Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/05/008

Address :
McQuiston Presbyterian Church 83 Castlereagh Road Belfast Co. Antrim BT5 5FE

Townland:
Ballymacarret

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
04/12/2014 00:00:00

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:
147-2

IG Ref:
J3591 7338

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Owner Category

Church - Presbyterian

Exterior Description And Setting

A double-height red brick gabled church in Gothic-revival style dating from 1896 designed by local architects Young & Mackenzie and constructed by Robert Corry of Donegal Pass. Rectangular plan form with a square-plan tower to SE end and a modern two-storey pitched-roof red-brick hall to W end. The church is located to the W side of Castlereagh Road, between Moneyrea Street and Leitrim Street. Pitched natural slate roof with crested red-clay ridge tiles and sprocketed eaves. Raised stone verges to gables with stone kneelers and pointed finials to apex. Cast iron ogee guttering supported on moulded and dentilled cornicing discharging to circular section downpipes. Red brick walling laid to Flemish bond with projecting plinths. Stained leaded glazing to windows (unless noted otherwise). East elevation: The principal elevation faces E and consists of a gabled bay flanked by a recessed bay to N and the tower to S end. Large pointed arch five-part traceried window to the centre of the gable with a continuous splayed cill. Paired pointed arch doorway below with moulded sandstone surround supported on columns. Quatrefoils to tympani and triangular pointed-arch hood mould supported on head-stops. The doorways open onto a platform with two stone steps. Segmental headed door openings with double-leaf glazed timber panelled doors with fanlights. The name of the church and its date of construction are carved above the doorway. Two-stage buttress to N end of gable topped by a pinnacled finial. The bay to N end has a narrow round arched opening to GF and two round-arch opening to FF. Single stage buttress to N end. Square plan four-stage tower to S end with three-stage angled buttresses. Two narrow pointed-arch windows to first stage facing E and a single window facing S. Narrow pointed arch window to second stage with continuous moulded string course above to both E and S faces. Two pointed arch window openings with hood moulds to third stage to all four faces. Pointed arch louvred openings to fourth stage with hood mould and splayed cills to all four faces. Broached sandstone spire with weather vane. South elevation The S elevation has two bays to the W of the tower, a gabled shallow projecting bay immediately to W and a further bay to W end abutted by the modern hall. Bays are separated by two-stage buttresses. Segmental headed window to GF with flush stone cills and pointed-arch headed window to FF with continuous moulded string course above. Three pointed arch tall windows to gable with a circular stained glass window above which has stone cusping to its perimeter. West elevation The W elevation is abutted by a modern two-storey hall. North elevation A gabled bay adjoins the front (E) elevation followed by two bays, then a gabled shallow projecting bay immediately to W and a further bay abutted by the modern hall at the end. Bays are separated by two-stage buttresses. Segmental headed window to GF with flush stone cills and pointed-arched window to FF with continuous moulded string course above. Three pointed arch tall windows to gable with a circular stained glass window above which has stone cusping to its perimeter. Setting: The church is located within its own grounds the W side of Castlereagh Road, between Moneyrae Street and Leitrim Street. Gravelled and tarmaced to three sides with a small paved area to front. A two storey gabled red-brick hall to rear built in 2005 to designs by the local architectural firm Kennedy and Fitzgerald. T-plan form with gabled fibre-cement slate roof. Stretcher bond brick walling and square-headed casement windows with concrete cills. The site is enclosed to E, N and S by railings dating from the 1920’s; modern metal railings to dwarf red brick walling along the W. Stone coping topped by cast iron railings with flat standards having scrolled heads and dog-leg support to E, N & S. Cast iron gates to E serve as the principal entrance to the site with ball railing heads and standards with scrolled heads. These entrance gates are supported on square-plan gate piers with projecting plinth and corbelled pyramidal stone caps. Cast iron gates to N with ball railing heads and standards with scrolled heads. Materials Roof: Natural slate RWG: Cast iron Walling: Red brick laid to Flemish bond Windows: Stained leaded glazing

Architects

Young & Mackenzie

Historical Information

The McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church, a Gothic red brick church located on the Castlereagh Road, was constructed in 1896. The Presbyterian congregation was formed through the work of the Church Extension Committee on the Castlereagh Road in the 1880s. The congregation was officially formed on 20th December 1892, met in an ‘Iron Church’ (a temporary, portable church hall), and was originally known as Willowfield Presbyterian Church. The current red brick church was erected in 1896 and opened in the following year (Kirkpatrick, p. 168; DIA). The construction of a permanent house of worship was made possible largely due to a bequest made by William John McQuiston, a local gentleman and merchant who resided at North Queen Street. In his will, McQuiston instructed that following the payment of his debts and funeral expenses, his remaining wealth should be put ‘towards the erection of a Presbyterian church in connection with the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland to be denominated the “W. J. McQuiston Memorial Church,” the site and design of such church to be unanimously approved of by my trustees and executors’ (PRONI Wills). McQuiston died in 1893 leaving a total of £2,900 towards the construction of the new church. The McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church was designed by Young & Mackenzie (presumably the design was unanimously accepted by McQuiston’s trustees as stipulated). The Dictionary of Irish Architects described the firm as ‘the most successful architectural practice in Belfast [who] had become the leading architects for the Presbyterian Church in the North-East’ in the late-19th century. The church’s website notes that McQuiston bequeathed almost half of the total cost of erecting the church suggesting that the building cost approximately £6,000 (the remaining amount was raised by the congregation). The builder contracted to carry out the construction of the new church was Robert Corry of Donegal Pass (Builder, p. 325; DIA). The McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church was completed in 1896 but was not officially opened until 28th February 1897. The Annual Revisions set the total rateable value of the church at £225 in that year. Shortly following the completion of the church, a lecture hall and school (now demolished) were constructed to the rear of the church in 1898. The buildings were designed by William J. W. Roome, an English architect and devout Christian who predominantly carried out ecclesiastical contracts. The Dictionary of Irish Architects noted that ‘his works reflect his involvement in philanthropic and improving projects.’ The hall and school was built by William Dowling and consisted of a large lecture hall, a committee room and a number of classrooms. The Annual Revisions valued the lecture hall at £39 after it was opened in 1899. The hall was enlarged and reopened on 31st march 1912 at a cost of £2,600. Photographs of the (now demolished) hall show that it was a large semi-circular lecture hall that was well lit and possessed seating on two levels (Northern Whig; Presbyterian Historical Society; DIA). Files held by the Presbyterian Historical Society record that the gates and railing surrounding the church were erected in 1924 as a memorial to members of the congregation who gave their lives during the First World War. The Irish Builder records that an addition was made to the church in 1932 to designs by John MacGeagh (1901-1985), a local architect who predominantly constructed houses but is probably best known as the architect of Whitla Hall at Queens University (HB26/27/067). It is not known what additions were made at this date. Field inspection of the church finds that internal alterations were carried out during this period that include the installation of the current church organ in 1932 and the pulpit in the late-1930s (DIA). The contemporary First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) increased the value of the church and its lecture hall to £450 but this was further raised to £772 by the end of the Second Revaluation in 1972. Kirkpatrick states that McQuiston Memorial was the largest congregation in the General Assembly in the 1960s with membership of over 1,500 families. The congregation celebrated its centenary in 1992 but due to the redevelopment of the area and resulting population movement the current congregations has been reduced to approximately 500 families (Kirkpatrick; McQuiston Memorial website). The current church hall was added in 2004. It was designed by Kennedy & Fitzgerald who also carried out alterations to the interior, adding rooms for the use of the minister to the sides of the church. The new hall was opened in 2005. References Primary Sources 1. Presbyterian Historical Society File – McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church 2. PRONI OS/6/3/4/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1902) 3. PRONI OS/6/3/4/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1920-21) 4. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/K/1-8 – Annual Revisions (1897-1930) 5. PRONI VAL/3/C/3/17 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) 6. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/24 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 7. Ulster Town Directories (1880-1943) 8. PRONI Wills Catalogue (15 Feb 1893) 9. Builder (11 Apr 1896) 10. Northern Whig (16 Jan 1899) 11. Belfast Telegraph (20 May 1892) 12. Irish Builder (2 Jul 1932) 13.First Survey Record – HB26/05/008 (No Date) Secondary Sources 1. Baillie, W. D., ‘A history of congregations in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland: 1610-1982’ Belfast: Presbyterian Historical Society, 1982. 2. Kirkpatrick, L., ‘Presbyterians in Ireland: An illustrated history’ Book link, 2006. Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie/ 2. McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church website - http://www.mcquistonpc.org/our-history.html

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

Historic Interest

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

Evaluation

An impressive red brick gabled church in Gothic-revival style dating from 1896 to designs by prominent local architects Young & MacKenzie and constructed by Robert Corry of Donegal Pass, having a well-proportioned front elevation with large traceried window & broached stone spire. William John McQuistin bequeathed his wealth to the Presbyterian congregation, following his death in 1893, for the purpose of building a church, hence the name. The main body of the rectangular plan that forms the original church comprises a double-height nave. A horse-shoe shaped balcony supported on slender cast iron columns sits above the N S and E sides of the church. Decorative bow-fronted cast iron balustrades run along the balcony edge. Although subject to renovations in recent years the interior retains a significant proportion of it's good quality original detailing and character. The church is located in a prominent location to the W side of Castlereagh Road, between Moneyrea Street and Leitrim Street and has social importance for the local community.

General Comments

Date of Survey

08 April 2014