Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/14/019

Address :
Bloomfield Presbyterian Church Beersbridge Rd Belfast Co. Antrim BT5 5DW

Townland:
Ballyhackamore

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
24/03/2016 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Church

Former Use
Church

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
130-12SW

IG Ref:
J3694 7396

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Owner Category

Church - Presbyterian

Exterior Description And Setting

A gabled two-storey sandstone church in Gothic Revival style dating from 1897-98 to designs by James John Phillips & Son. Rectangular plan with two towers to SE and NE corners. Attached Gothic hall from 1926 to the SE end of the site. The church is located on the corner of Beersbridge Road and Cyprus Avenue. Pitched natural slate roof with red-clay roll-top ridge tiles. Octagonal louvred ventilation tower/lantern? to roof. Moulded stone verges to gables. Rectangular section blocked chimney stacks with moulded coping. Cast iron ogee guttering on projecting red-sandstone cornice discharging to circular downpipes. Random coursed, rock faced sandstone with ashlar red sandstone dressings and banding. Pointed arch door openings with deep moulded surrounds incorporating engaged columns and plain spandrels having square-headed double-leaf sheeted timber doors (unless noted otherwise). Pointed arch window openings with cut stone dressings, splayed cills and moulded hoods having stained leaded glazing (unless noted otherwise). Principal elevation: The principal elevation faces W and consists of a double-height gabled recessed bay with a single-storey lean-to outshot to centre, a three-stage hipped roof tower to NW end and a two-stage hipped roof tower to SW end. Three-part pointed arch window to gable with moulded hoods and engaged columns between openings. Five small windows to outshot, flanked by decorated cast iron hoppers discharging to circular downpipes. Both towers have a square plan with projecting eaves and two-stage angled buttresses. NW tower has large door openings to first stage to N and W face; door to W opens onto a platform accessed by three paved steps, door to N opens onto a platform accessed by a modern ramp. A window to second stage to N and W face and three-part louvred window openings to all elevations to belfry stage. SW tower has a door opening to first stage opening onto a platform accessed by four paved steps. Small window to first stage to S face. A window to second stage to W and S elevations. North Elevation: The N elevation consists of the N face of the three-stage tower, a three-bay wide recessed bay, two two-storey gabled bays and a three-bay wide recessed gabled bay to E end. Paired pointed trefoil arch windows to GF to recessed bay and three-part traceried windows to FF, separated by two-stage buttresses. The gabled bay immediately to E has two sets of paired pointed trefoil windows to GF separated by a single stage buttress with a gablet and a large five-part traceried window with moulded hood and red sandstone aprons to the double-height FF. The gable is flanked by two-stage buttresses with gablets to first stage. The next gable has a trefoil arch door opening with moulded surround having a double-leaf diagonal-sheeted timber door with stained leaded fanlight. Two narrow trefoil arch windows to GF separated from the door by a single stage buttress. Tree trefoil arch windows to FF, taller to centre. The recessed gable to W end is flanked by two-stage buttresses and has three-bays separated by tall buttresses with gablets. Trefoil arch windows to GF and taller trefoil arch windows to FF. Moulded band between GF and FF. East Elevation: The rear elevation faces E. Five bays having two trefoil arch windows to GF and paired Tudor arch windows to FF, separated by two-stage buttresses. South elevation: The double height S elevation consists of a gabled bay to E end, a recessed bay with attached single storey gabled extension, a gabled bay immediately to W, a three-bay wide recessed bay and the two-stage tower to W end. Trefoil arch door opening off-centre to gable bay to E end having a double-leaf diagonal-sheeted timber door with stained leaded glass fanlight opening onto four stone steps. A small square-headed window to E and a three-part square-headed mullioned window to W to GF. Two trefoil arch windows to FF. Moulded band between GF and FF. Square headed windows to the single storey extension. The gabled bay immediately to W has two sets of paired pointed trefoil windows to GF separated by a single stage buttress with a gablet and a large five-part traceried window with moulded hood and red sandstone aprons to the double-height FF. The gable is flanked by two-stage buttresses with gablets to first stage. Paired pointed trefoil arch windows to GF to the three-bay wide recessed bay and three-part traceried windows to FF, separated by two-stage buttresses. Setting: Tarmaced parking around the church and hall with small lawned parts. The site is enclosed by railings to W and N towards the street and hedges to S and E. Painted cast iron railings with square-section rails having pointed heads. Three gateways to SW, NW and N all having painted cast-iron gates supported on flat cast iron gate piers with scrolled fleur-de-lys finials. The church is located within its own grounds to an L-shaped site on the corner of Beersbridge Road and Cyprus Avenue. Two-storey modern hall with pitched corrugated roof and timber cladding constructed in 1967 to the SE end of the site. Materials: Roof: natural slate RWG: cast iron Walling : Random coursed, rock faced sandstone with ashlar red sandstone dressings Windows: stained leaded glazing

Architects

Phillips, J J & Son

Historical Information

Bloomfield Presbyterian Church, a Gothic-Revival church located at the corner of Beersbridge Road and Cyprus Avenue, was constructed in 1897-98. The Ordnance Survey maps record that by the mid-19th century very little development had been made to the townland of Ballyhackamore which, at that time, remained predominantly rural in character. The Irish census records that between 1891 and 1901 the population of Belfast increased by almost 100,000. As a result of this population increase, Belfast’s municipal boundary was extended by the 1896 Belfast Corporation Bill. The development of the Upper Beersbridge Road (including residential streets such as Cyprus Avenue) had commenced in the early-1890s and with the resulting increase in the local population there was increasing demand for new houses of worship. A history of congregations in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland states that the current site on the Beersbridge Road was acquired in autumn 1895 for the newly formed Bloomfield Presbyterian congregation. The new Gothic church was designed by J. J. Phillips & Son, an architectural partnership between James John Phillips (1841-1936) and his son James St. John Phillips (1870-1935). Bloomfield Presbyterian Church was one of the firm’s earliest contracts (Builder; DIA). The church was constructed in 1897-98. During that period the congregation held services in a national schoolhouse on Bread Street East. The completed church was officially opened on 4th December 1898 although, due to debt incurred during its construction, the frontage of the building was not completed until the 1950s. Between 1898 and 1956 the entrance to the church was via a temporary porch built of wood and corrugated iron. The Annual Revisions set the total rateable value of the church (exempt from taxation) at £190 in 1898. The church was first depicted on the third edition Ordnance Survey map (1902) which depicted the church as a generally square-shaped building (neither its towers nor its hall had been completed at that time). The length of the church was increased in 1925-26 when its lecture hall was erected. The two-storey Gothic hall, abutting the rear of Bloomfield Presbyterian Church, was designed by Hobart & Heron, a Dromore-based partnership who also operated in Belfast from 1905. The hall’s foundation stone was laid in March 1925 with John Elliott of Hillsborough contracted as builder. The lecture hall was opened in March 1926 after an estimated cost of £10,000 (DIA; A history of congregations). Later additions to the church include the installation of a pipe organ which was dedicated on 5th Dec 1948 - the organ was replaced with an electronic one in 2003 but its pipes were retained for aesthetic reasons. The temporary wood and corrugated iron porch was replaced with the current stone towers and vestibule in 1956. The value of the church and its hall was increased to £600 under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) and further increased to £1,000 by the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72). The current single-and-two-storey timber-cladded church hall (located to the south side of the church) was constructed in 1967. (Ordnance Survey Maps). Kirkpatrick states that the congregation of Bloomfield Presbyterian was linked in a new mission partnership with Westbourne Presbyterian Church in 2001. The merger was due to declining membership of the church on the Newtownards Road (Kirkpatrick, p. 167). During the Second Survey Bloomfield Presbyterian Church continued to be utilised as a house of worship possessing a congregation of approximately 400 families (Bloomfield Presbyterian Church website). References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/3/4/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey map (1858) 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 OS/6/3/4/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey map (1931) 5. PRONI OS/6/3/4/6 – Sixth Edition Ordnance Survey map (1938) 6. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/L/1-11 – Annual Revisions (1897-1930) 7. PRONI VAL/3/C/3/20 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) 8. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/30 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 9. Ulster Town Directories (1890-1943) 10. Builder (19 Nov 1898) 11. Ordnance Survey Maps – 130-15 (1954; 130-15SW3 (1987) References 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’ Booklink, 2006. Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects website - http://www.dia.ie/ 2. Bloomfield Presbyterian Church website - http://www.bloomfieldpresbyterian.org

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting

Historic Interest

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

Evaluation

An interesting example of a Gothic-Revival style church whose current form is the result of a number of phases of building work. The gabled two-storey sandstone church dates from 1897-98 to designs by James John Phillips & Son, whilst the gabled Hall to the rear dates from 1925-26 to designs by Hobart & Heron. The W end of the church, consisting of the vestibule and towers, dates from 1956. The external envelope is well-proportioned and detailed and the building has a fine interior with original timberwork to the main body of the church and an impressive open-timber roof. The church is prominently situated on a substantial corner site and has its setting is enhanced by the 4 no. Houses on Cyprus Avenue opposite, also built in sandstone (HB26/14/020A-C).

General Comments

Date of Survey

08 July 2014