Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/08/004

Address :
Mountpottinger Methodist Church Albertbridge Road Belfast County Antrim

Townland:
Ballymacarret

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Survey 2:
B+

Date of Listing:
30/03/1987 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:
130/14 SE

IG Ref:
J3569 7396

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Owner Category

Church - Methodist

Exterior Description And Setting

A large double-height red-brick Gothic-Revival Methodist Church built c.1890 and located north of Albertbridge Road east of Belfast city centre. T-shaped plan with two-storey flat-roof extension (1957) to rear. Pitched natural slate roof with raised stone verges having cross finials to gable. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods on projecting eaves band over Lombardic-style frieze. Walling is Flemish-bonded red-brick with slender buttresses having masonry offsets and decorative stone pinnacles to principal elevation. Breakfront has decorative frieze of terracotta panels framed by sandstone string course between floors; Lombardic and castellated detail flanking bays at main elevation. Windows are a variety of leaded-and-stained glass lancets; arranged in groups of three to each floor at east and west elevations (those to first floor are pointed-headed with continuous hood moulds). Geometric rose window to south gable flanked by single lancets, all with decorative Gothic hood moulds having stone pinnacles and fleur-de-lis finial. Paired lancets to flanking bays at main elevation with diminutive oculus to spandrel, continuous hood mould and carved finial. The principal elevation is gabled with central breakfront. Paired entrance in twin triple-order Gothic sandstone porticos with original diagonally- timber-sheeted double-leaf doors having decorative wrought-iron strap-hinges; cusped head having leaded-and-stained glass panel. Portico comprises semi-engaged colonnettes, arranged in groups of three with carved Gothic mouldings, finial and pinnacles; accessed via three stone steps. The west elevation is four sets of triple windows wide with a paired cusped lancet to far right, stepped at sill level and surmounted by oculus and heavy projecting sandstone Gothic canopy on corbel brackets. Left gable has tripartite window at first floor (central opening is taller) surmounted by vented oval opening at gable and flanked by blind square-headed openings; ground floor has seven leaded-and-stained glass timber-casement windows (that to centre is wider). The north (rear) elevation is fully abutted by the two-storey flat-roof extension (1957); of little interest (irregularly arranged square window openings and original double-leaf timber-panelled door to west elevation; north elevation has three large openings to first floor and a window to right at ground floor). The east elevation is four sets of triple windows wide with a paired lancet to far left (as at west elevation); the right gable is recessed (partially concealed). Setting Corner-sited at Albertbridge Road and Templemore Avenue, set back from the street and enclosed by original cast-iron railings fleur-de-lis detailing; original gates to south and west with decorative gate piers. Enclosed yard to rear at east side. Roof: Natural slate Walling: Flemish-bonded red-brick Windows: Variety of stained-and-leaded glass RWG: Cast-iron

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

Mountpottinger Methodist Church was first opened in 1887 when it first appears on the Annual Revisions for the Albertbridge Road; the valuer noted that the church was valued at £160 upon its completion. The church can first be seen on the 1902 Ordnance Survey map which depicts it as an oblong building situated at the corner of the Albertbridge Road and Templemore Avenue. Between 1897 and 1905 a Lecture Hall valued at £12 was constructed for the church. The value of the church was deemed too high and so in 1906 (when the Pottinger Ward was first valued separately from the rest of Central Belfast) the value of the church was decreased to £120; the value of the church and its lecture hall was maintained by the end of the Annual Revisions in 1930. In 1935 the first general revaluation of property in Northern Ireland was carried out under which the Church and Hall were valued together at £280. During 1941 Belfast Blitz the church escaped major damage, although many of the buildings and residential terraces on the Newtownards Road and Albertbridge Road suffered terrible damage during the bombing raids on the shipyards. With the end of the war the government carried out the second revaluation of property in Northern Ireland. In 1956 due to inflation the value of the church and its hall had risen markedly to £665; as a result of the 1957 Rent and Valuation Act the value of the buildings were reduced to £532 in that year. The redbrick hall to the rear of the church building was also added in 1957 resulting in the value of the buildings rising to £600 in 1960; this value was maintained by the end of the revaluation in 1972. Heatley records that in the 1830s there were two Methodist Churches located on the Newtownards Road where the current Masonic Hall now stands; these continued to operate until c. 1880 when they were deemed unsuitable buildings to accommodate the growing Methodist congregation in the area. As a result a site for a new church was purchased and in 1887 one of the congregations carried out a symbolic march from their former church on the Newtownards Road to their new place of worship which was formally opened on 19 June 1887 (Heatley, p. 70). The Lecture Hall of the Church was added between 1897 and 1905; the Church Organ was built in 1904 by Alfred Hunter & Son, who were successful London based Organ builders (Dictionary of Organs and Organists, p. 173). Later additions included the construction of the redbrick flat-roof extension which replaced the former lecture hall and was added to the rear of the church in 1957. Mountpottinger Methodist Church was listed in 1986 and continues to operate as a Methodist place of worship. References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/3/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey map 1902 2. PRONI OS/6/3/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey map 1920-21 3. PRONI OS/6/3/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey map 1931 4. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/A/21 – Annual Revisions 1882-1896 5. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/A/30 – Annual Revisions 1897-1905 6. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/L/6 – Annual Revisions 1906-1914 7. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/L/11 – Annual Revisions 1915-1930 8. PRONI VAL/3/B/3/12 – First General Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1935 9. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/30 – Second Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1956-72 Secondary Sources 1. Heatley, F., ‘Belfast: Paintings and stories from the city’ Donaghadee: Cottage Publications, 1998. 2. Baron, H., ‘Dictionary of organs and organists’ London: Mate & Son, 1921. 3. First Survey Record – HB26/08/004 (1986).

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

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

Historic Interest

W. Northern Ireland/International Interest Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance R. Age S. Authenticity

Evaluation

A well-preserved double-height red-brick Gothic-Revival Methodist Church; built c.1890 with a mid-twentieth-century extension to rear (1957) and located north of Albertbridge Road east of Belfast city centre. Architectural detailing is largely intact and the Interior retains much of its original character and adds to the architectural and historic interest of the building, retaining typical late-Victorian Methodist furnishings and fittings, including pews, hardware, and an A. Hunter & Son organ. Set on a urban site, with original boundary railing, decorative piers and gates, there is group value with the nearby HB26/06/004A (Mountpottinger Presbyterian Church). Although a modern extension is added to the rear of the church in 1957, it does not compromise the integrity of the original character or proportions; in typical 1950's style with a similarly well-preserved interior, it adds to the architectural interest of the building. Mountpottinger Methodist Church makes a significant contribution to the architectural character and variety of the area; is of considerable social importance and interest to the local community it serves.

General Comments

Date of Survey

06 April 2011