Ardquin (C of I) Parish Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Small simple 'Commissioners' Gothic' C of I parish church of 1827 with three storey battlemented square tower and single storey nave. The building is set on a rise just to the E of the Abbacy Road, c.3 miles N of Portaferry. There is a small accompanying graveyard.

The tower is to the SW and has diagonally buttressed corners with openings at three levels. Ground floor south west elevation of tower has timber sheeted double door set within equilateral arch with chamfered stone architrave and label moulding. Above door is long narrow diamond paned lancet window set in chamfered opening with label moulding, with similar, but smaller louvered opening at uppermost level. Buttresses stop below uppermost level. North west and south east elevations of tower blank except for uppermost level, which is as front elevation. The tower is battlemented, and originally had tall corner pinnacles, but these were removed in 1982. Chamfered plinth to tower.
The rest of the church consists of a simple gabled building with a pitched roof with Bangor blue slates with three windows to each side similar to that on middle level of front elevation of tower.

The gable end to the rear has a small gabled projection (for the altar) with a large equilateral opening two lancet windows and a quatrefoil, with diamond panes to lancets. Attached to the gable (and the altar projection), to the south east elevation is a small rubble gabled vestry [?extension] with a small lancet window to its south east elevation and outline of now blocked shouldered head doorway in south west elevation.

The façade is largely finished in rough cast render.

Small graveyard to north west and south east of church with both Catholic and Protestant headstones dating as far back as 1769 at least, with a cross slab of uncertain date (see secondary source ref. No.6 below). Low rendered wall with wrought iron gates directly in front of church with higher rubble wall to each side of this at front.

Historical information

This Church of Ireland church was consecrated on January 19th 1827, its construction largely due to the efforts of Bishop Mant, who created the separate parish of Ardquin in 1825. The site, however, has a much older history than the present building, with a church, an abbey,and a Bishop’s manor present within this area in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries (and mentioned in the Papal taxation records of 1306). The remains of a later manor ( still somewhat erroneously called ‘The Abbacy’), built by Bishop Echlin the early 1600s are still visible just metres to the west of the present church.

The roof of the church was blown off in the Great Wind of January 1839, but later repaired using similar cast iron scissor trusses to those used in the re roofing of neighbouring Ballyphilip Parish Church, also damaged during the same storm. Pinnacles to the tower were removed recently.

References- Secondary sources
1 'Ulster Journal of Archaeology', 1871, p 34, 108
2 'St. Patrick’s Church Ballyphilip 1762-1962' [Souvenir booklet] (Portaferry, 1962), p. 91
3 'Archaeological Survey of County Down' (Belfast, 1966), pp. 255-56 [Notes on the site and ‘The Abbacy’.]
4 G. Philip Bell, C.E.B. Brett, Sir Robert Matthew, 'Ulster Architectural Heritage Survey: Portaferry & Strangford'
(Belfast UAHS 1969), p. 21
5 R.S.J. Clarke (compiler) 'Gravestone Inscriptions Vol.13, County Down, Barony of Ards' (UHF Belfast [?1975]), pp.18-24
6 Rev. J.P.O. Barry, "Church of Sti. Nicholai de Phelpeston in le Ardes" in' Journal of the Upper Ards Historical Society No.6' (1982), pp.11-14
7 Rev. S. McCullough, "A Special Service at Ardquin" in 'Journal of the Upper Ards Historical Society No.16' (1992), p.11

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

Evaluation

Small simple 'Commissioners' Gothic' C of I parish church of 1827 with three storey crenellated square tower and single storey nave. The church is little altered and enjoys a fine setting.