ridge tiles and cast-iron gutter on timber fascia with cast-iron downpipes. Cement rendered walling with rendered plinth course. Square-headed window openings with replacement 6/6 timber sash windows having ogee horns and plate glass, on painted masonry sills.

Single-bay north front elevation three windows wide with square-headed door opening to the west end having flat-panelled timber door with bolection mouldings, rectangular overlight and stone step.

Gabled east end elevation with single off-centre square-headed door opening having vertically-sheeted double-leaf timber doors.

Rear elevation has two window openings as per above with a square-headed door opening having vertically-sheeted timber door. Rear abutted by gable ended single-storey return and flat-roofed single-storey extension, both having replacement timber casement windows on concrete sills.

West side abutted by Manse (HB19/05/133B).

Setting
Located to the south of Kilwarlin Road in its own landscaped grounds as part of the Kilwarlin Moravian complex attached to the Manse (HB19/05/133B) and the Moravian Church (HB19/05/133A), accessed by a winding gravel avenue opening onto the road via decorative gate screen (HB19/05/134).

Roof Natural slate
RWG Cast-iron
Walling Cement render
Windows Replacement 6/6 timber sash

Historical information

The Ordnance Survey Memoirs tell us that in the years before 1834 the Moravian Church at Kilwarlin was in ruins and was principally used as a schoolhouse. In 1834 the Greek Moravian Rev. Basil Zula came to Kilwarlin and in 1834 set about reconstructing the derelict Church into a large interconnected building consisting of a new Chapel, Manse and a building in the rear, which forms the basis of the current Church Hall.

Brett states that in 1834 Zula constructed a ‘new church, manse and schoolhouse,’ however, it is unclear whether this school house is the current Church Hall as Griffith’s Valuation records that this building was listed under ‘House, office, yard and garden,’ valued at £7. Griffith’s Valuation also lists a ‘School house’ but it is listed along with the chapel so it may have been an extension to that building, or a separate smaller outbuilding (Brett, p. 48).

The current Church Hall was let to George McIleavy in 1864 and Catherine Pasche [sic] in 1878 by the ministers of Kilwarlin Moravian Church; however, by 1889 it had fallen vacant. By 1903 the building was occupied again but by the incumbent ministers of the Church who also occupied the Manse at the same time. In 1917 the description for the building changed in the Annual Revisions to ‘Sunday School’ and the building was devalued to £5. The valuer notes that from 1917 the building was ‘used exclusively for religious purposes’ under the control of the ‘Trustees of Moravian Church.’ However, the Ordnance Survey maps list a ‘Sunday school’ as early as 1902-3 so it appears that this building was converted for use as a Sunday school sometime after it had fallen vacant in 1889 and had been listed incorrectly until the Trustees took control of the school, presumably in 1917. There is no change in the value of the school until the end of the Annual Revisions in 1930.

In 1987 the Chapel was restored but it was not until 1998 that an extension was added to the Church Hall, nearly doubling its size and improving its use as a community hall. The Church Hall continues to be used as a Sunday school and is also used for church functions such as the Church Bowls Club which, for a number of years, has met there every week.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/14/1 – First Edition OS Map (1834)
2. PRONI OS/6/3/14/2 – Second Edition OS Map (1858)
3. PRONI OS/6/3/14/3 – Third Edition OS Map (1902-1903)
4. PRONI OS/6/3/14/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map (1919-1920)
5. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/45A-C – Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14A – Annual Revisions 1864-1879
7. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14B – Annual Revisions 1880-1889
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14C – Annual Revisions 1890-1908
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14D – Annual Revisions 1909-1928
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14E – Annual Revisions 1928-1930
11. PRONI VAL/12/E/102/1-2 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c.1864-c.1935)

Secondary Sources

1. Barry, J., ‘Hillsborough: A parish in the Ulster plantation’ (3rd ed.), Belfast, Universities Press., 1982.
2. Brett, C. E. B., ‘Buildings of North County Down’ Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2002.
3. Foy, J. H., ‘Kilwarlin Moravian Church: A visitors guide’ (Pamphlet, undated).
4. Kelly, D., ‘Lisburn’s rich church heritage: Churches and places of worship in the Lisburn city area’ Lisburn: Impression Print and Design, 2009.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Z. Rarity
V. Authorship
X. Local Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

Double-height single-storey church hall attached to Manse and Kilwarlin Moravian Church, and with which ut has grioup value. Built c.1834, set within the landscaped grounds of the Moravian complex to the south side of Kilwarlin Road. The austere facade with its replacement timber sash windows and natural slate roof, are complementary to the complex as a whole and forms an important part of this unique religious complex in a rural setting.