Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB19/05/063

Address :
Hillsborough Presbyterian Church Lisburn Street Hillsborough County Down

Townland:
Hillsborough

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Survey 2:
Record Only

Date of Listing:

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Church

Former Use
Church

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
184/05 NE

IG Ref:
J2437 5904

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Owner Category

Church - Presbyterian

Exterior Description And Setting

Free-standing double-height neo-classical rendered church, built in 1885. Rectangular on plan set on a north-south axis with a modern flat-roofed entrance porch to the north elevation, built c.1990. Set on an elevated site on the east side of Lisburn Street with its south rear elevation fronting onto Meeting Street. Hipped natural slate roof with black clay ridge tiles, gabled to the north end (narthex) with a central octagonal copper lantern and a rendered profiled chimneystack to the northwest. Ogee-moulded cast-iron guttering on iron brackets to moulded eaves and cast-iron downpipes. Painted ruled and lined cement rendered walling with rendered plinth course, rusticated rendered pilasters to the narthex and corners and continuous impost and sill courses. Double-height round-headed window openings with moulded architrave surrounds, keystones, impost blocks and sill corbels having timber-framed leaded stained glass windows by Clokey, Belfast. Principal west nave elevation is four windows wide. North entrance elevation is abutted by a flat-roofed rendered entrance porch, built c.1990. A shallow breakfront is surmounted by a pediment defined by four rusticated render pilasters flanking five square blind panels to the upper level. East nave elevation as per west elevation and abutted to the south end by a flat-roofed porch connecting the church to the 1960s block. South elevation fronts onto Meeting Street and has pair of blind bays detailed as per window openings. Setting: Set on an elevated site to the east of Lisburn Street with a large front lawn and bitmac drive enclosed to the street by decorative cast-iron railing on basalt ashlar plinth wall having matching pedestrian gate and swept to a pair of decorative basalt ashlar piers supporting matching iron gates. 1960s single-storey building to the east, single-storey redbrick former school (dated 1914) with timber sash windows to the east and further double-height rendered hall, built in 1973 further east with extensive bitmac parking area. Roof Natural slate RWG Cast-iron Walling Ruled and lined render Windows Leaded stained glass

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

The first Presbyterian Meeting House in Hillsborough was constructed in 1833 at the corner of Lisburn Street and Meeting Street (as the north part of Wapping Lane was then known), first appearing on the Ordnance Survey map of the same year as a square shaped building recorded as ‘Presbyterian Meeting House.’ As early as c. 1803 an illustrated plan of the Town of Hillsborough, although obviously not depicting the church, noted that the plot of land on which the church now rests had been purchased at that time for the purpose of constructing a meeting house in the future. Although the Ordnance Survey map showed the early Presbyterian Meeting House as a square building, the Townland valuation map (c. 1830) depicted the building as an oblong structure along a layout similar to the current Church. The contemporary Ordnance Survey Memoirs described this early meeting house as ‘a plain, stone building 54ft by 39.5ft;’ the memoir writer tells us that the building was constructed in 1833 at the cost of £700 which was raised by subscription. In the 1830s 40 percent of the population of Hillsborough practised the Presbyterian faith (Church of Ireland 40% - Roman Catholic 20%) and the memoirs tell us that the new meeting house could accommodate a congregation of 500 although the average weekly attendance was closer to 400. The minister of the meeting house was supported by means of the Regium Donum; this translates to ‘Kings Money’ and had been granted to the Presbyterian ministers of Ulster since 1690 when King William III issued the grant (whilst stopping at Hillsborough Fort on his way to fight the Jacobite Army) to reward the Presbyterian population that had remained loyal. This important event in the history of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland is commemorated by a stone plaque situated at Hillsborough Fort to the south of the meeting house (Ordnance Survey Memoirs, Co. Down III, Vol. 12, pp 87-97; Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary, p. 5). The second edition of the Ordnance Survey map (1858) shows little alteration to the site although a National School had been constructed by that time to the south-east side of the meeting house opening onto Meeting Street; the contemporary Griffith’s Valuation of 1861 tells us that the meeting house and the school were valued together at £30. Between 1861 and 1864 the value of the site dropped to £28, however it returned to its former value in 1885 when the meeting house was completely rebuilt and ‘a new school house’ was constructed (Annual Revisions; Kelly, p. 158). In addition to the reconstruction of the church in 1885 a house, valued at £6, was built to the rear of the building for use as a teacher’s residence. The fourth edition of the Ordnance Survey map (1919-20) depicts the teacher’s residence as an oblong building situated to the east side of the church whilst the new schoolhouse occupied the site of its predecessor along Meeting Street; however by 1914 the current redbrick building was constructed to the east of the church in which the school met from that year. There was no further change to the site until the end of the Annual Revisions in 1930. The minister of Hillsborough Meeting House originally resided at a Manse situated at nos 9-11 Main Street (HB 19/05/018 – 019) from at least 1864 until it was sold in 1891 by the Rev. W. C. Steele, who constructed a new Manse on the Hillsborough – Lisburn Road. In his illustrated History of Hillsborough Simon Walker tells us that under the Penal Laws Presbyterians in Hillsborough worshipped in a barn situated in the nearby Townland of Listullycurran. However, with the grant of Regium Donum in 1690 Presbyterianism was granted a much securer place in Ulster resulting in the construction of meeting houses throughout the province (Walker). Construction of the meeting house began in 1832 during which time the congregation worshipped in the Market House in Hillsborough’s Square; the meeting house first opened for public worship on 29th December 1833. Barry tells us that the National School was built in 1856 but was not connected with the church, although the new schoolhouse came under church control after the church was constructed in 1885. There was no significant change to the site until 1929 when the current Church Organ was installed (Kelly, p. 158). In 1959 a number of stained glass windows were installed within the church and the former teacher’s residence was replaced with practical facilities including a committee room and a kitchen. The incumbent minister of Hillsborough Presbyterian Church continued to reside at the Manse on the Hillsborough-Lisburn Road until 1963 when it was sold and a new Manse was purchased; this was situated adjacent to the church and is known as ‘the Lawn.’ In 1973 a new Church Hall was constructed adjoining the church in memory of the Rev. J. H. Orr who had served the congregation between 1915 and 1963. Recent changes to the site include the construction of the modern flat-roofed extension porch to the north elevation which was built c. 1990; further, the schoolhouse, constructed in 1885, is now connected to the 1914 schoolhouse; both of these former schools are now used as part of the Church Hall. The congregation continues to meet at the church and can boast a membership of 345 families (Barry, pp 84-85). References Primary Sources 1. PRONI D671/M/8/25 – Hillsborough Map c.1800 2. PRONI D671/M/8/57/1 – Hillsborough Illustrated Map 1803 3. PRONI VAL/1/B/344 A-B – Townland Valuations 183 4. PRONI VAL/1/D/3/5 – Town Plan 1834 5. PRONI OS/6/3/14/1 – First Edition OS Map 1833 6. PRONI OS/6/3/14/2 – Second Edition OS Map 1858 7. PRONI OS/6/3/14/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1902-1903 8. PRONI OS/6/3/14/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1919-1920 9. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/45A-C – Griffith’s Valuation 1861 10. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14A – Annual Revisions 1864-1879 11. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14B – Annual Revisions 1880-1889 12. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14C – Annual Revisions 1890-1908 13. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14D – Annual Revisions 1909-1928 14. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14E – Annual Revisions 1928-1930 15. Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary (1837) 16. Census of Ireland 1901 / 1911 Secondary Sources 1. Barry, J., ‘Hillsborough: A parish in the Ulster plantation’ (3rd ed.), Belfast, Universities Press., 1982. 2. Kelly, D., ‘Lisburn’s rich church heritage: Churches and places of worship in the Lisburn city area’ Lisburn: Impression Print and Design, 2009. 3. Walker, S., ‘Hillsborough: An illustrated history and companion’ Belfast: Cottage Publications, 1994).

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

Not listed

Historic Interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Free-standing double-height neo-classical rendered church, built in 1885. A plainly detailed late nineteenth-century provincial Presbyterian church with hipped roof and octagonal lantern. Rectangular on plan set on a north-south axis with a modern flat-roofed entrance porch to the north elevation, built c.1990. Although an interesting church, the later addditons detract from the character of the building and it does not meet the criteria for listing.

General Comments

Date of Survey

18 February 2011