Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB01/07/007 B

Address :
Ebrington Presbyterian Church Hall Limavady Road Londonderry County Londonderry BT47 6JU

Townland:
Clooney

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
26/02/1979 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Hall

Former Use
School

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
36-4SW

IG Ref:
C4431 1693

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

Neo-Classical style single storey gabled former school building in painted render with moulded stucco dressings painted in contrasting colour adjoined to the rear (SE) of Ebrington Presbyterian Church (HB01.07.007A). Built in 1899 to designs by William Barker and later supervised by M. A. Robinson during its construction. Rectangular on plan, with small gabled projection to May Street (SW) elevation and connected to main church via duo-pitched link building that has deep moulded parapet. Now used as a Church Hall and although subservient in scale and massing, the style and detailing emulate that of the larger building. All windows are replacement uPVC. Entrance to hall is via a flat-roofed later extension which opens on to Iona Terrace (SE), where it is abutted by Rankin Memorial Hall, a two-storey building dating from 1962 that extends along the full length of the former school and meets the NE corner of the Church. Symmetrical SE Elevation divided in to three bays by engaged Doric pilasters (clasped to corners), with pedimented gable and deep moulded dentilated cornice, natural slate roof having black clay ridge tiles and raised skews and gablets, round-arched openings with one large window to central bay flanked by smaller windows that each have continuous projecting cill and string course between pilasters with moulded surround that extends from impost level and exaggerated key stone above. Small roundel with moulded architrave contains slotted vent panel to centre of pediment. May Street (SW) elevation consists of five equally spaced bays, divided by engaged pilasters that rise from chamfered plinth (painted render), topped by projecting cornice mould, with blank frieze above and further dentilated cornice projecting at eaves level that supports cast iron guttering. Four bays to right side each have a round arched window with keystone and deep moulded surrounds; moulded string courses and continuous projecting cills between pilasters as per SE elevation. Gabled projection to bay nearest to right side, with same pediment, raised skews, gablets and dentilated cornice and clasping pilasters as main SE elevation, assumed to be the original entrance but now with blind openings to two faces. To far right side of SW elevation, a small link building, with painted rendered walling on chamfered plinth, deep cornice mould to parapet and diminutive corner pilaster connects the hall to the main Church. NW elevation consists of a pedimented gable as per the SE elevation and abutted by lower link building. The latter steps back in plan and contains painted timber entrance door within its NW re-entrant corner. Small rendered modern chimney, centred on ridge, protrudes behind verge coping. NE elevation adjoined along its full length by Rankin Memorial Hall, with the latter abutting just below string course at impost level to reveal five round-arched openings divided by engaged pilasters, all as per the SW elevation. Materials Roof Slate (Bangor Blues) RWGs Cast iron Walls Smooth render, painted with stucco dressings Windows uPVC Setting The Hall sits on a corner junction between May Street and Iona Terrace, to the SE of Ebrington Barracks above the east bank of River Foyle. It is adjoined to Ebrington Presbyterian Church (HB01.07.007A) via a small link building. The site is bound to both streets by low walling with ornate cast iron railings and there are two matching pedestrian gates hung on tapered octagonal gate posts; one adjacent to the original porch; and the other adjacent to the link building. The same walling and railings continue around the May Street and Limavady Road boundaries of the Church.

Architects

Historical Information

The rapid expansion of Derry’s Waterside in the late nineteenth century necessitated the establishment of a second Presbyterian congregation in this area – the first having been Waterside Presbyterian Church, founded in the mid 1860s. In the autumn of 1894 the Derry Presbytery invited a young licentiate, Leslie Rankin, to begin organising a new congregation in the Waterside. The first Sunday morning service was held in the Temperance Hall (later Victoria Hall) in Spencer Road in January 1895. In June of that year the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church sanctioned the construction of a church building. On 3 March 1896 Leslie Rankin was ordained minister of the new congregation. A large site was secured at Bond’s Field on the Limavady Road and the foundation stone of the church was laid on 20 August 1896 by John Cooke JP of Foyleview. A glass vessel was placed in a cavity of the foundation stone which contained the then coins of the realm, and copies of local and national newspapers and Presbyterian publications. The church building was opened on 3 October 1897 when the guest speaker was the Rev. George Davidson of Edinburgh. It cost around £3,400 and could hold 800 people. Its architect was William Barker, an experienced practitioner in north-west Ireland. In 1899 a hall was completed at a cost of £1,200. Barker died before it was finished and its completion was supervised by M. A. Robinson, who had recently established a practice in Derry; just before this he had been clerk of works for the Slieve Donard Hotel in Newcastle, County Down. The contractor was Robert Colhoun of Strand Road, Derry. The new church initially received a rateable valuation of £100, though this was raised to £122 on the completion of the lecture hall. The church and hall were, of course, exempt from rates, but the figure gives an idea of the value placed on the structures. In 1901 the hall began to be used as a day school and continued to be used as such until December 1960 when a new school building was erected nearby. The 1904-05 Ordnance Survey map marks both church and hall, the latter named ‘Ebrington School’ and represented as a rectangular structure adjoining the rear of the church (Irish Historic Towns Atlas, facsimile no. 4). The church itself is shown as a rectangular structure, with front steps, facing Ebrington Barracks across the Limavady Road. Jack Tosh’s history of Ebrington Presbyterian Church is a good account of the congregation, but has surprisingly little information on the buildings. He does, however, quote from a memoir of the first minister, Rev. Leslie Rankin, written after he had completed 40 years in Ebrington, which refers to the hall having been enlarged three times at a cost of £1,500. In 1962-63 the Rankin Hall was built to the rear of the church building and alongside the existing hall; it cost £20,000. References Primary Sources: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland Valuation Revision Books: PRONI, VAL/12/B/33/4C (1898-1909) Northern Ireland Environment Agency First Survey record - HB01/07/007 Secondary sources: Published sources Irish Builder, 1 April 1897, p. 71; 15 November 1899, p. 185; 15 Aug 1900, p. 451 Belfast Newsletter, 21 August 1896 W. S. Ferguson, A. J. Rowan and J. J. Tracey, List of historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in and near the City of Derry (Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1970) Alistair Rowan, The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster (Harmondsworth, 1979) A History of Congregations in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (Belfast: Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland, 1982) Jack Tosh, The Church at Ebrington: One hundred years of worship (1994) Avril Thomas (ed.), Irish Historic Towns Atlas, no. 15, Derry~Londonderry (Dublin, 2005) Dan Calley, City of Derry: An Historical Gazetteer to the Buildings of Londonderry (Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2013) Online sources Dictionary or Irish Architects: www.dia.ie Church website: www.ebringtonchurch.co.uk

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

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

Evaluation

Neo-Classical style gabled former school, built in 1899 to designs William Barker and later supervised by M. A. Robinson during its construction. Located on a corner junction between May Street and Iona Terrace, to the SE of Ebrington Presbyterian Church (HB01.07.007A) with which it shares group value. Although subservient in scale and massing, the style and detailing emulates that of the larger building, with painted rendered walls, engaged pilasters, ornate stucco surrounds to round-arched windows and pedimented gables. Despite replacement uPVC windows which are adverse to the character, both the interior and exterior have retained much of their style and proportion. The hall and church are both significantly enhanced by the boundary wall, railings, pillars and gates, although a modern extension added in 1962 detracts somewhat from the character of their setting. Of social importance to the local community as a former school and also in its current use, as a church hall.

General Comments

Please note this record was previously recorded under HB01/07/007. It is now split in to two separate records, namely the Church, HB01.07.007A and the Hall, HB01.07.007B

Date of Survey

17 February 2014