Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB10/01/003

Address :
St Bestius' Church (C of I) Woodside Road, Killeter Castlederg, Co Tyrone BT81 7TA

Townland:
Speerholme

---

Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
02/11/1989 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

---

OS Map No:
102-14

IG Ref:
H2074 8057

---

Owner Category

Church - C of I

Exterior Description And Setting

Detached double-height Church of Ireland Church, built 1822, located to the west side of Woodside Road. Church consists of rectangular nave with single-storey gabled porch to south, added c.1840, abutted at re-entrant angle by lean-to boiler room; additional aisle to west, built 1870 to designs by Welland and Gillespie, abutted at south by single-storey lean-to porch; single-storey lean-to vestry to north, built c.1890. Roofs are pitched asbestos slates with blue/black clay ridge tiles; raised stone verges on corbelled eaves course; chimney-stack to north gable; square-headed smooth rendered bellcote with round-arched-headed aperture in moulded surround containing bronze bell to south; west aisle has raised stone verges on simple moulded kneelers; vestry to north has natural slate roof with terracotta ridge tiles; raised verges over cavetto moulded kneelers. Walls are painted roughcast with smooth chamfered quoins over smooth banded plinth; squared-and-snecked rockfaced sandstone with sashlar sandstone quoins to west aisle, lean-to porch and over projecting plinth to vestry. Windows are round-arched-headed sandstone plate tracery containing leaded stained glass; surround consists of fluted pilasters surmounted by archivolt with keyblock detail; sandstone sills; windows to west aisle, lean-to porch and vestry have stepped sandstone surrounds with chamfered sills. Principal elevation faces east and is four windows wide. South gable is abutted at centre by gabled porch containing single window; replacement square-headed double-leaf vertically-sheeted timber entrance doors to east elevation; west elevation abutted by lean-to boiler room containing single vertically-sheeted timber door. Elevation abutted at left by aisle. West elevation is abutted by aisle; exposed section at right is smooth rendered. North gable consists of group of three windows with stepped sandstone surrounds and shared chamfered sills (larger to centre). Abutted at right (to centre with aisle) by vestry containing gabled dormer; east elevation contains square-headed vertically-sheeted timber entrance door in shouldered chamfered surround, accessed by three stone steps. Elevation abutted at right by aisle. Aisle to west consisting of three groups of three windows, separated by buttressing with offsets. South gable contains large plate tracery rose window in bead moulded surround with rubble voussoirs; abutted at ground floor (to re-entrant angle with nave) by lean-to porch containing single window at left; gabled dormer at right contains round-arched-headed vertically-sheeted timber entrance door in bead moulded surround, accessed by two stone steps. North gable contains group of three windows (larger to centre); abutted at left (to centre with nave) by vestry (see previous). Set within churchyard containing selection of grave markers dating from the nineteenth-century to present day. Site bounded by roughcast walling with saddleback concrete coping; access from east through squared-and-snecked square pillars supporting pair of steel gates. Roof Asbestos slates Walling Roughcast render; squared-and-snecked sandstone to west aisle Windows Round-arched-headed containing leaded stained glass RWG Cast-iron half-round gutters and round downpipes; some replacement uPVC

Architects

Welland & Gillespie

Historical Information

The church dates from c.1820. A porch and vestry were added c.1840 and an aisle and porch c.1870. Further refurbishment took place in the 1970s. On the first edition OS map (1833) a ‘church’ and ‘grave yard’ are captioned. The church appears as a simple rectangular structure. On the second edition (1853) a porch has been added to the south elevation and another structure, possibly a vestry (now gone) appears on the north elevation. On the 1907 map the church is captioned ‘St Bestius Church’ and an aisle to the west has been added together with an additional porch to the south and a new vestry to the north. In the Townland Valuations (1828-40) a ‘Parish church and graveyard’ are listed and valued at £9. A separate fieldbook gives the dimensions of the church as 68x30.6x18 and the porch and vestry as 18x10.6x9 and 13x10x9 respectively, indicating that these structures had been added by 1840. Griffith’s Valuation shows that the Revd Martin C Motherwell is the lessor of the church and values it at £10 and £1 for the graveyard. The value is revised in 1872 to £15 and a marginal note states, ‘+ addition’. This no doubt refers to the addition of the west aisle. The vestry is of a slightly different style, distinguished by decorative moulded kneeler stones and differing plinth style, and could be attributed to the 1890s. OS Memoirs explains the need to extend the church, “The parish church is situated in the townland of Speerholme. It was built in 1821 and cost 800 pounds which was defrayed by a loan of 600 from the Board of First Fruits and subscriptions. It is a neat rectangular building 60 feet long and 30 broad. The inside is neatly fitted up with pews, affording accommodation for 350 persons, but as the attendance in summer is much greater than this accommodation, it is intended to enlarge the church or to erect a gallery.” (p.143) The Diocesan History states, “Termonamongan parish church, at Killeter…was built in 1822. A notable rector, from 1850 to 1855 was William Alexander, later Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, and eventually Primate, and husband of the hymn writer, Mrs C F Alexander. The parish was amalgamated with Derg in 1971.” (p.103) Rowan notes that the architects of the west aisle were Welland & Gillespie in 1870. “The window tracery was changed at this time. The contractors were G & R Ferguson of Derry who went on to design similar work at Seskinore three years later.” (p.331) Informants from the church say that it replaced an earlier church sited at Magherakeele graveyard. There is an early octagonal stone font on chamfered square pedestal remaining within the west aisle, which may have been recovered from the earlier church. Rowan dates this to the seventeenth century. All stained glass within the church dates from 1977 when the church was completely refurbished. Timber panelling to the rear of the church also dates from this time. References: Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/6/24/1 -First Edition OS Map (1833) 2. PRONI OS/6/6/24/2 -Second Edition OS Map (1853) 3. PRONI OS/6/6/24/3 -Third Edition OS Map (1905) 4. PRONI OS/6/6/24/4 -Fourth Edition OS Map (1951) 5. PRONI VAL/1/A/6/23 -Townland Valuation Map 6. PRONI VAL/1/B/636B and D -Townland Valuation Records (1828-40) 7. PRONI VAL/2/A/6/23A -Griffith’s Valuation Map 8. PRONI VAL/2/B/6/38A -Griffith’s Valuation Records (1856-64) 9. PRONI VAL/12/B/35/14A-F -Annual Revision Records (1860-1929) 10. PRONI VAL/12/D/6/23A -Annual Revisions Map 11. Day, A. and P. McWilliams, eds. “OS Memoirs of Ireland, Parishes of County Tyrone I, 1821, 1823, 1833-36, Vol. 5.” Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, 1990. Secondary Sources 1. Fawcett, F. W., D. W. T. Crooks and James B. Leslie. “Clergy of Derry and Raphoe.” Belfast and Londonderry: Ulster Historical Foundation, 1999. 2. Rowan, Alistair. “North West Ulster: Londonderry, Donegal, Fermanagh, and Tyrone.” Buildings of Ireland Series. Dublin: Penguin Books, 1979.

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form H+. Alterations enhancing the building I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting

Historic Interest

X. Local Interest Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

Detached Church of Ireland Church, built 1822, located to the west side of Woodside Road. The original early nineteenth-century church was built to replace an earlier building on a nearby site and has been somewhat altered since, including addition of porch, c.1840, and, during the 1870s, refurbishment including the distinguishable west aisle, designed by renowned architects Welland and Gillespie, adapting the church to the changing needs of the local community. The church displays some well-crafted stonework, specifically in window detailing (replaced c.1870) and internally in stone piers. The interior is enhanced by the varying decorative timber roof structures between nave and aisle.

General Comments

Date of Survey

31 March 2009