Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/42/002 A

Address :
St James C.o.I 202/206 Antrim Road Belfast Co.Antrim BT36 7QX

Townland:
Town Parks

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
08/10/1987 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:
130-9

IG Ref:
J3332 7596

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Owner Category

Church - C of I

Exterior Description And Setting

A gabled sandstone church in Gothic Revival style, originally built between 1869-71 to designs by William Henry Lynn of 'Lanyon, Lynn & Lanyon'. Original tower survived German bombings of WW11 but rest of church damaged and rebuilt between 1946-54 to designs by R.M. Close. Rectangular plan form orientated E-W with a central nave, gabled N and S side aisles and large gabled projecting chancel to E abutted by gabled vestry with attached flat roofed porch. Three stage square tower topped with broached spire to SE end of nave and projecting gabled entrance porches to both NW and SW ends of nave. Site includes church and former school with smaller spire built in 1872 to designs also by W. H. Lynn (listed under HB26/42/002 B). Both are enclosed within stone boundary walling topped by metal railings N of the junction between the Cliftonville and Antrim roads. Natural Westmoreland slate roof with terracotta roll top ridge tiles and leaded valleys. Cast iron RWGs with ogee guttering discharging to rectangular hoppers and circular section downpipes. Raised stone verges to gable ends with moulded stone finials to apex. Original three stage tower with angle buttresses to corners. First stage has small door opening to NE corner buttress at junction with church having hood mould with carved head stops; timber four panelled door set behind metal screen. Second stage has small lancet windows with belfry to third stage. Hexagonal broached spire, with cross finial and lucarnes, set on moulded dentilated cornice; all on square base. Gothic pointed arch louvered traceried openings to belfry. Walling laid in random-coursed rock-faced Coursehill Sandstone with smooth sandstone dressings and quoins set on a double plinth course. Windows are Decorated Gothic pointed arch openings with stop-chamfered sandstone surrounds and splayed cills; fixed window lights with clear leaded glass composed of small square panes (unless otherwise stated). Principal elevation The front S elevation has square tower with chancel extending slightly beyond to E; central nave extends one bay beyond gabled five bay aisle to W. Aisle has three gabled bays to centre flanked by single tracery window with leaded stained glazing to E and gabled shallow projecting main entrance porch to W. Entrance has pointed arch doorway with hood mould and square label stops, moulded surround and flanking plain colonettes. Square-headed two leaf twelve panel timber door, with fanlight above divided by decorated timber y-tracery. Door is recessed behind decorative metalwork screen. Three gabled bays have decorated tracery windows to centre, moulded stone trefoil within indented roundel to gable face and single stage buttresses between each bay. West elevation Elevation dominated by large fourteen light decorated y-tracery window in gable of nave with smaller tracery windows to both N and S aisles. S aisle has small Gothic ogee arched window to bottom right, now blind. Raised stone verges with coping and moulded kneelers and apex to gables. N aisle runs to full extent of nave with S aisle being set back by one bay. North elevation N elevation consists of gabled aisle to full length of nave and gabled projecting eastern chancel, abutted on N by parallel lower gabled vestry which projects from the eastern end of side aisle. Vestry has flat roofed porch attached to N with buttresses and a pointed arch doorway housing timber panelled door on its N side. Gabled entrance porch projects from NW end of aisle, housing pointed arch doorway and small tracery window on its E side. Three central bays of N aisle, corresponding to bays of S elevation, have gables with tracery windows and separating single stage buttresses; single tracery window to E. East elevation Square tower to W with corner buttresses, small pointed arch windows with carved head hood stops to first stage depicting two faces, one young, the other old to greet worshippers. Two small lancet windows to second stage and large tracery openings to belfry level topped by broached stone spire. Projecting central chancel with large tracery stained glass window with tripartite pointed arch window to vestry gable at GF; two-part pointed arch window to vestry porch gable at GF. Angle buttresses to corners with moulded cill course running from chancel window across chancel and vestry. Cinquefoil detail to chancel and side aisle gables. Setting The church is located in its own grounds to the N of the junction between the Cliftonville and Antrim roads; a triangular piece of land bound by dwarf sandstone walling topped by wrought iron arrow-head railings set between square section pillars with roll top coping. Walling is of random-coursed rock-faced sandstone with smooth-faced sandstone dressings. Mature trees to boundary of interior
setting with area to S set to lawn truncated by wide tarmaced path linking gates on Cliftonville Road to gates on Antrim Road. A second set of gates to N on Antrim road provides access to tarmaced area to N of church. Boundary walling continues N along Antrim Road with pedestrian gate to front of former national school, which was converted to use as a church hall in 1957 (HB26/42/002B). Materials Roof: Natural slate RWG: Cast iron Walling: Random-coursed rock-faced pink sandstone Windows: Generally pointed arch decorated gothic tracery windows with clear square-cut leaded glazing, with only some windows having stained glass.

Architects

Historical Information

St. James’s Church of Ireland, a sandstone Gothic Revival style church located at the corner of the Antrim and Cliftonville Roads, was constructed in 1869-71. The Antrim Road had been laid out in 1830 and the second edition Ordnance Survey Map (1858) notes that the church was constructed at the entrance to Cliftonville, a speculative housing development laid out by Thomas Jackson during the 1830s (DIA). St. James’s Church of Ireland was designed by William Henry Lynn (1829-1915), a local architect who had entered into partnership with Sir. Charles Lanyon in 1854 to form Lanyon & Lynn (this became Lanyon, Lynn & Lanyon when John Lanyon became a junior partner in his father’s firm in 1860). St. James’s church was officially designed by Lanyon, Lynn & Lanyon, however the Dictionary of Irish Architects, Brett and Larmour all attribute the design to Lynn alone. The foundation stone of the new church was laid on 11th September 1869 with McLaughlin & Harvey contracted as builders. Costecalde and Walker record that the red sandstone utilised in the masonry of the church was imported from St. Bee’s in Cumberland. The completed church was consecrated on 2nd March 1871. The Annual Revisions set the total rateable value of the church and its adjoining hall at £450 in that year (DIA; Costecalde and Walker). St. James’s Church underwent a number of alterations in the late-19th century. The church’s parsonage was constructed in 1875 to designs by Thomas Drew. The building was originally located to the west side of the church but has been demolished. In 1881 W. H. Lynn extended the north and west sides of the church and installed new gates and railings. In 1886 Henry Seaver (1860-1841) designed a new pulpit (which was carved from Caen stone and possessed a granite base), replaced the original steps of the church with marble, paved the church floor with encaustic tiles and added additional choir stalls (First Survey). A stained glass window by Hogarth Studios, London-based glaziers, was installed within the church in 1891 in memory of Sir. John Preston (a member of the congregation and former Mayor of Belfast), however this was destroyed during the Belfast Blitz in 1941. Under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) the value of the church had been increased to £575 with the adjoining hall valued at £84. St. James’s Church of Ireland was severely damaged during the bombing of Belfast by the Luftwaffe on 15th April 1941. Falling incendiary bombs reduced the church to a shell with only the tower, steeple and belfry of the original building remaining intact. The reconstruction of the church was carried out in stages with the nave and chancel of the building rebuilt in 1946-50 and with the remainder following in 1952-54. According to St James' Select Vestry, the new church was erected on the old foundations and follows the architectural style and character of the old, with some modifications to inject more light. The reconstruction work was carried out to designs by the late Richard Mills Close (1880-1949) who had been appointed architect to St. Anne’s Cathedral in 1923 (DIA). Whilst drawings were prepared by Close, following his death in 1949, Capt James Young of Young & Mackenzie was appointed to see it through to completion. W F Clokey & Co installed the glazing and the oak choir stalls, prayer desk and reredos that had been salavaged from the original church, were reinstated. The restored church was consecrated on 11th September 1954 and was subsequently valued at £875 under the First General Revaluation. By the end of the Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) the value of the church and its adjoining church hall had been raised to £1,880. St. James’s Church of Ireland was listed in 1987 and continued to be utilised as an Anglican house of worship until 2007 when the decision was made to close and deconsecrate the church. During the Northern Ireland Troubles the congregation of the church had dwindled as many parishioners moved out of the area. On 29th June 2008 St. James’s Church was closed and merged with the congregation of St. Peter’s Church of Ireland (also located on the Antrim Road) to form the Parish of St. Peter and St. James (Costecalde and Walker; Parish of St. Peter and St. James website). Field inspection of the site has found that the church was utilised by the congregation of the Antiochian Orthodox Church at the time of the Second Survey. Resources Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/1/61/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1858) 2. PRONI OS/6/1/61/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1901-02) 3. PRONI OS/6/1/61/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1931) 4. PRONI OS/6/1/61/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1938) 5. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/C/1-25 – Annual Revisions (1860-1905) 6. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/F/4-7 – Annual Revisions (1905-1930) 7. PRONI VAL/3/C/3/3 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) 8. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/5 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 9. Ulster Town Directories (1868-1943) 10. First Survey Record – HB26/42/002 (No Date) 11. NIEA HB Records – HB26/42/002 Secondary Sources 1. Baker, J., ‘Belfast in the 1950s: A photographic record’ Belfast: Glenravel Local History Project, 2009. 2. Brett, C. E. B., ‘Buildings of Belfast: 1700-1914’ Belfast: Friar’s Bush Press, 1985. 3. Costecalde, C; Walker, B., ‘The Church of Ireland: An illustrated history’ Belfast: Booklink, 2013. 4. Larmour, P., ‘Belfast: An illustrated architectural guide’ Belfast: Friar’s Bush Press, 1987. 5.St James's Select Vestry - Booklet entitled 'A History of St James' Church Belfast'. Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie 2. Natural Stone Database - http://www.stonedatabase.com//buildings.cfm?bk=2608 3. Parish of St. Peter and St. James website - http://www.stpeters.connor.anglican.org/st-peters/

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

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

Evaluation

A large Gothic Revival sandstone church, originally built in 1869-71 to designs by William Henry Lynn of the prominent architectural firm Lanyon, Lynn & Lanyon, later extended to N and W in 1881. Church has an interesting history, being damaged in 1941 by German bombings; the tower survived with the remainder of church being rebuilt in stages from 1946 to designs by R.M Close, reputedly on the old foundations and largely emulating Lynn’s design. Following the death of Close in 1949, Robert Young of Young and Mackenzie saw through the final stages of the project to 1954. Rectangular plan form orientated E-W with large central nave, St James Church is situated on a prominent junction between the Antrim Road and Cliftonville Road. It is composed of several gabled sections and roof lines of varying height adding interest to its form, with Lynn's original stone tower and high spire retaining much of the original building's quality, character and style. Internally, many interesting fixtures salvaged from the original structure are intact. Overall, the church is an interesting well-proportioned and detailed building with local historical and social significance. The original school house (HB26.42.002B), also designed by Lynn, survives alongside St James’ Church and the whole complex is enclosed by dressed sandstone walling, pillars and ornate cast iron railings and gates that add distinction to the group of buildings. Although the rectory is demolished, its gate screen is retained at the lower entrance to the adjoining B.R.A. (HB 26.42.001) , also enclosed by sandstone boundary walls that together with St James’ Church largely define the character of the lower Cliftonville Road.

General Comments

Previously HB26/42/002

Date of Survey

13 October 2014