Hall at Comber Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Single storey gabled church hall of 1878, serving the close by Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church. The hall is set on a rise to the S of Mill Street, to the W of Comber town centre, with the church just to the N and the manse to the immediate S.

The front N gable has a central gabled porch with panelled door with semicircular fanlight to its N face. The fanlight has ‘radial’ tracery. Directly above the doorway is a shield-shaped date panel- ‘1878’. To the shorter E and W faces of the porch is a narrow semicircular arched sash window (6 panes over 4). The porch roof has an overhang, with plain barges, tie beam and brackets. Above the porch (to the main gable) there is a small roundel window.

The W façade of the main hall has five semicircular arch-headed sash windows with Georgian panes. The fourth window (from left) has been reduced in size, as a doorway (with wheel chair ramp) has been inserted beneath it recently. The N façade of the manse abuts the right hand (S) edge of this façade.

The E façade appears to have originally had five windows as W façade, however, a large modern, flat roofed extension has been added to this side, cutting across the three central windows in the process. Thus the windows have been drastically reduced in size, though they have retained a portion of their original frames. The windows to the far left and far right have been left intact.

The S gable faces into the yard to the E of the manse. Attached to it is a shallow, part two, part single storey lean-to, which (to the left) abuts the E façade of the manse. To the left on the S face of the lean-to is a narrow window to the ground floor, with another directly above to the first floor. Both these windows now have modern frames. To the left of these, markings to the render suggest a doorway has been blocked up. To the right of the windows is a timber sheeted door with small segmental fanlight, all set within a semicircular headed recess. To the right of this (on the single storey portion), is another timber sheeted door with fanlight, with a sash window (with Georgian panes 6 over 6), to the right of this.

The lean-to stretches to the E of the rear gable, where its short N face has a timber sheeted door with plain fanlight.

The façade is finished in unpainted lined render with in/out quoins to the front gable and porch. Chamfered base.

The roof of the hall is covered in natural slate (as are the porch and lean-to roofs) with an overhang. To the N gable the overhang has plain barges and a decorative tie beam with braces supported on brackets. Cast iron and PVC rw goods.

Historical information

This hall was built in 1878 to serve the close by Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church. It is marked as a ‘Lecture Hall’ on the OS map of 1901. The flat roofed extension to the E side appears to have been added in the 1980s. The stage is a recent installation also.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI MIC/1B/1 Records of Comber Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church 1838-1971.
2 PRONI OS/2/3/10 OS map, 2nd ed. 1901, Down 10.

Secondary sources
1 Sydney Andrews (ed. John Burls), ‘Nine Generations- A History of the Andrews Family, Millers of Comber’ (Isaac Andrews & Sons, 1958).
2 Norman Nevin ‘The Story of Comber’ (c.1980s) [typescript in Comber library].

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

Single storey gabled church hall of 1878 with small porch and overhanging roof with decorative tie beam large to front. Group value with the adjacent church and manse.