St. John's Church of Ireland

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A double-height rubble stone Parish church with three-stage entrance tower and later chancel; dated 1811 and located west of the junction of Banbridge Road and Woodford Avenue in Dromara. Set on an east-west axis with transepts and later chancel, three-stage entrance tower to west. Modern extension (vestry) to rear extending to north side.

Pitched natural slate roof with terracotta ridge tiles. Cast-iron rainwater goods on projecting brick course. Walling is rubble stone on masonry plinth with quoins; smooth render to later chancel. Windows are leaded stained glass lancets with Y-tracery in ashlar surrounds having projecting sills.

The principal elevation faces west; gable with window to either side of three-stage entrance tower; tower comprises belfry with clock to south and vented quatrefoil to other sides, surmounted by tall decorative pinnacles; second stage with segmental-headed multi-paned windows in ashlar surrounds with keyblock; entrance comprises replacement double-leaf timber door with stained and leaded glass transom light in segmental-headed ashlar surround with keyblock, accessed by a single stone step.

The north elevation has a window to right; to left is transept wing with lattice Y-tracery window, abutted to left by
modern extension (vestry) with ramped access.

The east (rear) elevation is abutted by a lower chancel extension lit by a simple round-headed Y-tracery window to gable.

The south elevation has a single window lighting the choir and an interlocking Y-tracery window to the transept wing; single opening lighting the nave to left.

Setting:
Situated in a semi-rural location on the outskirts of the village of Dromara. Surrounding graveyard with headstones dating from the 18th century; enclosed by rubblestone wall to west; entrance with raised wall having saddleback coping stones and gate piers with ball finial; large cast-iron gate leading to tarmacadamed pathway.

Roof: Pitched natural slate
Walling: Rubble stone
Windows: Leaded and stained glass
RWG: Cast-iron

Historical information

The Church of Ireland appears on the first ordnance survey map for the Dromara area in 1833 as an oblong structure recorded simply as ‘Church’ and situated just north of Dromara village. The Townland Valuation of the 1830s recorded the Church as a 1b+ building measuring 58 ft by 26 ft by 14 ft high. Its steeple measured 47 feet high. Described by the valuer as ‘well circumstanced,’ the church was valued at £5. 10s.

The Ordnance Survey Memoirs (1837) describe the church as a ‘neat, rectangular building with a square tower and clock, all in good repair.’ The writer states that the church was built in 1811 at a cost of £600 ‘raised by assessment on the lands of the parish.’ The Incumbent minister in 1837 was the Rev. Hannington Elijah Boyd who also resided in Dromara’s Glebe House slightly west of the Church. The church was built to accommodate a congregation of over 250; however, the average attendance was 150 people. The memoir states that there were only 200 members of the established church resident in Dromara at that time.

The second edition of the Ordnance Survey map shows that the transept on the north side of the church was added before 1859, increasing the value of the building to £12. in Griffith’s Valuation (1861) which also recorded that a sexton’s house had been added. The Church, at that time, was let by the Marquis of Downshire and the sexton was a Mr William White who lived in the small house provided. This value of £12 was not altered until the cancellation of the Annual Revisions in 1929.

Kelly tells us that a medieval church had existed in the parish until 1622 when it had fallen into ruins (Kelly, p. 49). In 1641 it lay derelict, however that did not prevent it from being ravaged during the 1641 Rebellion. It was not until 1744 that the Parish of Dromara was properly restored. The new church operated for a number of years but by 1794 it was in need of extensive repairs. Long tells us that due to the high cost of materials during the Napoleonic Wars the repair work was delayed and not completed until 1811. Brett tells us that in 1811 the Church was rebuilt rather than restored and an inscription above the main door supports this: ‘Reconstruction A.D. 1811 T. Percy; H. E. Boyd’ (Brett, p. 32; Long, pp 3-6). Long records that this work was carried out on the walls which were raised; a new slate roof was installed, and a new chancel was built. The Rev Francis Burrow, a rector of the church purchased the church bell at the cost of 10 guineas. In 1828 a small gallery was installed in the church at the cost of £31 but was later removed in 1888 as it limited space rather than provided extra seating. During the mid 19th century bodysnatching appears to have been prevalent in the parish and Long records that the vestry discussed plans to erect a watchtower in the church grounds to protect the deceased bodies from desecration, however it is unclear whether such a structure was built. In 1885 the parishes of Dromara and Garvaghy were joined together and Sunday services alternated between both church buildings. In 1896 a new transept and a pine roof were installed at a cost of £400. On 15 Feb 1896 the Church was rededicated to St. John the evangelist by the Bishop of Down. The later editions of the Ordnance Survey map recorded the church by that name and depicted the building as a cruciform structure (Long; Irish Builder, Vol. 30, 1 December 1888, p. 300).

Further additions included the installation of the marble font in 1903, a water heating system in 1906 and the pipe organ in 1907 which cost £250. By the mid-1920s the Church was suffering financial difficulties and a number of vestry meetings were called to discuss a solution. In 1939 evening services were moved to the nearby Rectory due to the war; the Rectory was easier to ‘black out’ in the case of Luftwaffe attacks. In 1957 the Church Hall was opened at the cost of £5,000, and in 1964 the baptismal font was moved to open up extra room for the congregation; oil heating was installed in 1969, the church was reroofed in 1968 and a new electric lighting system was added in 1976. In 1974 a stained glass window was added to the south transept dedicated to Mr James Pollock who was Church Organist for over 60 years and in 1978 a second stained glass window was gifted to the Church and dedicated to Mr and Mrs Robert Thompson by their son Robert (Long, pp 6-24).

St. John’s Church was listed in 1992 (NIEA). Kelly tells us that in more recent years wheelchair access has been installed at the Church and in 2000 the vestry was extended to provide toilet facilities for disabled parishioners. The current rector of St. John’s is the Rev. Canon Charlie Leeke who was installed in September 2008 (Kelly, p. 49).

References:

1. PRONI VAL/1/A/3/28 – Field Map c.1833
2. PRONI VAL/1/B/341 – Townland Valuation
3. PRONI OS/6/3/28/1 – First Edition OS Map 1833
4. PRONI OS/6/3/28/2 – Second Edition OS Map 1859
5. PRONI OS/6/3/28/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1903
6. PRONI OS/6/3/28/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1903-1920
7. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/36 – Griffith’s Valuation 1861
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/9 A – Annual Revisions 1865-1879
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/9 B – Annual Revisions 1880-1892
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/9 C – Annual Revisions 1893-1908
11. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/9 D – Annual Revisions 1909-1929
12. Irish Builder Vol. 30, 1 December 1888, p. 300 (Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie/)

Secondary Sources

1. Brett, C. E. B., ‘Historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in the towns and villages of Mid Down: Hillsborough, Dromore, Dromara, Ballynahinch, the Spa, Drumaness and Saintfield’ Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1974.
2. Kelly, D., ‘Lisburn’s rich church heritage: Churches and places of worship in the Lisburn city area’ Lisburn: Impression Print and Design, 2009.
3. Long, S. E., ‘The parish of Dromara: A short history’ Newcastle: Mourne Observer Press, 1979.
4. NIEA File – HB19/07/016.

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

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

Evaluation

A rubble-stone Parish church with three-stage entrance tower and additions; dated 1811, located west of the junction of Banbridge Road and Woodford Avenue in Dromara. Architectural detailing is largely intact with later additions of the chancel and vestry reflecting the growing congregation and later liturgical changes. The interior detailing is simple and has been sympathetically restored in recent years. This is a good example of a country Parish church, contributing significantly to rural landscape and the architectural heritage of the wider area. With graves dating from the 18th century the building and its site is of significant local social and historical importance.

General comments

Listing criteria R& S also apply to the building