Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB03/17/012

Address :
Terrace Row Presbyterian Church Coleraine Co. Londonderry BT52 1HF

Townland:
Coleraine & Suburbs

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
22/06/1977 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:
13-13SW

IG Ref:
C8498 3197

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Owner Category

Church - Presbyterian

Exterior Description And Setting

A symmetrical double-height classical-styled Presbyterian church hall; built 1834 and extended in 1892 to designs by William Given; altered again c.1985; situated to the south side of Nursery Avenue in Coleraine town centre. Cruciform plan with east/west transepts (1892) and stucco frontage three openings wide and one opening deep. Hipped natural slate roof with angled hips and ridges behind solid parapet. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods on projecting eaves. Stucco finish to front on a contrasting plinth with quoins flanking projecting outer bays; cornice with plain frieze above each floor (no frieze above entrance); decorative plain moulded panels to upper level; hall is painted roughcast render on a contrasting plinth with platband between floors at east; quoins to west wall and transept; channelled rustication at ground floor of west transept. Variety of replacement leaded-and-coloured glass fixed windows throughout; those to first floor (principal elevation) are square-headed in moulded architraves; central window in a plain reveal; aediculated to ground floor; main hall has round-headed windows over segmental-headed windows at ground floor, all in plain reveals with projecting painted sills; those to west have painted lugged architraves with keyblocks. The principal elevation faces north and is symmetrically arranged into three bays, with wider central entrance bay slightly set back. Flanking bays each with window to centre at gallery and ground floor; entrance bay has central gallery window over triple-arched entrance accessed via a modern ramp with metal handrails. Openings divided by chamfered square piers with moulded panels and imposts; decorative mouldings to arch heads include keyblock and spandrel details. Central opening is taller and wider and contains a modern double-leaf panelled timber door surmounted by leaded transom light; flanking sidelights each have modern leaded lattice lights. Side bays with a window at each floor. The east elevation is two windows wide at each floor; transept at left is lit by two windows at each floor to north and three windows to south; east gable has vented oculus over two glazed oculi at gallery; ground floor is abutted by linking block (1892) connecting modern church hall to east. The south elevation has two long rectangular windows each surmounted by a modern metal hood. The west elevation is as described at east; transept at right lit by two windows at north and three at south; west gable has vented oculus and glazed oculi in painted surrounds with modern gabled porch at ground floor (of no interest). Setting: Situated to the south side of Nursery Avenue in Coleraine town centre, facing the former Irish Society School (HB03/17/010) and a modern supermarket to west. Church is connected to a modern church hall (similarly styled as the church) at east transept via a single-storey linking block (1892). Large tarmacadamed parking area to south and west. Bounded to north by an uncoursed stone wall with coping and square piers supporting modern metal gates. Roof: Natural slate Walling: Stucco and painted roughcast render Windows: Replacement leaded-and-coloured glass RWG Cast-iron

Architects

Historical Information

Terrace Row Presbyterian Church, was the first Seceder church to be erected in the town of Coleraine; the original building was erected in 1834 and at that time lacked the current classical façade which was added in 1892. The original church was not depicted on the first edition of the Ordnance Survey maps for Coleraine (1830); however the contemporary Townland Valuations noted that the current plot of land was acquired from The Honourable The Irish Society in c. 1830. The second edition of the maps (1849-50) record that when originally constructed the church was a simple rectangular-shaped hall which lacked the transepts that were added at the same time as the classical façade. The Ordnance Survey Memoirs for Coleraine (1835) record that the Seceder Meeting House measured 55ft by 45ft and could accommodate a congregation of 650. The meeting house cost a total of £850, with a subscription of £100 provided by the Society, and was completed by 1834; the former meeting house was located in the neighbouring townland of Killowen and was converted into a barn and store upon being abandoned by the seceding congregation (Ordnance Survey Memoirs, p. 57). Griffith’s Valuation (1858) valued the church at £45; the contemporary Ulster Town Directory notes that the church was known as Third Presbyterian Church, the incumbent was the Rev. Joseph McDonnell (Ulster Town Directory – 1852). There was no change to the valuation of the church until 1878 when the adjoining church hall and Sunday schoolhouse was constructed and valued at £50; significantly the new church hall was valued higher than its associated church despite being considerably smaller than the main building. The next major change to the meeting house came in 1892 when the Rev. Robert Wylie undertook a major renovation of the church with the addition of the classical façade (with towers), and the construction of the east and west transepts, giving the building a cruciform shape; as part of this addition work, the church hall of 1878 was connected to the main church building by the east transept. The rateable value of Terrace Row Presbyterian Church was subsequently increased to £49 5s., however the value of the adjoining church hall remained at £50 despite undergoing its own renovation. There was no change to either the value or layout of the church by the end of the Annual Revisions for Coleraine in 1931. Under the First General Revaluation of property in Northern Ireland (1935) Terrace Row Presbyterian Church was jointly valued with its church hall at a total of £215. The church and its hall were further increased in value to £320 under the second revaluation which took place between 1956 and 1972. Terrace Row was the third Presbyterian congregation to be constructed in Coleraine; however it was the first meeting house to be constructed for the seceding population of the town. Kirkpatrick states that the Seceder congregation was formed in 1796 and originally met in the simple hall on the Waterside area of the town in the townland of Killowen (Kirkpatrick, p. 190). The first meeting house was in a dilapidated condition by the 1830s when the congregation decided to move to the eastern side of the Bann; the current church was opened on 6th July 1834 and the Rev. Wylie notes that, despite major renovation and the addition of extensions, the ‘side walls of the present church up to the transepts and a large portion of the roof are the same that were then erected.’ Wylie was writing in 1925 and further changes have since been carried out, however the side walls are original and date from 1834. During the 1870s the first major additions to the church were carried out; in 1878 the adjoining church hall and Sunday schoolrooms were constructed at a cost of £1,350, and in 1872 the first manse was also erected with the congregations support at a cost of £1,500 (Wylie). Girvan states that the classical façade and transepts were added in 1892 to designs by a local architect, William James Given. Given (c. 1850-1923) was appointed as the town surveyor of Coleraine in 1885 and established the architectural firm W. J. & M. Given with his brother Maxwell Given in 1892; the renovation of Terrace Row Presbyterian Church was one of the firms first contracts and Given continued to work as Coleraine’s town surveyor until his death in 1923 (Dictionary of Irish Architects). The renovation and reconstruction of the church was carried out under the incumbency of the Rev. Robert Wylie (1871-1913) who also wrote the early history of the congregation. Girvan states that the builder contracted to undertake Given’s design was James Kennedy, however he states that ‘the façade gives the unfortunate impression of being stuck on and is an extraordinarily clumsy piece of classicism’ (Girvan, p. 21). Amongst Terrace Row Presbyterian Church’s ministers is a notable figure, the Rev. Gilbert Patton (1882-1936) trained for the ministry before serving in Ballykelly, Newry and finally Terrace Row ten months before the outbreak of the First World War. During the war the Rev. Patton volunteered with the YMCA and was created an army chaplain with the rank of Captain; serving with the 10th Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers for over three years Patton was awarded the Military Cross for bravery under fire when he helped evacuate wounded soldiers under fire at the front and carried one wounded solider four miles to safety. Upon the end of the war Patton briefly returned to Terrace Row before moving to a calling in Belfast in 1920; a plaque located within Terrace Row Presbyterian commemorates Patton’s memory. Later ministers of the church included the Rev. Edwin Torrie who was incumbent between 1920 and 1954; Torrie died in 1975 at which time he was known as the ‘Father of the General Assembly’ after holding the record as the longest ordained minister of that time (Kirkpatrick, p. 190). Terrace Row Presbyterian Church was listed in 1977; Rowan (writing in 1979) described the church as ‘a simple two-storey hall with a flashy classical front … stuccoed Italianate towers flank a three-arched Logia centre’ Rowan, p. 206). A modern Church hall has replaced the Victorian church hall of 1878; the current hall was designed in a sympathetic style to the original church and continues to be connected to the adjoining building by the east transept. Since the 1970s the central space between the towers of the classical façade have been filled in rectifying the ‘clumsy’ design described by Girvan; as part of the alteration work the features at the top of the towers were also removed. Terrace Row Presbyterian Church continues to be used as a house of worship for the Presbyterians of Coleraine; the congregation of the church currently stands at 450 families (Kirkpatrick). References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/5/7/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey map 1830 2. PRONI OS/6/5/7/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey map 1849-50 3. PRONI OS/6/5/7/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey map 1904 4. PRONI OS/6/5/7/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey map 1923 5. PRONI OS/6/5/7/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey map 1949 6. PRONI VAL/1/B/542C – Townland Valuation c. 1830 7. PRONI VAL/1/D/5/8A – Townland Valuation map c. 1830 8. PRONI VAL/2/B/5/3A-E – Griffith’s Valuation 1858 9. PRONI VAL/12/E/156/3/4 – Annual Revisions Town Plan 1919 10. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/9A-P – Annual Revisions 1859-1931 11. PRONI VAL/3/B/6/3 – First General Revaluation of property in Northern Ireland 1935 12. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/3 – Second General Revaluation of property in Northern Ireland 1956-1972 13. Ordnance Survey Memoirs, County Londonderry XII, Vol. 33 (c, 1837) 14. Ulster Street Directories (1852-1918) 15. First Survey Record – HB03/17/012 (1973) 16. First Survey Image – HB03/17/012 (1973) 17. Ordnance Survey map – 13-13SW (1967-68) Secondary Sources 1. Girvan, W. D., ‘Historic Buildings in Coleraine and Portstewart’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1972. 2. Rowan, A., ‘The buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’ Yale: Yale University Press, 1979. 3. Wylie, R. B., ‘Terrace Row Presbyterian Church Coleraine: 1796-1896’ Belfast: Linenhall Press, 1925. Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form H-. Alterations detracting from building J. Setting

Historic Interest

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

Evaluation

Terrace Row Presbyterian Church is a symmetrical classical-styled Presbyterian Church, built c.1834, with transepts and façade added 1892 to designs by William Given and altered again c.1985; situated to the south side of Nursery Avenue in Coleraine town centre. The church is a good example of the late-Victorian taste in church architecture, a more ostentatious classical design displaying fine craftsmanship in its interior detailing. Of local interest and social importance.

General Comments

Date of Survey

14 December 2012