Ballyphilip (C of I) Parish Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Relatively small gothic C of I parish church of 1787, with tower and rubble façade, set in a delightful secluded area between High Street and Church Street. The church originally had a ‘lofty spire’ which was removed, due to damage, in 1810, and in its absence the square tower has something of a squat appearance. The chancel, vestry and transept were added in c.1870. To the rear of the church there is a small graveyard.

The tower is to the S gable of the building and projects only marginally forward from the gable itself, and the gable is actually set within a marginally larger nave gable. To the S face of the tower is the main entrance, which consists of a pointed arch door opening, which has a moulded and painted surround and is flanked (on the gable) by tall arched windows with sash frames with Georgian panes. Stone steps to entrance. Single narrow pointed arch window as before to first floor of the tower with three small slit openings directly above. Similar slit openings at this level to the E and W faces of the tower. Above the level of these is a string course. The tower itself is buttressed with simple pier/pilasters on each corner and finishes with tall pyramidal pinnacles and a stone-capped castellated parapet. It is surmounted by a bell which sits under a crude lead clad timber, open sided canopy.

The W facade of the nave has three pointed arch windows with moulded hood and label stops and moulded surround. The second and third windows have sash frames with Georgian panes, whilst the first window is now filled with stained glass.

The E façade of the nave has two windows as W façade. To the right of these projects the transept. To the E gable of the transept is a large pointed arch window with gothic tracery in sandstone. The N and S faces of the transept are blank. The gable of the chancel has a similar shaped window but with much plainer tracery. Set in the intersection of the chancel and the transept is a small lean-to vestry with a timber sheeted doorway to its E face. To the N face are two small pointed arch windows with lattice tracery. To the W side the chancel there is a lean-to projection similar to the vestry, but without a door and with a single window only to the N face.

Generally the walls are constructed of a random rubble (a mixture of sandstone and slate/black stone). Upper parts of the tower, exposed parts of the north gable of the nave, and the east wall of the nave are finished in grey unpainted lined render. The lean-to wings of the chancel have painted quoins. Most of the window surrounds are painted, others are in unpainted sandstone. The front gable has an eaves course with several narrow string courses. The exposed section of the rear gable of the nave is rendered and painted.

The roof of the nave has stone parapets to the gables of the nave and transept and is covered in Bangor blue slate with cast iron ridge tiles. The roof to the transept is similar, but has fire clay ridge tiles. There is a small chimney-like finial to the apex of the rear gable. Cast iron rw goods.

To N, E and W of the church is a small graveyard. To the S this is enclosed by a low, rendered wall with cast iron railings, whilst to the N, E and W there is a there is a taller rubble wall. The church grounds are approached from laneways from High Street (to the E) and Church Street (to the W). The Church Street entrance has square gate pillars which are rubble built with pyramidal caps. These enclose a vehicle entrance, with a pedestrian entrance to the N. The gates themselves are cast iron spear head variety. The laneway from High Street has an older looking wrought iron gate screen with vehicle entrance set between narrow cast iron posts.

Historical information

This church was completed in 1787 and replaced the Parish church of Templecraney, the ruins of which can still be seen in the old graveyard just within the gates of Portaferry demesne. The building cost £833 18s 9d in total, £500 of which was granted by the Board of First Fruits, with (according to the 1830s OS Memoirs) 'the remainder…collected by subscription and parish assessments', with the Savage family contributing £72 10s.

An interesting late eighteenth century set of plans contained within the Savage/Nugent Papers at PRONI reveal what is believed to be the original proposed layout for the church and show a building without chancel, vestry or transept and niches instead of windows in the north west elevation. The plan also reveals what appears to be a proposed lych gate and a laneway/road leading directly from the front of the church straight into the market square.

The original spire was removed in 1810 due to its dangerous condition and the church was renovated in 1836 with a grant of £343 from the Church Commissioners. The Ordinance Survey Memoirs, as well as commenting on the church's ‘unremarkable’ appearance, stated that a ‘steeple’ was to be added ‘which much it wants’, but this ‘want’ was not fulfilled. The chancel and transept are much later additions, dating from the 1870s.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI D.552/B/3/4/14-46 Savage/Nugent Papers (various plans etc. including proposals for Ballyphilip Parish Church).
References- Primary sources
2 Linen Hall Library ‘Pigot & Co.’s Dublin and Hibernian Provincial Directory’ (Manchester 1824)
3 'Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland Vol.7: Parishes of County Down II', ed. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB 1991)
4 PRONI OS/6/3/32/1 OS maps, 1st ed., 1834, Down sheet 32
5 PRONI VAL/1B/37 1st valuation, Ballyphilip, c.1835-38
6 PRONI VAL/1D/3/4 Valuation town plan of Portaferry, c.1838
7 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1846), p.520-23
8 PRONI and Linen Hall Library ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory’ Vols.1-21, 1852-1900, (Belfast, Henderson [1852-65], Belfast News-Letter [1865- ])
9 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1856), p.592-95
10 PRONI OS/8/23/1- OS town plan of Portaferry, 1859
11 PRONI Second ('Griffith's') valuation, 1863 [in print]
12 PRONI VAL/12E/112/1- Valuation maps of Portaferry, c.1863, with revisions of 1902
13 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1870), pp.341-43
14 PRONI OS/8/23/2 OS town plan of Portaferry, 1874
15 George Henry Bassett ‘County Down Guide and Directory’ (Dublin 1886)
16 PRONI OS/8/23/3 OS town plan of Portaferry, 1900
17 UFTM WAG 609, 611, 612 W.A. Green Collection, photographs of Portaferry Quay, harbour, Shore Road etc.
18 PRONI VAL/12E/112/2- Valuation maps of Portaferry, 1902, with revisions of 1935

Secondary sources
1 G. Philip Bell, C.E.B. Brett, Sir Robert Matthew, 'Ulster Architectural Heritage Survey: Portaferry & Strangford'
(Belfast UAHS 1969)
2 Dick Oram, "The Buildings of Portaferry" in 'Journal of the Upper Ards Historical Society No.16' (1992), p. 24

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
W. Northern Ireland/International Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

Relatively small but characterful gothic C of I parish church of 1787, with tower and rubble façade, set in a delightful secluded area between High Street and Church Street. The church originally had a ‘lofty spire’ which was removed, due to damage, in 1810, and in its absence the square tower has something of a squat appearance. The chancel, vestry and transept were added in c.1870. To the rear of the there is a small graveyard and to the east and west the church is approached with via two narrow lanes each with it own (apparently) 19th century gate screen.