Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB19/01/032 B

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

Townland:
Ballinderry

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Survey 2:
B1

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

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
House

Former Use
manse

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

Private

Exterior Description And Setting

Symmetrical double height roughcast rendered former manse, built c.1835, located to the north side of Portmore Road, Lower Ballinderry. Rectangular on plan aligned north-south with attached two-storey Moravian church at south (HB19/01/032A). Roof is pitched natural slate with two roughcast rendered, corbelled chimneystacks each with four decorative pots and bell-cote at south gable (south chimney is located on the party wall with church, HB19/01/032A). Rainwater goods are replacement metal on corbelled rendered eaves. Walling is roughcast rendered; windows are timber framed 6/6 sliding sashes set in cambered opening with painted projecting masonry sills. Doors are replacement timber panelled with replacement transom light. Principal elevation faces west and contains a central replacement timber door set in cambered opening, surmounted by replacement transom light and wall fixed lantern; accessed by single stone step. Entrance is flanked by a single window at each side; three equally spaced windows at first floor. North gable contains replacement entrance door off centre at left and small central timber casement window at first floor. East elevation contains at ground floor, a replacement casement window at centre flanked by second replacement window at right and replacement timber door at left (this is likely to have been a former window opening which would have maintained the symmetry used throughout the remainder of the building). South gable is abutted by double height Moravian Church of similar height (HB19/01/032A). Setting: The house is set on a narrow site which lies perpendicular to Portmore Road, Lower Ballinderry. The graveyard is located to the east side of the former manse, separated by a narrow gravel pathway and rubble stone wall and hedging. The former manse and church can be accessed at east from Crumlin Road or from church entrance at south 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: Timber framed 6/6 sliding sashes RWG: Replacement metal

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

The Ballinderry Moravian Church and Manse first appear on the first edition Ordnance Survey map in 1832 as a lengthy oblong building. The Moravian Church at Ballinderry was 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. Two small out offices appear on the first edition map, but only one remains by the second edition (1858) when the site first becomes known 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 its 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 Memoir tells 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 was 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 the Chapel was rebuilt and slated; it is likely that the current manse was constructed at the same time. The minister at that time, the Rev. John Chambers, received £40. annual income and resided in the manse attached to the Chapel. The Ordnance Survey Memoirs describe the Chapel as ‘a very neat oblong edifice, one-storey high and slated, and situated nearly north and south.’ The writer states that the chapel’s manse was ‘attached to the north end; a very handsome two-storey and slated house for the minister’s dwelling.’ The dimensions of the Church interior were 38 ft by 23 ft; the manse therefore measured around 20 ft in length by 25 ft breadth if we deduct this from the 1838 measurements. The Townland Valuation of 1838 valued the manse at £9. 17s. 10d. In 1805 a girl’s school was organised in the manse parlour by the Rev. Chamber’s wife; in later years a young ladies academy was also established there, however on Easter Sunday 1835 the Chapel and manse were destroyed in an accidental fire. The current manse was quickly constructed along with the church which reopened on 16th June 1836. In 1859 Griffith’s Valuation 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 further change to either valuation by the time the Annual Revisions ended in 1928. Kelly tells us that the original chapel was opened on Christmas Day 1751 but was not recognised as a congregation until 1755; at that time the manse was presumably a separate structure from the chapel building. 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. Brett comments on the ‘oddity’ of building the Chapel and Manse end-to-end. However, he approved of this practical arrangement and noted 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 distnctive fashion; it is served by the Rev. Patsy Holdsworth who is also the current minister of Ballinderry Moravian Church. The manse is therefore no longer used as the residence of the incumbent minister; the current owner has occupied the building since 1963. The manse was listed with the Chapel in 1991 and Kelly states that many improvements and repairs have been carried out on the manse in recent years (Kelly, p. 135). References: Primary Sources 1. PRONI VAL/1/A/1/62 – Field Map c.1830 2. PRONI VAL/1/B/167 – Townland Valuation 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 H-. Alterations detracting from building I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

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

Evaluation

Symmetrical double height roughcast rendered former manse, built c.1835, located to the north side of Portmore Road, Lower Ballinderry. Rectangular on plan aligned north-south with attached two-storey Moravian church at south (HB19/01/032A). The plan layout remains largely intact with internal fabric partially altered. Adjoining the Moravian church, the manse, 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. Renumbered from HB19/01/032. Criteria R,S & T also apply.

Date of Survey

14 September 2010