Mountpottinger Presbyterian Church Hall & Lecture Room, Castlereagh Street, Belfast, Co Antrim

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A two-storey Victorian Church Hall and former lecture room dated 1893, built to the designs of Thomas Roe. Rectangular in plan form. Located off Castlereagh Street in east Belfast. The Hall adjoins a Presbyterian Church, constructed in 1869 and built to the designs of architect William Hastings.

Pitched natural slate roof; cast-iron ogee gutters and circular downpipes. Red brick walling laid to Flemish bond with terracotta mouldings with decorative eaves detail; square headed ground floor windows surmounted by terracotta pediment drip moulding; round-headed first floor windows with continuous drip moulding. Main entrance doors are double-leaf diagonally sheeted timber doors set into camber arched opening with chamfered surrounds.

The principal elevation faces southwest and is symmetrically arranged. The façade comprising a pilastered façade with decorative eaves detail; square headed ground floor windows surmounted by terracotta pediment drip moulding; round-headed first floor windows with continuous drip moulding. Recessed central bays embraced by full-width round-headed arches; paired ground floor windows with Palladian style first floor windows. Two sets of double-leaf diagonally sheeted timber doors set into camber arched opening with chamfered surrounds.

The left gable is four bays deep and is surmounted by a diminutive pediment bearing the date “1893” with “LECTURE HALL” inscribed on the frieze below. The appearance matches the principal elevation in detailing with decorative eaves detail; three round-headed Palladian style first floor windows with continuous drip moulding; Square headed ground floor windows surmounted by terracotta pediment drip moulding. The far left bay is partially abutted by a two storey church.

The rear elevation gable faces northeast and is abutted by a Romanesque-style six-bay two-storey church erected 1869. Its general appearance is red brick walling with varying mouldings. The principal gable faces northeast and is symmetrically arranged. Highly decorative façade. Raked coping and string course. Brick pilasters surmounted by squat moulded pinnacles. Single-storey lean-to porch with diminished side doors flanked by angled buttresses. Three round-headed first floor windows; central window deeply recessed within a narrow breakfront flanked by decorative buttresses rising above the upper cornice course and conjoined by a deep projected segmental-arched canopy. The left elevation is four bays deep. The right bay is a continuation of the front façade and is abutted by a two-storey curved stair-well with decorative machicolations and having a conical roof and plain windows; moulded brick reveals and chamfered stone cills and heads. Drop corbelled eaves with cogged course; ogee moulded gutters with downpipes centred on buttresses. The far left bay is partially abutted by a modern flat-roofed extension of no interest

The right elevation of the church hall is very plain with no detailing, partially abutted by a modern flat-roofed extension of no interest.

Setting:

The church hall is situated directly on the street and is a prominent feature in a largely two-storey terraced Victorian and modern residential
setting. The site is bounded by paving immediately to the North and South west sides of the Hall. Further terraces lines the streets to the sides with industrial units located on the North West end of the site, opposite the Hall.

Roofing: Natural slate
Walling: Red-brick/sandstone
Windows: Replacement Timber casement windows
RWG: Cast-iron

Historical information

The Annual Revisions record that construction of Mountpottinger Presbyterian Church on Castlereagh Street was completed by 1869 when it first appeared in the valuation books, valued at £180. The church remained at this value until 1906 when it was reduced to £160 (Ormeau Ward was first valued separately from the rest of central Belfast in 1906); this decrease in value occurred despite the renovation of the church c. 1903 when a new heating system was installed by Watt & Tulloch (Irish Builder, Vol. 45, 21 May 1903, p. 1765).

Between the construction of the church and its renovation, the Church Hall and lecture room was constructed to the rear of the building in 1893. This church hall was designed by Thomas Roe who was active in Belfast between approximately 1893 and 1901 (Roe designed Portadown Town Hall in 1889 and a number of other buildings throughout Ulster under the partnership name T. & R. Roe); the new hall was constructed at a cost of £1,373 2s. 8d. with Campbell & Lowry contracted as builders (Irish Builder, Vol. 35, 15 Mar 1893, p. 73; Dictionary of Irish Architects).

The value of the church remained at £160 until the end of the Annual Revisions in 1930; however, by the First General Revaluation of Northern Ireland in 1935 the value of the church and its hall was recalculated at £350. The second revaluation of the church did not take place until after the Second World War; by 1956 the value of the church had risen further and stood at £790, however under the 1957 Rent and Valuation Act this was reduced to £630 at which it remained until the end of the revaluation in 1972.

During the 20th century the congregation of Mountpottinger Presbyterian Church continued to grow hence the use of the adjoining Hall. The immediate area has been extensively redeveloped resulting in a decrease in the number of churchgoers; Mountpottinger Presbyterian Church was listed in 1987 and in 2006 the family membership numbered approximately 185 (Kirkpatrick, p. 168).

References

Primary Sources

1. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/A/7 – Annual Revisions 1863-1881
2. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/A/17 – Annual Revisions 1882-1896
3. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/A/31 – Annual Revisions 1897-1905
4. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/K/4 – Annual Revisions 1906-1915
5. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/K/8 – Annual Revisions 1915-1930
6. PRONI VAL/3/B/3/25 – First General Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1935
7. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/24 – Second General Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1956-1972
8. Irish Builder, Vol. 10, 1 Jun 1868; Vol. 35, 15 Mar 1893; Vol. 45, 21 May 1903.
9. Belfast Newsletter (2010)

Secondary Sources

1. Larmour, P., ‘Belfast: An illustrated architectural guide’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1987.
2. Kirkpatrick, L. ‘Presbyterians in Ireland: An illustrated history’ Dublin: Booklink, 2006.
3. First Survey Record – HB26/06/004 (1987)

Online Resources

1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
X. Local Interest
R. Age
S. Authenticity

Evaluation

A late Victorian, Romanesque-style, gable-ended, six-bay, two-storey hall & former Lecture Room erected in 1893. Built to the designs of architect Thomas Roe, it's general appearance is Flemish bonded red-brick with terracotta mouldings. The principal elevation faces southwest comprising a pilastered façade and decorative eaves detail; square headed ground floor windows surmounted by terracotta pediment drip moulding; round headed first floor windows with a continuous drip moulding. Recessed central bays embraced by full-width round headed arches: paired ground floor windows with Palladian style first floor windows. The left gable is surmounted by a diminutive pediment bearing the date "1893" with "LECTURE HALL" inscribed in the frieze below. Externally the building has retained much of its original character and detail and complements the architectural character of the adjoining church. Mountpottinger Presbyterian Church Hall remains in use and is of considerable social importance and interest to the local community. It also has group value with the adjoining church (HB26/06/004A).