Methodist Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached single-cell Victorian Methodist Church with simple Arts and Crafts styling, dated 1900, located to the east side of Balmoral Avenue. Church consists of rectangular nave, attached meeting room to north-west, porch to south-west and single-storey flat roofed extension to north-east.

Roofs are pitched and natural slated (hipped to NE); leaded verges; clay ridge tiles and finials gables; smooth rendered chimneys with original pots. Walls are roughcast over smooth rendered plinth; splayed buttresses to corners. Windows are square-headed timber-framed casements; leaded stained glass to central section, unless otherwise stated.

Principal elevation faces west; three-window wide nave at centre (each separated by buttresses) abutted at right by single-storey gabled porch; pointed-arched-headed window in smooth rendered surround surmounted by signage ‘Methodist Church 1900’ and hood-moulding with label stops; square-headed timber vertically sheeted entrance doors to north and south. Abutted at left by gabled meeting room containing large pointed-arched-headed stained glass window in smooth reveal surmounted by hood-moulding.

North elevation abutted by supporting accommodation; square-headed chamfered entrance at centre containing double-leaf timber doors with transom light flanked at left by plain glazed window. Abutted at left by extension.

East elevation consists of five-window wide nave (each separated by buttresses); blank to single bay left and right of centre. Abutted at right by extension. Exposed wall at first floor has, at left, wall-head-dormer with timber bargeboard containing segmental-headed timber framed 1/1 sliding sash window; at right, segmental-headed window.

South gable contains group of three windows (smaller at centre with fully stained glass); each has hood-moulding with label stops; surmounted at centre by oculus with cusped light and hood-moulding. Abutted at left by porch.

Set within churchyard with modern hall to north-east. To west, site is accessed through double steel gates and secondary pedestrian gates to left, supported on modern square rock-faced concrete pillars and boundary wall, continuous to north. To south and east, wire fencing encloses site; manse to south.

Roof Natural slate
Walling Smooth render
Windows Square-headed timber-framed casements; leaded stained glass to central section
RWG Cast-iron ogee gutters and round downpipes

Historical information

The church is first appears on the third edition OS map of 1902.

The first reference to the church appears in the 1901 valuations, under exemptions. The entry details ‘Whitehead Methodist church and caretakers apartments' valued initially at £30, and thereafter revised to £26.10s. (date not given). The reduction in value corresponds to the crossing out of the caretaker’s apartments.

According to the Irish Architectural Archive, the church was designed by Herbert Sykes to accommodate 300 people, and was opend 1900.

References

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/1/47/3 - Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1902)
2. PRONI VAL/12/B/7/18A-F - Valuations Revisions (1864-1929)

Secondary Sources

1. Irish Architectural Archive. ‘Dictionary of Irish Architects.’ [Internet source] Available from:
Accessed 20/05/09.

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

V. Authorship
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A detached late Victorian/Edwardian Methodist Church with simple Arts and Crafts styling, dated 1900, located to the east side of Balmoral Avenue. The church retains all original features both externally and internally, for example, timber framed tracery to windows and plasterwork detailing. The stylings of these features give the building a certain picturesque quality. The church is a well preserved and relatively rare example of church architecture from the period.