Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB19/01/032 A

Address :
Ballinderry Moravian Church Portmore Road Lower Ballinderry Lisburn County Antrim BT28 2BF

Townland:
Ballinderry

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Survey 2:
B+

Date of Listing:
10/12/1991 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Church

Former Use
Church

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
Yes

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
144/16

IG Ref:
J1278 6767

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

Symmetrical double height roughcast rendered Moravian Church, destroyed by fire and rebuilt c. 1835, located to the north side of Portmore Road, Lower Ballinderry. Rectangular on plan aligned north-south with attached two-storey former manse at north, also built c.1835 (HB19/01/032B). Roof is pitched natural slate with roughcast rendered, corbelled chimneystacks with four decorative pots (located at party wall with manse HB19/01/032B) and bell-cote at south gable. Rainwater goods are replacement metal on corbelled rendered eaves. Walling is roughcast rendered, principal south gable including porch is ruled-and-lined with stepped painted quoins and smooth rendered plinth. Windows are round-arched headed multi-paned timber framed sliding sash with painted projecting masonry sills. Principal gable faces south and is abutted at ground floor by single-storey entrance porch with pitched natural slate roof. Exposed walling comprises stepped painted quoins, and double string course. Entrance porch has pitched natural slate roof, scalloped timber bargeboard and finial; double vertically sheeted timber entrance door surrounded by a smooth rendered band; surmounted by leaded light oculus and downlight. Round-arched headed fixed window at east set in plain plastered reveal. West elevation contains three windows at right. North gable is abutted by three bay former manse of similar height (HB19/01/032B). East elevation contains three windows at left. Setting: The church is set on a narrow site which lies perpendicular to Portmore Road, Lower Ballinderry. The graveyard is located to the east side of the church, separated by a narrow gravel pathway and rubble stone wall and hedging. The graveyard west boundary wall is lined with mid-nineteenth century grave markers. The graveyard is partially enclosed at south by a roughcast rendered wall with stone coping and wrought-iron railings, remainder at east and north is enclosed by hedging. The church and associated car-parking can be accessed at east from Crumlin Road or from south entrance which comprises central wrought iron vehicular gate supported on square roughcast rendered piers with stone pyramidal caps flanked by plinth wall and diminished pier in similar style supporting replacement painted metal railings. Roof: Pitched natural slate Walling: Painted roughcast render Windows: Multi-paned timber framed sliding sash RWG: Replacement metal

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

The Moravian Church at Ballinderry is recorded in the Townland Valuation 1838 as ‘Moravian Chapel,’ a 1b+ class building measuring 60 ft by 25 ft and 14 ft high, valued at £4. 14s. The Chapel first appears on the 1832 Ordnance Survey map in its current form as a quite lengthy oblong building which extended from the Portmore Road. Two small out offices appear on the first edition map, but only one remains by the second edition (1858) when the site is recorded as ‘Moravian Church.’ No further changes are discernible on the later editions of the Ordnance Survey; the length of the building on the map tells us that the chapel and manse were joined from at least 1832, however there is no earlier evidence that depicts a previous layout to the church building; the current layout of the chapel has not been altered since the 1830s. The Ordnance Survey Memoirs (1833-38) describe the Chapel as ‘a very neat oblong edifice, one-storey high and slated, and situated nearly north and south. Over the south end stands a neat cupola, a bell and van, and attached to the north end a very handsome two-storey and slated house for the minister’s dwelling. The interior of the chapel is spacious and well lit by three large arch windows on the west side, entrance by a large arched door on the south gable in front of the adjoining road ... the walls of stones and lime and two feet in thickness.’ The writer states that the interior of the Church measures 38 ft by 23 ft, the Manse therefore being around 20 ft in length. The Memoir describes the interior thus: ‘The pulpit, a modern and neat structure, stands to the north gable elevated some feet above the floor, and suspended from the ceiling a handsome brass chandelier, and a communication from the chapel to the minister’s dwelling by a door on the north gable.’ The Chapel could accommodate 198 people, although, at the time of writing the memoir (c. 1835) the interior of the chapel had not yet been completed. Adjoining the church ground was the chapel’s burial ground which contained a large number of graves in c. 1835 the oldest of which dated from 1767. The Ordnance Survey Memoirs tell us that Ballinderry Moravian Church was established in Lower Ballinderry by the Moravian minister Rev. John Cennick (1718-1755) in the 1750s; the land for the Chapel purchased from Ben Haddick, a local farmer. The Marquis of Hertford charged £1. 10s. rent for the site. The first Moravian Chapel, a thatched building, was erected with the aid of Moravian Congregations in Ireland and England. In 1821 it was rebuilt and slated. A new organ was installed and the interior renovated all at the cost of £700. which was raised by subscription (a Mrs Bates gave £325 whilst the Marquis of Hertford contributed £20) A young ladies academy was also added to the chapel building, however on Easter Sunday 1835 the Chapel was destroyed in an accidental fire. The current chapel building was quickly constructed and opened on 16th June 1836. The memoir details that the Moravian membership had been dwindling in recent years and that the average congregation ranged from 30 to 40 people. The minister at that time the Rev. John Chambers received £40. annual income and resided in the Manse attached to the Chapel. The Townland Valuation of 1838 valued the Manse at £9. 17s. 10d. Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64) valued the Chapel at £8, the Manse was presumably the next recorded house in the Valuation book occupied by the Rev. Henry Shaw, now valued at £7. There was no change to this valuation by the time the Annual Revisions ended in 1928. NIEA Records concerning the Church include a letter from a Mr Raymond Clarke who states that the Church was ‘built in 1755 on the site of an old cock fighting pit’ (NIEA File). Kelly tells us that the original chapel was opened on Christmas Day 1751 but was not recognised as a congregation until 1755. The girl’s school was established in 1805. Although the Townland Valuation valued the Chapel at £4. 14s. in 1996 Brett mistakenly wrote that it was worth £10. 3s. 1d. (Brett, p. 38). During the Irish Famine the Moravian Chapel at Ballinderry helped to support fisherman that operated around Lough Neagh. The current church organ was installed in 1851 and cost 50 guineas; Kelly states that it was repaired in 1969 after years of neglect (Kelly, p. 135). Brett comments on the ‘oddity’ of building the Chapel and Manse end-to-end. He approves of this practical arrangement and notes other examples at Taghmon, Co. Westmeath and a Methodist Church in Castlebar (Brett, p. 38). A Moravian Church at Kilwarlin, Co. Down, also founded by John Cennick, is designed in this curious fashion. The Church was listed category B in 1991 and in 1996 the exterior was replastered and the windows replaced (NIEA File). The Moravian Church was an early european based protestant movement said to have predated Lutheranism; Ballinderry Moravian Church was founded by the Evangelist John Cennick who established around 200 Moravian communities throughout Ireland. The following of the Moravian Church in the Republic of Ireland has greatly diminished, however Ballinderry Moravian Church is one of a small number of congregations that have continued to practice the Moravian tradition. Kilwarlin Moravian Church west of Hillsborough (HB19/05/133A-C) and the Moravian Church on University Road in Belfast are other examples of this small denomination. References: Primary Sources 1. PRONI VAL/1/A/1/62 – Field Map c.1830 2. PRONI VAL/1/B/167 – Townland Valuation c. 1830 3. PRONI OS/6/1/62/1 – First Edition OS Map 1832 4. PRONI OS/6/1/62/2 – Second Edition OS Map 1858 5. PRONI OS/6/1/62/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1900-1901 6. PRONI OS/6/1/62/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1920-1921 7. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/58 – Griffith’s Valuation 1859 8. PRONI VAL/12/B/9/3 A – Annual Revisions 1867-1879 9. PRONI VAL/12/B/9/3 B – Annual Revisions 1880-1894 10. PRONI VAL/12/B/9/3 C – Annual Revisions 1894-1905 11. PRONI VAL/12/B/9/3 D – Annual Revisions 1906-19112 12. PRONI VAL/12/B/9/3 E – Annual Revisions 1913-1928 NIEA File – HB19/01/032. Secondary Sources 1. Best, V., ‘A History of Ballinderry Moravian Church’ Lower Ballinderry: Ballinderry Moravian Church, 2000 (Pamphlet). 2. Brett, C. E. B., ‘Buildings of County Antrim’ Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1996. 3. Kelly, D., ‘Lisburn’s rich church heritage: Churches and places of worship in the Lisburn city area’ Lisburn: Impression Print and Design, 2009.

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

Historic Interest

W. Northern Ireland/International Interest Z. Rarity X. Local Interest Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

Symmetrical double height roughcast rendered Moravian Church, destroyed by fire and rebuilt c. 1835, located to the north side of Portmore Road, Lower Ballinderry. Rectangular on plan aligned north-south with attached two-storey former manse at north, also built c.1835 (HB19/01/032B). A plainly detailed barn style church with a simple bell-cote, the plan layout and internal fabric have remained largely unaltered since it was constructed in 1835. Adjoining the former manse, the church and adjacent graveyard form an important group. Together with nearby Kilwarlin Moravian Church (HB19/05/0133A-C), this group is a well-preserved example which represents the distinctive Moravian tradition of providing a linear arrangement of associated but separate functions under one roof. The building makes a significant contribution to the social history of the district and is of wider national significance.

General Comments

Included in Lower Ballinderry Area of Village Character Local Landscape Policy Area Map No. 12/002. Area LB06. This record has been renumbered from HB19/01/032 Criteria R, S & T also apply.

Date of Survey

14 September 2010