All Saints’ Church

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

All Saints' Church of Ireland was designed by Architect W J Fennell in 1898 and opened in 1899. It is a freestanding red brick late-Victorian Gothic Revival church with red Dumfries sandstone dressings. All Saints' Church is located on Canterbury Street, facing onto University Street, approximately halfway between Wolseley Street and the Ormeau Road in South Belfast, approximately 0.5 miles NE of The Lanyon Building (HB26/27/005) at Queen’s University. The front façade faces south onto University Street, and is enclosed by red brick terraced housing on Canterbury Street on the W side, and similar on Westminster Street on the E.

All Saints' Church consists of a tall central nave which is flanked by side aisles with lean-to roofs, a squat entrance tower with recessed porch to left side at front, a single-storey side entrance porch at SE corner facing onto Westminster Street and a c.1990 church hall extension in red brick to N at rear. The church is set back from University Street, behind original red brick dwarf walls with chamfered stone coping stones and red brick piers with pyramidal copings (coping to corner of University Street and Westminster Street is missing). Wrought iron railings to front & partially onto Westminster St. There are original wrought iron gates onto both Canterbury and Westminster Streets. Replacement railings continue along the length of both streets.

Church constructed in red compressed brick in Flemish bond. Natural Bangor Blue slate roofs with decorative terracotta ridge tiles to nave, and plain terracotta ridge tiles to other smaller roof areas. All openings to original church building have red Dumfries sandstone surround dressings, cills and hood moulds. Openings to vestry and chancel have brick voussoir heads and chamfered brick reveals. All windows to original church building are either stained glass or decorative, geometric-design leaded lights with pointed arch heads. Decorative terracotta vents beneath window cill level. Replacement extruded/seamless aluminium gutters above on brick corbelled eaves. Original Cast iron downpipes with decorative hoppers.

Front elevation (S)
Asymmetric façade with main gable to centre with three tall, stepped pointed-arch stained-glass windows at upper level and lozenge-shaped vent with decorative hood mould above. Stone Celtic Cross to apex. The gable is flanked by tall, raked buttresses. Left buttress is truncated just below the eaves line of the nave, but the right-side buttress rises above the apex of the main gable, with a small stone blind-arcaded tower and hexagonal spire with stone finial. Truncated square-plan tower to left side with hipped roof, with advanced, engaged five-sided squat tower with slit window openings to SW corner. Entrance porch with sandstone pointed-arch and recessed doorway beneath small gable, three stone steps to double ledged and sheeted timber doors, with historic wrought iron hinges. Wall-mounted memorial brass plaque within porch inscribed with ‘TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF QUEENIE GILLILAND THESE HANDRAILS HAVE BEEN PLACED HERE BY HER HUSBAND, DAUGHTER AND SISTERS. OCTOBER 1963’. Single storey entrance porch section on right side of main gable with 4 leaded windows within sandstone surround, parapet with small, hipped roof set back from façade.

Side elevation (W)
Facing onto Canterbury Street, long façade with truncated tower with hipped roof to right side below W side of buttress.
Single-storey side aisle with lean-to roof with five pairs of pointed-arch leaded-light windows separated by buttresses, aligned with smaller clerestory fenestration above on exposed upper section of nave. Left window of each pair has a hopper opening. Metal security grills applied to ground floor window openings. Single storey gabled vestry entrance to left side with pointed arch door opening on right side with brick voussoirs and chamfered brick reveals; timber sheeted door with historic wrought iron hinges and handle. Small window opening on left with 1/1 timber sliding sash window with plain sandstone head and cill. Chancel rises behind vestry with three pointed-arch window openings (behind perspex storm glazing). C.1990 single storey, red brick church hall extension on extreme left side with natural slate roof and signage over front door reading ‘THE CENTRE. ALL SAINTS’.

Rear elevation (N)
Small upper section of nave gable exposed, abutted by chancel. The latter gable has a small slit ventilation opening at high level, above three stepped pointed-arch window openings (behind perspex storm glazing, partially seen at time of survey). Lower section of chancel gable is abutted by church hall extension.

Side elevation (E)
Facing onto Westminster Street, side entrance porch on left side with double-leaf timber sheeted doors with wrought iron hinges and handle beneath pointed sandstone arch. Tower with spire rises above on left side. Single-storey side aisle with lean-to roof with a single bay on left side with one window opening, then five pairs of pointed-arch leaded-light windows separated by buttresses. Six pairs of smaller clerestory fenestration above on exposed upper section of nave. Right window of each pair has a hopper opening. Small single storey porch with timber sheeted door within brick pointed arch and beneath lean-to roof. Taller section behind porch with lean-to roof abutting chancel, with single blind opening on right side. Lower single-storey section on right with lean-to roof and triple window opening with sandstone surround, openings boarded with timber. Chancel rises above with tall, stepped brick chimney rising above eaves level with a single window opening on right (behind perspex storm glazing). Church hall extension on extreme right side facing onto street.

Materials:
Roof: Bangor Blues natural slate with terracotta ridge tiles
Walls: Red compressed brick in Flemish bond, red sandstone dressings
Windows: leaded lights and stained glass windows
RWGS: Original cast iron gutters, replacement extruded aluminium guttering

Setting:
Located on Canterbury Street, facing south onto University Street, flanked by red brick terraced housing on Canterbury Street on the W side, and similar on Westminster Street on the E. Original red brick boundary dwarf walls with chamfered stone coping stones and red brick piers with pyramidal copings. Wrought iron railings to front & partially onto Westminster Street. Original wrought iron gates onto both Canterbury and Westminster Streets at the S end. Replacement railings continue along the length of both streets. Tarmac finish to church grounds with strip of grass behind boundary walling to front. The former All Saints' School (HB26/27/086) is located approximately 150m to the E on University Street.

Historical information

All Saints' Church of Ireland was built in 1897-8 to designs by William John Fennell in order to meet the increasing needs of the congregation of ‘The Plains’. A chancel was added in 1905, also to Fennell’s designs. The town of Belfast formerly lay within the ancient parish of Shankill. However, at the end of the 18th century the only episcopalian church serving the parish was St Anne’s in Donegall Street (formerly Talbot Street) which had been constructed in 1778 to replace the old Corporation Church in High Street. As Belfast began to industrialise and its population underwent rapid expansion, further churches were built within the parish: St George’s, High Street (1816); Christ Church, College Square North (1833); St Matthew’s, Woodvale Road (1839) and St Mary Magdalene, Donegall Pass (1839), each being allocated a separate district.

The district allocated to St Mary Magdalene encompassed an area of land formerly known as ‘The Plains’, a low-lying area between Donegall Pass and Botanic Gardens. This stretch of land was sparsely developed until the second half of the 19th century when stone and timber merchant Robert Corry, having obtained a long lease from the Donegall estate, gradually filled the area with terraces of middle- and working-class dwelling houses. St Mary Magdalene church became increasingly overcrowded with ‘every rented pew let and every free seat occupied’ as ‘The Plains’ were developed. The incumbent became concerned that the Church of Ireland was being outstripped by other Protestant denominations and a potential congregation was ‘becoming dissenters simply from lack of church accommodation’.

The first churches to be built in the wider ‘Plains’ area were largely Presbyterian (Donegall Pass, 1872-3; Fitzroy, 1872-4; Reformed Presbyterian Botanic Avenue, 1874-5; Presbyterian Memorial Secession Botanic Avenue, 1877-79, Crescent 1885-7) with a Methodist Church being constructed at 85 Ormeau Road in 1872-3 and a Catholic Apostolic (a movement associated with Edward Irving of the Church of Scotland) church in Cromwell Road opening in 1885. It was not until 22nd October 1887, some years after Disestablishment in 1871, that a Church of Ireland for the growing Anglican congregation was dedicated by the Lord Bishop of the Diocese. Following a ‘generous’ donation of £200 from the Robinsons of Culloden House, a church for 750 people of tin construction was built, initially as a Chapel of Ease to St Mary Magdalene, the site having been obtained from Robert Corry. The new church was named ‘All Saints’ at the request of William Robinson MP and his wife Elizabeth (née Culloden).

The original tin church on the present site was said to be ‘the largest structure of the kind which has been erected in this part of the country and probably in Ireland’. Dimensions were 81 x 61 feet and the church had a central nave, two side aisles, a clerestory at a height of 40 feet and a spire/bellcote. The chancel provided accommodation for a classroom and a vestry and organ chamber. The building was lined with pine and a layer of felt between the iron and the wood provided insulation. The ‘Iron Church in the Plains’ was constructed by Musgrave and Co and was always intended to be temporary, until funds were raised to build a more permanent structure. After the new church of All Saints was completed, the ‘Iron Church’ was moved to the Beersbridge Road (c1897, moved to Templemore Avenue 1901) where it housed the congregation of St Clement’s until 1928.

Between the construction of the ‘Iron Church’ in 1887 and a church publication of 1895, a period of only eight years, the church estimated that upwards of 1,000 houses had been built in the parish, demonstrating the rapidity of development in ‘The Plains’ at the time. It was estimated that the parish numbered about 10,000 people in 1895 of whom one third were members of the Church of Ireland. The majority of the residents of the parish were thought to be working class, coming into the area from all parts of the city and many from rural areas outside Belfast.

In 1890, once the congregation was established, a successful application was made to divide the Parish of St Mary Magdalene, in order to create a new parish of All Saints, bounded on the N side by the railway, on the S and E by the Lagan and on the W by Botanic Avenue. An incumbent, Rev Oswald W Scott, was appointed the same year. An immediate problem was encountered because of the lack of any suitable room for Sunday or Day Schools or for meetings and to meet these needs, a schoolhouse, built to designs by Henry Seaver, was opened on 23rd May 1891. The school, for 400 children, was constructed a short distance from the church along University Street, due to the terms of the lease under which the church was built which meant that no ground was available on the site. Thomas McMillen, a member of the congregation, was the contractor and the hall was built at a cost of £900 including fittings. The school was used for Sunday and Day schools and bible classes but also effectively functioned as a parochial hall, and was used for a ‘Young Men’s Society’, Band of Hope, Mothers’ Meetings etc. The school was transferred to Belfast Education Authority in 1929.

The Iron Church was straining at the seams by this time and in the general area there was ‘not a vacant sitting in the Church to which parishioners can be invited’. In May 1894 active steps were taken to set up a Building Fund and plans were prepared by W J Fennell. The earliest known design and plan for the church appears in the Building News of 8th November 1895 (no original architect’s drawings for this church have been located at the time of writing). At this early stage, it was proposed to build the exterior facing of the church of white Scrabo sandstone, although the plan to use Scrabo stone was later dropped.

In 1894, the Select Vestry bought out the ground rent and secured a release from the covenants contained in the 1889 deed for the site of the church. All Saints’ Church held an ‘Oriental Bazaar’ in aid of the New Church Building Fund in the Ulster Hall on 5th, 6th and 7th December 1895. A ‘handbook’ for the bazaar has survived giving many interesting details of the event and of the church’s supporters at the time, who included Sir Edward Harland, Lady Arthur Hill, Sir Daniel Dixon and William J Pirrie.

The foundation stone of the new church was laid by Mrs Dunbar-Buller of Woburn House, Donaghadee, in August 1897 and the church was consecrated on 7th May 1898, without the projected chancel which was added later. The principal entrance to the church lay on the south-west corner which would also have given access to the proposed tower, and a secondary entrance was provided at the end of the east aisle. Following the later construction of the chancel two further entrances were added at the rear of the church, to either side. The roof and internal fittings were of pitch pine, the exterior of red compressed brick with red Dumfries sandstone dressings to doors and windows. The contractor was Robert Corry, who was the main developer of the ‘Plains’ area of Belfast. The cost was £6,000 and a debt of £2,000 remained on the church when it opened.

Because of the restrictions of the site, the church is orientated north to south rather than the more usual east to west. It was also decided that the church should have no galleries, giving an open and lofty interior space. The new church followed, to a considerable degree, the form of the original ‘Iron Church’, but was somewhat larger at 132 x 70 feet. Like the Iron Church, the plan form consisted of a nave and side aisles with clerestory and tripartite lancet window to the nave.

The Irish Builder carries an interior drawing of the new church which was exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1900 and shows that the roof and internal arrangements have been largely preserved. The original design for the church featured a substantial 108-foot tower with belfry and spire, but this was capped off at the first stage and never completed, similarly to Fennell’s other Belfast church, Cooke Centenary Church in the Ormeau Road. The design is described in the Irish Builder as ‘a plain treatment of the Early English Gothic, a style that lends itself generously to ecclesiastical work’.

A stone font was fitted in 1899. The font is of Caen stone, worked by the donor Samuel Bowers in memory of his brother James G Bowers to the designs of William J Fennell, the architect of the church. It has been suggested that the height of the communion table, which is approached by steps, bringing it to the level (and by implication, prominence) of the pulpit is a result of the influence of the ‘Oxford Movement’, a movement, many of whose principles were ultimately accepted by the church, that began in the 1830s and sought to reassert catholic and apostolic heritage within the Anglican church. (Information supplied by Church of Ireland officials)

Features seen at All Saints such as the use of Caen stone, detailed oak pulpit, choir with opposed seating, encaustic floor tiling in the chancel, and a polished brass chancel rail became characteristic of Anglican churches in this period, even being introduced in earlier churches, and are seen by O’Neill in his architectural history of the Church of Ireland as attempts to make parish churches appear more ‘cathedral-like’.

The architect, William J Fennell (d.1923) was a distinguished designer of church buildings, domestic dwellings and schools, his most well-known works being the Water Commissioner’s Office (1883), 68-70 Royal Avenue (1885), Cooke Centenary Church (1890-92), Mater Infirmorum Hospital (1894-1900), Cushendall Presbyterian Church (1899-90), Whitla Medical Institute (1902) and Harding Memorial School (1911-13) in Belfast. Fennell was a member of the Royal Irish Academy and a Fellow of the RIAI, as well as being a founder member of the RSUA.

Fennell, who was inspired by Ruskin’s architectural principles, had a keen interest in medieval architecture and frequently gave lectures on architectural history in Belfast. In February 1903, he presented a lecture entitled ‘Early English Architecture, or ‘England’s Record in Stone’, the text of which survives, in which he set out the history and character of Early English Gothic, his preferred ecclesiastical style, and the style he used in designing All Saints. Quoting Ruskin, he states, ‘Gather a branch from any of the trees or flowers to which the earth owes its principal beauty. You will find that every one of its leaves is terminated more or less in the form of the pointed arch; and to that form it owes its grace and character.’ The lecture gives a rare insight into the inspiration behind the design practice of a late 19th ecclesiastical architect. (Fennell papers)

All Saints was one of the largest churches in Belfast and MacNeice in his history of the Church of Ireland in Belfast notes that the trend in the 1890s was to build large churches. All Saints could seat 1200 or 1300 (however, it was said at the time to have been built for 1,000). He describes All Saints as ‘a fine church’ which had had ‘a succession of devoted men as incumbents’. The first incumbent was the Rev Oswald Scott, followed by Rev Ralph Bullick Cooke who was appointed in 1899. Rev Cooke was indefatigable in his attempts to raise money to remove debts on the fabric of the church and even visited America on two occasions to collect funds, meeting with President Roosevelt. Rev Cooke supervised the building and raised the funds for the chancel. Rev Cooke’s successor, from 1922, was Rev RCHG Elliott who later became the Bishop of Connor.

A contemporary newspaper article commented on the setting of the church, finding that it was ‘favourably situated for presenting a fine picture from various points of view’. The site was thought to give the church ‘an abundant supply of light and freedom of approach from all sides’ and also allowed for a ‘garden space’ around the church and a ‘carriage drive’ to the main entrance, features which some other local churches lacked. (Northern Whig)

It is possible that Fennell was involved in the naming of the streets either side of the church, which were named after the Iron Church was built. As a youth Fennell lived in both Canterbury and London, where the cathedral and Westminster Abbey appear to have made a deep impression on him. Among Fennell’s Belfast lectures was one entitled ‘Canterbury: A Lecture on the Gothic Art of England’ given in November 1905, and another on the same topic, called ‘Westminster’ in September 1906. The streets either side of All Saints are named Canterbury and Westminster, valuation records suggesting that Canterbury was named and developed first (c1891). Westminster Street was originally called Winchester in records of 1894 but the name was altered in the records to Westminster in 1895, around the time that Fennell produced his designs for the new church. This may indicate that Fennell exerted an influence on the naming of the adjacent streets, in addition to designing the church itself.

Once the debt on the church had been discharged, the projected chancel could proceed. The foundation stone was laid on 1st July 1905 and the chancel, costing £1,850, was consecrated on 6th January 1906. The contemporary architectural journal, the Irish Builder, commented that the church was now ‘one of the largest and most beautiful in the city’. The Lord Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore, in his opening sermon, remarked that one of the greatest beauties of architecture, ‘more than florid or enriched ornamentation’, was ‘the beauty of proportion’ which had been achieved at All Saints by the construction of the chancel.

Contractors for the chancel were Messrs H Laverty and Sons, with Clokey and Co providing the leaded lights (these were later replaced), Musgrave and Co the heating and R Patterson & Co, electric lighting. A small detached structure which is shown on the 1901-2 OS map at the rear of the church appears to have been incorporated into the chancel extension, and may therefore retain fabric dating to the construction of the main church building in 1897-8.

Once the chancel with organ chamber and vestry had been built, the church was ready for a new organ which was dedicated on 29th June 1906. One half of the cost of £600 was subscribed by the Scottish-American steel millionaire and philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie had a personal love of pipe organ music, having had pipe organs installed in his homes in New York and Scotland. From 1902, Carnegie supported the purchase of nearly 7,700 organs by Protestant churches across the world, over half of which were in the US. Carnegie’s foundation contributed half the cost and required that the church choose a pipe organ suited to the size of their church, but all denominations were eligible. In Belfast, St Anne’s church, Spamount Congregational Church and Agnes Street Methodist church all obtained Carnegie organs. The Carnegie organ at All Saints was installed by Messrs Evans and Barr of Victoria Street, the Belfast Telegraph of 28th June 1906 carrying a photograph of the newly installed instrument. The organ was rebuilt in 1963, the organ keyboard, stops etc being manufactured by Peter Conacher & Co, Huddersfield. However, the ornamental panelling and framing and possibly the pipes from the original Carnegie organ remain in place. Professor Philip Cranmer of Queen’s University gave the inaugural recital after its dedication.

Given the expanding needs of the congregation in the early decades of the 20th century, the schoolhouse became unsuitable for use as a parochial hall and a dedicated building, to designs by Blackwood & Jury, was constructed on a vacant site in University Avenue (the building is now (2024) known as City Church). The foundation stone was laid by Lord Charlemont, Minister of Education on 21st July 1926 and the hall was dedicated to Rev Ralph Cooke, the former incumbent, on 5th March 1927. No 25 Rugby Road was purchased for a rectory in 1931.

A three light war memorial window in the chancel commemorates 275 members of the congregation who fought in WW1, of whom 34 were killed, 70 wounded and 8 taken prisoner. The window featuring the ‘Faithful Warrior’ in the three lower panels was designed and made by Ward & Partners at a cost of £575 and is signed in the lower left corner. The upper panels suggest the earthly sufferings and final victory of Jesus Christ. The window was dedicated on 5th December 1920. Ward & Partners (active from 1894-c1930) of Stranmillis were the principal competitors of Clokey Studios and were responsible for memorial windows in City Hall and leaded lights in several Belfast churches including St Patrick’s Ballymacarrett and St Columba’s, Knock. The firm also designed windows for commercial buildings such as Scottish Provident and Ocean Buildings in Donegall Square.

Marble war memorial tablets on the walls list the names of those lost in First and Second World Wars and include a bell-shaped memorial to Corporal Walter Ferguson of the 14th Royal Irish Rifles who was killed at the Battle of the Somme at the age of 24. The memorial was erected in 1919, prior to the installation of the chancel War Memorial window.

The nave window was replaced in 1932 by what was known as the Twaddell Memorial Window, dedicated on 22nd May of that year and considered at the time to be ‘one of the finest [stained-glass windows] in the city’. Design drawings showing the window in its entirety were reproduced in the Northern Whig in 1932. William J Twaddell was a Belfast draper who sat on Belfast City Council as a UUP member from 1910. He was elected as a member of the NI Parliament for Belfast West in 1921 but was assassinated as he walked to his business in North Street on 22nd May 1922. Twaddell had been a churchwarden and parochial treasurer at All Saints for some years.

The window was designed and made by W J Douglas Sons & Co of Great Victoria Street, Belfast and is signed in the lower right corner. William Joseph Douglas was formerly chief artist for Ward & Partners, setting up an independent business in 1918. He was a prizewinning student at the Belfast School of Art, becoming a teacher there in 1909. Douglas also studied at the Royal College of Art in London. Although Dr David Lawrence refers to damage in the lower sections of the window (surveyed 2014), any damage has been repaired skilfully and is not now apparent.

Updated electric lighting was installed in 1935 and the chancel side windows were replaced the same year. It may have also been at around this time that a vestibule partition was installed across the south end of the nave, but the date of the partition is uncertain. Restoration work took place in the 1950s which included repairs to the fabric of the church as well as improvements to internal furnishings and equipment, at which time the original pulpit was replaced, the replacement oak pulpit being similar in size and character (‘wine-glass’ form) to the original depicted in the Irish Builder.

As the area around University Street began to change to offices and student accommodation, students, including overseas students, often joined the congregation. The Belfast Telegraph reported in 1955 that Malaysian and Nigerian students had become members of All Saints' choir. The church also witnessed changes in the role of women, Irene McCutcheon of All Saints becoming the first woman Lay Reader to be appointed in the Diocese of Connor in 1975.

Handrails to the front elevation of the church were installed in October 1963 in memory of Queenie Gilliland, a memorial plaque being located within the porch.In the late 1970s, a section of the aisle on each side of the church was divided off with full height plastered stud partitions, in order to provide parish rooms, the parish hall having been disposed of. The alterations were designed, with gothic-headed doorways, by Gordon McKnight, architect of University Street and retained original features, aside from pews. Drawings, dated February 1977, are held by the RCB library.

Subsequent to these changes, the baptismal font was moved to its present location (the font was most likely originally located under the nave window at the south end of the church but may have been moved when the vestibule partition was installed) and additional pews were removed from the area of the nave between the sectioned off parish rooms to create an ‘inner vestibule’. Architect, Robert E Quinn provided the designs for these changes and undated drawings are held by the RCB library.
Planning consent was obtained for a parochial hall to the rear of the church in 1991 (plans held by BCC Building Control) and the hall was constructed c1992, access into it being created through the NW corner of the church.

Other than these alterations, the plan and interior form of the church have remained relatively unchanged. Minor external changes include the possible loss of a chimney to the rear W elevation (see Building News drawing) and railings towards the rear of the church on both sides are modern.

Since the 2020s and more formally since 2023, All Saints' parish has been united with St Nicholas’ parish in the Lisburn Road, Sunday morning services taking place at St Nicholas and evening services at All Saints. All Saints continues to serve a congregation composed largely of young adults and students and provides free meals as well as church services on a weekly basis.

References:
Primary Sources:
1. PRONI OS/6/1/61/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1832-3)
2. PRONI OS/6/1/61/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1858)
3. PRONI OS/6/1/61/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1901-2)
4. PRONI OS/6/1/61/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1938)
5. Large scale Ordnance Survey maps 1873, 1884, 1902, 1920, 1931, 1959, 1970, 1986 (www.centremapslive.co.uk)
6. Belfast Newsletter, 19th November 1875
7. Belfast Morning News, 28th April 1879
8. PRONI D1878 William J Fennell papers (1883–1906)
9. Belfast Newsletter, 24th October 1887
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/A/14 (1882-1897) Valuation Revision Book Belfast Cromac Ward
11. Building News, Vol 69, 8th November 1895, p.665
12. The Builder, Vol 73, 2nd October 1897, p.266
13. Northern Whig, 30th August 1897
14. Belfast Newsletter, 9th May 1898
15. The Builder, Vol 75, 19th November 1898, p.451
16. Belfast Newsletter, 27th September 1890
17. Belfast Newsletter, 25th May 1891
18. All Saints’ Church Belfast: Handbook of Oriental Bazaar. (1895) Belfast: Printed by Marcus Ward & Co
19. Irish Builder, Vol 42, 1st July 1900, pp.402,404
20. Belfast Newsletter, 3rd July 1905
21. Belfast Newsletter, 19th October 1905
22. Belfast Newsletter, 20th October 1905
23. Belfast Newsletter, 8th January 1906
24. Irish Builder, Vol 48, 27th January 1906, p.70
25. Belfast Telegraph, 28th June 1906
26. Belfast Newsletter, 6th December 1920
27. Northern Whig, 3rd September 1927
28. Belfast Telegraph, 14th September 1928
29. Northern Whig, 21st May 1932
30. Belfast Newsletter, 23rd May 1932
31. Belfast Telegraph, 24th February 1934
32. Belfast Newsletter, 5th November 1938
33. Belfast Newsletter, 29th September 1939
34. Belfast Telegraph, 10th August 1955
35. Belfast Newsletter, 10th December 1963
36. Ulster Star, 21st February 1975
37. RCB Library architectural drawings https://archdrawing.ireland.anglican.org/
38. Belfast City Council Building Control archive

Secondary Sources:

39. Brett, C. (1985) Buildings of Belfast, 1700-1914. Belfast: Friar’s Bush Press
40. Costegalde, C. and Walker, B. (2013) The Church of Ireland: An illustrated history. Dublin: Booklink
41. Dictionary of Irish Architects, www.dia.ie
42. Dunwoody, C; Irving, C and Stephenson, J (c2010) St Mary Magdalene Parish Church: A History 1839-2010. (https://st-marymagdalene.org.uk/)
43. Information supplied by Church of Ireland officials
44. Larmour, P. (1987) Belfast: an illustrated architectural guide. Belfast: Friar’s Bush Press
45. Lawrence, Dr David. (1991-2017) Gloine – Stained Glass in the Church of Ireland www.gloine.ie
46. Leathem, W S (1959) These Seventy Years: A History of All Saints’ Parish, Belfast. Belfast: Belfast Newsletter
47. MacNeice, J.F. (1931) The Church of Ireland in Belfast. Belfast: William Mullan
48. McCready, D. (2006) The ordination of women in the Church of Ireland. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature. Vol 106C, pp.367-394)
49. O’Neill, M. (2023) An Architectural History of the Church of Ireland. Dublin: Church of Ireland Publishing
50. O’Reilly, Barry (2005) Ireland’s corrugated iron (‘tin’) churches, in Condit, Tom and Corlett, Christiaan (eds.), Above and Beyond: essays

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
E. Spatial Organisation
H+. Alterations enhancing the building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

All Saints’ Church of Ireland was built in 1897-8 to designs by William John Fennell to meet the increasing needs of the congregation of ‘The Plains’ a low-lying area between Donegall Pass and Botanic Gardens. The architect, W J Fennell (d.1923) was a distinguished designer of church buildings, domestic dwellings and schools, his most well-known works being the Water Commissioner’s Office (1883), 68-70 Royal Avenue (1885), Cooke Centenary Church (1890-92), Mater Infirmorum Hospital (1894-1900), Cushendall Presbyterian Church (1899-90), Whitla Medical Institute (1902) and Harding Memorial School (1911-13) in Belfast. Fennell was a member of the Royal Irish Academy and a Fellow of the RIAI, as well as being a founder member of the RSUA.

The development of the church is synonymous with the growth of the town of Belfast with the extant brick church having replaced an earlier iron church. As Belfast began to industrialise and its population underwent rapid expansion, a number of churches were built within the parish including St Mary Magdalene, Donegall Pass (1839). It was not until 22nd October 1887, some years after Disestablishment in 1871, that a Church of Ireland for the growing Anglican congregation was dedicated by the Lord Bishop of the Diocese. The new church, constructed in iron, was named ‘All Saints’ at the request of the donors. The original tin church on the present site was said to be ‘the largest structure of the kind which has been erected in this part of the country and probably in Ireland’. The ‘Iron Church in the Plains’ was constructed by Musgrave and Co and was always intended to be temporary, until funds were raised to build a more permanent structure. In May 1894 active steps were taken to set up a Building Fund and plans were prepared by W J Fennell. The foundation stone of the new church was laid in August 1897 and the church was consecrated on 7th May 1898, without the projected chancel which was added at a later date also to designs by Fennell.

The church is orientated north to south rather than the more usual east to west with no galleries, giving an open and lofty interior space. The new church followed, to a considerable degree, the form of the original ‘Iron Church’, but was somewhat larger. Like the Iron Church, the plan form consisted of a nave and side aisles with clerestory and tripartite lancet window to the nave. The original design included an unexecuted 108 ft tower with belfry and spire similar to Fennell’s other Belfast church, Cooke Centenary Church in the Ormeau Road. The design is described in the Irish Builder as ‘a plain treatment of the Early English Gothic, a style that lends itself generously to ecclesiastical work’. The interior is replete with stone font, fitted in 1899 of Caen stone also to the designs of William J Fennell with oak pulpit, choir with opposed seating, encaustic floor tiling in the chancel, and polished brass chancel rail all characteristic of Anglican churches in this period. The Carnegie organ, the ornamental panelling and framing and possibly the pipes from the original organ remain in place and greatly add to the quality of the interior.

The church is further enhanced with good glass to all elevations including three light war memorial window in the chancel commemorating 275 members of the congregation who fought in WW1, featuring the ‘Faithful Warrior’ designed and made by Ward & Partners. The nave window was replaced in 1932 by what was known as the Twaddell Memorial Window, dedicated on 22nd May of that year and considered at the time to be ‘one of the finest [stained-glass windows] in the city’ by W J Douglas Sons & Co of Great Victoria Street. Marble war memorial tablets on the walls list the names of those lost in First and Second World Wars. In the late 1970s, a section of the aisle on each side of the church was skilfully divided off with full height plastered stud partitions, in order to provide parish rooms, the parish hall having been disposed of. The alterations were designed, with gothic-headed doorways, by Gordon McKnight. Other than these alterations, the plan and interior form of the church has remained relatively unchanged. Minor external changes include the possible loss of a chimney to the rear W elevation and replacement railings to the rear of the church on both sides.

Fennell, who was inspired by Ruskin’s architectural principles notably presenting a lecture entitled ‘Early English Architecture, or ‘England’s Record in Stone’, the text of which survives, in which he set out the history and character of Early English Gothic, his preferred ecclesiastical style, and the style he used in designing All Saints. Quoting Ruskin, he states, ‘Gather a branch from any of the trees or flowers to which the earth owes its principal beauty. You will find that every one of its leaves is terminated more or less in the form of the pointed arch; and to that form it owes its grace and character.’ The lecture gives a rare insight into the inspiration behind the design practice of a late 19th ecclesiastical architect. (Fennell papers).

All Saints was one of the largest churches in Belfast and MacNeice in his history of the Church of Ireland in Belfast notes that the trend in the 1890s was to build large churches. He describes All Saints' as ‘a fine church’ which had had ‘a succession of devoted men as incumbents’. A contemporary newspaper article commented on the setting of the church, finding that it was ‘favourably situated for presenting a fine picture from various points of view’. The site was thought to give the church ‘an abundant supply of light and freedom of approach from all sides’ and also allowed for a ‘garden space’ around the church and a ‘carriage drive’ to the main entrance, features which some other local churches lacked. (Northern Whig)

It is also possible that Fennell was involved in the naming of the streets either side of the church, which were named after the Iron Church was built. Among Fennell’s Belfast lectures was one entitled ‘Canterbury: A Lecture on the Gothic Art of England’ given in November 1905, and another on the same topic, called ‘Westminster’ in September 1906. The streets either side of All Saints are named Canterbury and Westminster with valuation records suggesting that Canterbury was named and developed first (c1891). Following the erection of the chancel (1905), the contemporary architectural journal, the Irish Builder, commented that the church was now ‘one of the largest and most beautiful in the city’. The Lord Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore, in his opening sermon, remarked that one of the greatest beauties of architecture, ‘more than florid or enriched ornamentation’, was ‘the beauty of proportion’ which had been achieved at All Saints by the construction of the chancel.

All Saints' Church is a robust presence on University Street with its setting enhanced by the close proximity of terraced housing flanking side elevations in Canterbury Street on W side and Westminster Street on E elevation forming a pleasing urban form. The building is of local interest and social and cultural importance.