Ballylinney Presbyterian Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached double-height single cell Presbyterian Church, dated 1835, located to the north of Ballylinney Road, at the junction with Lisnalinchy Road. The church is rectangular on plan with a single-storey porch to the south and a modern two-storey house attached to the north, containing minister’s room and caretaker’s accommodation.

The roofs are pitched and slated, with modern timber bargeboards. The walls are pebbledashed over a smooth rendered plinth. The windows are square-headed with painted masonry sills, containing leaded stained glass, unless otherwise stated.

The principal elevation faces south. It is gable-ended and abutted by the gable-ended porch to centre. The exposed section has a single sound-arched-headed window to either side of porch, each with moulded surround, and a datestone to the apex. The datestone reads ‘Erected 1835, 1st minister Rev. Issac Adams…’.

The west elevation is five windows wide, with windows to ground and upper floor level. The elevation is abutted to the right by the porch which contains a modern square-headed double-leaf timber panelled entrance door surmounted by a rectangular fanlight. The entrance is accessed by three concrete steps. The elevation is abutted to the left by the caretaker’s house, with a flat roofed single-storey porch block immediately to the elevation.

The north gable end is abutted by the caretaker’s house.

The east elevation is as the west elevation, with porch to the left, and house to the right.

Setting

The church is set in a rural location, within a churchyard, with modern hall to the west (dated 1976 and renovated 1997) and graveyard to the east and south. The earliest stone found is dated 1840. The church is bounded to the north and south by pebble-dashed walling. Square pillars forming an alcoved entrance support modern steel gates to the north and south of the church, and the south of the hall.

Roof Natural Slate
Walling Pebbledashed
Windows Leaded stained glass
Rainwater goods uPVC

Historical information

A datestone dates the church to 1835, it appears as a rectangular footprint on the first edition OS Map of 1833. The Townland Valuation of 1836 records a meeting house, sextons house and grave house on the site. Griffiths Valuation book of 1859 records a Presbyterian meeting house under lease to Thomas Gregg Esq.

A modern hall at the west was added in 1976 and renovated in 1997.

In 1834, following a series of committee meetings, it was decided that the first Meeting House should be built in the Parish of Ballylinney after permission had been granted by Templepatrick Presbytery. Mr Thomas Gregg granted half and acre of land free of rent with £10 subscription. The foundation stone was laid on 6th May, 1835 by James Owens of Holestone. The meeting house was opened by Rev Dr Henry Cooke on 11th September, 1836. Seating was added in 1837, gallery in 1857. The Minister at that time was Rev. Isaac Adams, who remained there until 1880. In 1840, the church became part of the Carrickfergus Presbytery. Ministers that followed were; Rev. James Foster Williams 1881 – 1899, Rev. Hugh Craig Meeke 1899 – 1904, Rev. John Kyle 1905 – 1911, Rev. Wilson Moreland Kennedy 1912 – 1921, Rev. Ernest McConnell 1921 – 1958, Rev. Charles Frances Young 1959 – 1982, Rev. Robert Vallely 1983 to present. The first organ was installed in the church in 1923, and heating and lighting were installed in 1956. Stables to the west were converted to enlarge the hall in 1966, a new hall was built in 1977, further enlarged in 1997 on the same site.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/1/51/1 - First Edition OS Map (1833)
2. PRONI OS/6/1/51/2 - Second Edition OS Map (1857)
3. PRONI VAL/1/A/1/51-Townland Valuation Map (1836)
4. PRONI VAL/1/B/112 -Townland Valuation Fieldbook (1836)
5. PRONI VAL/2/A/1/45A-Griffiths Valuation Map (1859)
6. PRONI VAL/2/B//1/7A -Griffiths Valuation Fieldbook (1859)

Secondary Sources

1. Ballylinney Presbyterian Church [Internet Source]. Available from:
Accessed 23/10/08
2. Presbyterian History Society. [Internet Source].
Available from: Accessed 28/10/08

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A single-cell double-height Presbyterian Church, this building is a simply detailed example of a rural church in Co Antrim. The church has windows to ground and gallery levels. Stained glass dates from the mid twentieth century, and original windows with moulded surrounds to the principal elevation have been retained. Internally, original gallery to three sides is retained. The church is located alongside more recent buildings in an attractive quiet rural context. However, it is a common type that has been altered and modernised and the modern buildings around it affect its setting.