Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB19/04/032

Address :
Zion Priesthill Methodist Church Kesh Road Hillsborough County Down BT27 5RR

Townland:
Aghnatrish / Annacloy

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Survey 2:
Record Only

Date of Listing:

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Church

Former Use
Church

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
183/04

IG Ref:
J2226 6046

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Owner Category

Church - Methodist

Exterior Description And Setting

A double-height, single-cell Methodist Church built 1938 and extended c.1850; located east of Kesh Road, Hillsborough. T-shaped on plan with return to rear (c.1850), single-storey extension to north and porch to south. Pitched natural slate roof having blue/black angled ridge tiles. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods (cast-iron half round to rear return) with cast-iron hoppers. Walling is ruled-and-lined cement render with quoins. Windows are a variety of round-headed leaded and stained glass with masonry sills. The principal (road-facing) elevation faces west and is three windows wide (that to centre is elevated). The north elevation is almost fully abutted by single-storey extension set on a slight slope; gable is blank; west elevation has slightly projecting porch under eaves with modern half-panelled timber door and modern timber window to left; east elevation has modern window to right. The east elevation has window to either side of return; return has single window to gable; north elevation has a window to right of centre, south elevation has a window to left of centre and small timber-sheeted door to right. The south elevation is abutted by porch, opening to west with five-panelled double-leaf replacement timber door under canopy supported on square cement-rendered column. Setting: To north is small church hall; to south is larger church hall built 1999. The church is at a lower level from the road, having shrubbed and lawned garden to front and overlooking unspoiled countryside to rear. Tarmacadamed entrance to west accessed via cast-iron gates on square gate piers having ball finials; boundary wall is rendered brick with masonry coping; minor gate piers to start of curved entrance. To rear is tarmacadamed car-park, enclosed by modern timber fencing. Roof: Natural slate Walling: Lined-and-ruled render Windows: Variety of round-headed leaded and stained glass RWG: Cast iron

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

Priesthill Methodist Church was first opened on Christmas Eve 1838 replacing an earlier meeting house which was previously located in the townland of Annacloy. The name Priesthill originated from the church’s proximity to either the small hamlet, or a house, of this name which is depicted on the 1833 first edition Ordnance Survey map. The new church first appeared on the second edition Ordnance Survey map of 1858 where it was depicted as an oblong building situated on the Kesh Road which led from Hillsborough to the Maze Racecourse. At that time the Ordnance Survey recorded the church as a ‘Methodist Meeting House’ and included a very small out office to its east side which has since been taken down. In 1861 Griffith’s Valuation recorded that this church was a Wesleyan Methodist chapel which was exempt from valuation but was worth £6. The fourth edition of the Ordnance Survey map (1919-20) showed a larger building from that shown in 1833. The church was then depicted as a rectangular building possessing two north-east facing returns. By this time a Sunday school and a Manse had been added to the Church; the Sunday school was shown as a small oblong building situated to the north-west of the main church building. The first meeting house used by the congregation was erected in 1786 at a time when there were very few places of worship in the immediate area, and fewer still which represented the Methodist faith. The original church, which was located approximately half a mile south-east of the current building, was a simple structure constructed of mud walls and which possessed a thatched roof like many of the surrounding houses (Kelly, p. 113; Law). In 1798, when the rest of Ireland was in a state of upheaval, the congregation of Priesthill became divided when around 200 members seceded from the Methodist Church and joined what became known as the ‘New Connexion’ Methodist Church, an English denomination which had been established in 1797 and emphasised the union of the church and its members with other societies (usually a number of churches on a circuit). Law tells us that by the 1830s this meeting house was still occupied by members of the New Connexion but had fallen into a state of dilapidation and the congregation proceeded to organise a building fund for the construction of a new church building. The Marquis of Downshire gave a gift of 10 guineas to the fund and also provided a number of stones from his quarry; the congregation acquired the current plot of land in Annacloy in 1838 and at Christmas that same year the new church was dedicated by Rev. William Cooke, the superintendant of the New Connexions mission in Ireland. Law states that the new church was originally a modest rectangular building, the interior of which was lit by four windows in the rear wall and was heated by a central stove; later, c. 1850 the capacity of the church was increased with the addition of a rear return. In 1839 the congregation consisted of 93 members who were required to sit on forms as the church did not originally possess any pews. As a member of the Lisburn circuit (which included congregations in Broomhedge, Lisburn, Ballinderry, Stoneyford, Ballyskeagh, Ballymacash, Moyrusk, Englishtown, Moira, Bog, Longstone and Halftown) Priesthill did not employ its own preacher until 1854 when John Shuttleworth became the first incumbent minister of Priesthill. Shuttleworth was the first minister to reside in the church’s manse which was constructed in the same year. The schoolhouse to the north side of the church was built c. 1870 and is currently also used as a hall; between 1840 and c. 1870 Sunday school had been held in the church and at teacher’s residences. In 1888 the new church celebrated its 50th anniversary jubilee and in the following year a new harmonium organ was installed to celebrate this milestone. In 1905 the New Connexion Methodists in Ireland reunited with the Wesleyan Methodists and from that year the congregations of Priesthill, and also Broomhedge, were integrated into the Wesleyan Methodist circuit of Lisburn. These two churches were subsequently reorganised into a joint congregation which was led by the Rev. Henry Kevin who resided at Broomhedge Manse. Church attendance had declined slightly by 1907 to 85 members with 13 on trial, however the church building was well maintained; in 1926 the building and its manse were whitewashed while a heating system was installed in the church replacing the central stove which had been used since the 1830s. 1938 was an important year in the history of the church at Priesthill as the church celebrated a double anniversary, the centenary of the erection of the new Church and the bicentenary of the conversion of John and Charles Wesley; however soon after these celebrations the church was impacted by the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1939 black out material was purchased for the windows of the church due to the fear of imminent air raids. Evening services were brought forward by a number of hours, although by 1941 most of these services were discontinued as the Blitz intensified. The greatest impact of the war on the congregation was the influx of new attendants which resulted from the establishment of an R.A.F. base less than a mile north-east of the church at the Maze; Priesthill became the spiritual home of a number of English airmen who were stationed in the area for the duration of the war. A number of repairs to the church were carried out in the period after the war (a number of these repairs were planned pre-1939 but building materials became increasingly scarce as a result of the conflict); in 1949 the original wooden frames of the rear church windows were replaced with ‘leaded lights’ and in 1952 a new lighting system was installed when mains electricity reached the area. The church kitchen and toilets were attached to the schoolroom in 1955 and in the following year the current porch was added to the south elevation. In 1961 the church manse, which had not been occupied by the preacher for some time (who presumably resided at Broomhedge manse), was rented out although the church retained the front room of the house for use as a vestry, until the current vestry room was added to the church. Further changes were carried out in 1974 when the current church hall was constructed to the south of the church; the building work was undertaken by Mr. Sydney McCready who laid the foundations in June, completing the hall by November 1974 when it was dedicated. The harmonium organ, which had been installed in 1889, was replaced by a new electronic organ in 1974. Five years later two stained glass windows were installed in Priesthill, dedicated to the memory of a Miss Edith Stewart. The church was modernised with the installation of a new central heating system in 1979 and new light fittings in 1985 (Law). The congregation of Priesthill continues to worship in this building which has been extensively restored and extended since its construction in the 1830s and is notable in the history of Irish Methodism as one of the first churches to secede from the parent body. References Primary Sources 1. PRONI VAL/1/B/344 A-B – Townland Valuations 1834 2. PRONI VAL/1/D/3/5 – Town Plan 1834 3. PRONI OS/6/3/14/1 – First Edition OS Map 1834 4. PRONI OS/6/3/14/2 – Second Edition OS Map 1858 5. PRONI OS/6/3/14/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1902-1903 6. PRONI OS/6/3/14/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1919-1920 7. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/45A-C – Griffith’s Valuation 1856-64 8. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14A – Annual Revisions 1864-1879 9. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14B – Annual Revisions 1880-1889 10. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14C – Annual Revisions 1890-1908 11. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14D – Annual Revisions 1909-1928 12. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14E – Annual Revisions 1928-1930 Secondary Sources 1. Kelly, D., ‘Lisburn’s rich church heritage: Churches and places of worship in the Lisburn city area’ Lisburn: Impression Print and Design, 2009. 2. Law, I., ‘A tale of two churches: Two centuries of Methodism at Priesthill: 1786-1986’ (Pamphlet, c.1986).

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

Not listed

Historic Interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A small double-height, T-plan Methodist Church from 1838; located east of Kesh Road, Hillsborough. The recently refurbished addition to the north and the large modern church hall to south compromise the setting. The addition of a return c.1850 altered the orientation of the church, the dais repositioned to the west wall. Despite these alterations and extensions the character of the original late Georgian church is stilll apparent and the T- plan layout and retention of the box pews in all three arms make this church of interest. However it is not of sufficient interest to warrant listing

General Comments

Date of Survey

23 November 2010