Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/13/008

Address :
Knock Methodist Church Knock Road Belfast County Antrim BT5 6LA

Townland:
Ballycloghan

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
13/03/1987 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:
130-15SE

IG Ref:
J3865 7380

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

A double height Gothic-revival style church, dated 1882. Cruciform plan set out on an east-west axis with a square-plan tower to southeast, a gabled extension to northwest end and modern single- and two-storey extension to the rear. The site is located at the corner of Knock and Green road facing east. Pitched natural slate roof, angled black-clay ridge tiles, projecting corbels supporting cast-iron ogee guttering and circular downpipes. Stone walling laid in un-coursed, rock-faced Scrabo sandstone with Dundonald sandstone stone-cut dressings, black-clay plinth course and lead-covered raised stone verges. Round-arched window openings with splayed sills and leaded stained glazing (unless otherwise stated). The principal elevation is gabled and faces east. Continuous flush stone-cut course of Dundonald sandstone to sill and impost heights. Two double shouldered arch door openings with paired segmental arches above supported on stone-cut surrounds and a granite column between; moulded hoods on carved stops. Double timber doors to each door opening with diagonal sheeting and open onto a platform with five nosed steps. Large two-part tracery window, granite columns and stone-cut surround with stained leaded glazing; small quatrefoil carving to high level. Square-plan three-stage tower with high hipped natural slate roof and metal finial, embellished with decorated corbels. Small fixed plain glass windows to first stage, segmental headed window with four lights to second-stage and twin round-arched windows with stone pillar between to third stage. Gabled extension to north end of the principal elevation, facing north with decorated frieze, segmental headed window and stained leaded glazing. The south elevation consists of the five-bay south aisle, two-bay gabled transept to west and the tower to east end. A window to each bay of the aisle, with the bay to east projecting. The south transept has two large stained glass windows and a small circular window above with moulded hood facing south and and smaller windows to each side of the transept. The east elevation is abutted by adjoining extensions with wet dash finish, dating from the 1960s. The north elevation consists of the four-bay north aisle, a two-bay transept to west and a gabled outshot to east end. A window to each bay of the aisle. The transept shows clear signs of recent modifications, is rendered in wet dash, has a hipped roof, two large stained glass windows facing north and a third facing east. The gabled extension has three tall segmental-headed windows with leaded stained glass; smaller segmental headed windows to each side of the extension. The church is located within its own grounds and connected through covered pathway to the new church hall built at 17 Knock Road. Paved to the front with small car-park to the rear, the site is enclosed by a hedge and two iron gates; the principal to the southwest corner and a secondary to the south. Materials: Roof natural slate RWG cast-iron Walling Scrabo sandstone and Dundonald sandstone Windows leaded stained glass

Architects

Historical Information

Knock Methodist Church, a Gothic style church located at the corner of the Knock and Green Roads, was constructed in 1882-83. The current building replaced an earlier Methodist Wesleyan Chapel which had been built in the townland of Ballycloghan in 1869-70. An increase in the number of congregations and meetings founded in Belfast raised the Methodist church to the fourth largest denomination in the city by the late-19th century. Connell states that the congregation at Knock was the fifth Methodist Chapel to be erected in Belfast; prior to the construction of the chapel the local Methodists had worshiped at class meetings in members houses. The original chapel was located to the north of the current church, cost £700 to construct and was complimented for its neat and tasteful style’ (Belfast Telegraph; Connell). Knock Methodist Church became an independent circuit in 1875. Upon gaining autonomy the administrators of the congregation implemented a voluntary offering system as a means of gaining funds. Connell states that the introduction of free-will offering was ‘not only a local success, but Knock was the first church in the British Isles to bring this voluntary by systematic plan for giving into Methodism in these lands’ (Connell). Formerly a small village, Knock became a major suburb in the late-19th century with the construction of numerous merchants’ mansions. The construction of the current church on the Knock Road was necessitated due to the resulting increase in the size of the congregation. The foundation stone of the new church was laid on 2nd October 1882. The architect of the building is not known, although the Natural Stone Database records that the church was primarily constructed of locally-quarried Scrabo and Dundonald Sandstone (NSD). The completed building was dedicated on 13th June 1883 by the President of the Methodist Conference, the Rev. Charles Garrett. The new church was originally valued at £90 in the Annual Revisions and was depicted as a simple rectangular-shaped building, possessing the south east tower, on the third edition of the Ordnance Survey maps (1902). Knock Methodist Church did not possess a gallery when first completed, the current gallery was added in 1908. The bronze war memorial tablet was added in 1920 and is inscribed with the names of members of the congregation who died during the First World War. A major refurbishment of the church was carried out in 1925 when the current transepts were constructed. In the same year a vestry and choir room was built and a new organ and choir stalls added to the interior of the church. The new church organ replaced the original harmonium; it cost £1,315 and was built by the local firms of Messrs Evans & Barr Ltd. This extension scheme allowed the church to accommodate an additional 200 people and cost approximately £5,000. The interior of the church possesses a number of interesting stained glass windows. The most notable of these is the war memorial window on the south aisle that was unveiled on 19th June 1949 and ‘features emblems of the services and symbols of the conflict, together with the names of the fallen.’ Four of the windows within the building are from other Methodist churches. The two windows located in the northern transept were moved from the derelict Carlisle Memorial Church (see HB26/50/091A) in January 1981; to accommodate the windows the northern transept was partially reconstructed in c. 1981. The two windows located in the southern transept, dedicated to the Rev Philip Embury and his cousin Barbara Heck (Irish-born founders of one of the earliest Methodist congregations in the United States), were originally located in the Methodist Church on Donegall Square East (see HB26/50/019) but were moved following the conversion of the building into a bank in 1997. The other stained glass windows were added at various dates and were predominantly gifted to the church as memorials to significant members of the congregation (Connell; Methodist History Ireland). The current church organ dates from 1969 and was designed by Messrs Charles Smethurst of Manchester; it replaced the original but incorporated portions from the organ built by Evans & Barr (Connell). Following the construction of the current church in 1882-83, the original 1870 chapel was utilised as a Sunday school and then as a church hall. In 1911 the former chapel was demolished and replaced by a new lecture hall that was valued at £10. As a result of 1925 additions the value of Knock Methodist Church was increased to £224, but this was raised further to £275 under the First Revaluation of property in Northern Ireland (1935). In the mid-20th century the congregation of Knock Methodist Church was heavily involved in outreach programmes. The rear extension of the church was added in c. 1969 to provide ancillary accommodation for outreach projects (Connell). By the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72) the combined value of the church and its adjoining lecture hall stood at £1,192. The First Survey (1984) described Knock Methodist as a ‘church with two-stage bell tower and transepts;’ the building was subsequently listed in 1987. The NIEA HB Records note that the exterior stonework of the building was repaired and the brickwork repointed in c. 1996. The former lecture hall continued to stand to the north of Knock Methodist Church for almost a century until it was recently demolished and replaced by a new church centre. The NIEA HB Records and the church’s magazine records that the new church centre was opened on 25th September 2011 and was designed as a ‘flexible space that would be suitable for church and community activities’ (Knock Methodist Church website). References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/3/4/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey map (1902) 2. PRONI OS/6/3/4/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey map (1920-21) 3. PRONI OS/6/3/4/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey map (1931) 4. PRONI VAL/12/B/17/2C-2H – Annual Revisions (1887-1897) 5. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/L/2-11 – Annual Revisions (1897-1930) 6. PRONI VAL/3/B/3/12 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1935) 7. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/30 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 8. Ulster Town Directories (1860-1943) 9. First Survey Record – HB26/14/001 (1984) 10. First Survey Image – HB26/14/008 (No Date) 11. NIEA HB Records – HB26/14/008 12. K-Mail: The magazine of Knock Methodist Church (2011) Secondary Sources 1. Connell, N., ‘Knock Methodist Church 100 years; 1870-1970’ Belfast: Knock Methodist Church, c. 1970. Online Resources 1. Natural Stone Database – http://www.stonedatabase.com//buildings.cfm?bk=2512 2. Methodist History Ireland website – http://methodisthistoryireland.org/churches/Knock%20Methodist%20Church,%20Belfast.pdf.pdf 3. Knock Methodist Church website - http://naszemiasto.nazwa.pl/church/history/

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

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

Evaluation

A good example of a Gothic-revival style church having mainly retained the original style character and proportions of the original composition.. Cruciform plan with a square-plan tower to southeast. Handsome coffered ceiling to nave and good quality stained glass windows. The church is enhanced by the boundary gates and railings.

General Comments

Date of Survey

06 February 2014