Gateway and walling of Quaker Graveyard

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Four boundary walls of masonry and brick construction, with an arched gateway on the north side, enclosing a graveyard of roughly square plan.

North boundary wall is of basalt rubble with later reticulated pointing; stonework roughly coursed to upper portion to left of the gateway; angle topped copings of Tardree granite; each extremity of coping broken off and repaired with cement. Left-hand extremity of wall abuts a circular pier of roughly coursed basalt rubble with a hump topped sandstone capstone.

Gateway placed near right-hand end: breaks forward slightly from the wall and rises above it with a rectangular parapet; built of basalt rubble, with roughly chamfered edges; swept coping, material uncertain. Gateway contains a slightly pointed arch dressed with smooth cement render, with chamfered edge; iron railed gate, decoratively treated with fleur-de-lys finials, set below level of pavement, down one step; step of concrete. Above the arch is a modern rectangular bronze plaque inscribed 'Circa 1685. The Quakers Graveyard Moylinny. Burial place of the Reford family'.

East boundary wall is of basalt rubble, with reticulated pointing; smooth cement rendered moulded coping of curved form, cracked in places and crudely repaired with cement.

Rear, or south, boundary wall is of basalt rubble and fieldstones with original lime mortar pointing; smooth cement rendered flat coping; top of wall steps down in sections towards the west.

West boundary wall is partly of stone and partly of brickwork. Left-hand extremity is of basalt rubble with granite coping, returning from the north wall; this portion terminates at an abutting derelict basalt rubble nib wall with a brick base which forms a retaining wall to the front pavement. To the right of the retaining wall the west boundary is of basalt rubble for a portion, surmounted by a crumbling brick wall with basalt rubble copings; remainder of wall to right is of old brickwork on a basalt base; some modern brickwork used to repair wall at one point; cement rendered coping of humped form; wall overgrown with creeper.

Interior walls of graveyard are of basalt rubble. Ground inside uneven, grassed over, with some mature trees; short concrete path immediately inside entrance gateway; some low iron-railed grave plots, but headstones and monuments are of no special architectural interest.

SETTING: The burial ground stands facing the main road set back from it by the public pavement. Facing it on the other side of the road is a modern housing development. To the west is rough ground at a lower level to the graveyard, overgrown with bushes and mature trees.
To the south is a patch of rough ground, grassed over, with mature trees.
To the east is a lane giving access to houses sited to the north and north-west.
Ground to south and ground to west are separated by a basalt rubble wall which abuts the south-west corner of the rear boundary wall.

Historical information

Established as a Quaker graveyard by the Reford family of Moylinny, and originally part of their property at Moylinny farm, but sometime in the 19th century put in the hands of trustees. Precise date of founding of the graveyard or erection of the enclosing walls not known, but the graveyard is reputed to date back to around 1685, while the enclosure is shown on the OS map of 1832. In a run-down state by the 1970s, it was repaired by the Reford family, the graveyard itself in 1977, and the walls and gateway in 1979 to 1980. In the course of this repair work the date '1707' which had been painted on the cement render over the archway was covered by a bronze plaque, and some of the rough stone walling was levelled at the top and provided with a coping. Listed in 1979. The graveyard can only be used by male members of the family. Still used by the Reford family but not confined to Quakers.
The Reford family were apparently well known in the Antrim area at one time. They were an old Devonshire family, originally known as Wreyford, but are believed to have moved to Ireland around 1632 by which time it seems they had changed the spelling of their name to Reford. The head of the family around 1700 was Lewis Reford, who was a Quaker and in whose home Quaker meetings were held. It would appear that the graveyard was established under his aegis as previous members of the family were reportedly buried in Antrim churchyard.
According to one source the Moylinny property was not leased to Lewis Reford by the Massereene estate until 1733. On the failure of the Refords it was acquired by the Chaine family of Ballycraigy in the early 1830s. It is possible the graveyard was not enclosed by walls until this change in ownership of the lands was either imminent or recently effected.

References – Primary Sources
1. OS Map 1832, Co Antrim 50.
Secondary Sources
1. Antrim Guardian, 3 July 1980, 'The resting place that links Antrim and Devon'.
2. R. Pierce and A. Coey, Taken for Granted (NIHBC, 1984), p 176.
3. C.E.B. Brett, Buildings of County Antrim (UAHS, Belfast, 1996), p 173 (for information on the Moylinny property but not the graveyard).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

B. Proportion
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

These structures surround a graveyard of reputed 17th century foundation but the gateway and walling may date as late as the early 19th century. They are of some local historic interest and of limited architectural merit, the character of the original structure having been impaired by inappropriate alterations.