Killead Presbyterian Church, Killead Road, Aldergrove, Crumlin, Co Antrim

Killead Presbyterian Church

A gabled church laid out on a T-plan with a later gabled extension projecting on pilotis from the long south wall. The church stands on a corner site within its own grounds, enclosed on the east and north sides by wrought iron railings, on the south side by a hedge, and on the west side by a rendered wall flanking a two-storey outbuilding, originally the old school. The grounds contain numerous graves with mainly 19th century headstones set in grassy lawns, with tarmac paths and mature yew trees within the churchyard.

The church has three entrances: one in a gabled porch projecting from the east gable, a larger entrance in the east side of the north aisle serving as the main entrance, and a basement doorway on the west elevation. The east elevation is two-storeys, comprising an east entrance gable to the left with the north aisle recessed behind to the right. The east gable is rendered with dry dash of marble chippings with smooth rendered rusticated quoins to the extremities and a smooth rendered base. The roof is of Bangor blue slates in regular courses, oversailing on shaped brackets, with black painted wooden barge boards.

The east gable contains one window to the first floor: a semi-circular headed timber fixed light of 6 panes with a 3-pane top-hung opening light above it, surmounted by a semi-circular fanlight containing intersecting Gothic tracery lights. This appears to be a modern replacement for an original timber sliding sash window, with exposed sash boxes and a continuous smooth cement rendered surround with stop chamfered inner edge and a projecting stone cill. Below this window is a single storey gabled porch with similar walling to the main gable, slated roof, similar barge boards without brackets, and moulded PVC gutters with cast iron downpipes mounted on moulded PVC eaves boards with wooden soffits. The porch gable contains one window: a rectangular timber fixed light containing a leaded panel with protective glazing, set in a smooth cement rendered surround with stop chamfered edge and a projecting concrete cill. To the right of the porch and cut into by the porch gutter is a stone wall plaque in plain neo-Grec style, with an inset white marble plaque to the memory of Alexander Erskine who died in 1837. The porch's south side wall contains a rectangular timber modern 6-panel hardwood door with modern brass handle, set in a rusticated smooth cement rendered surround with a simulated flat arch to the head and a cement doorstep.

The east wall of the north aisle has a semi-circular headed window to the ground floor containing a 12-pane timber fixed light with intersecting Gothic tracery, appearing to be a modern replacement for an original sliding sash window, with exposed sash boxes and similar surround and cill to the gable window above. Above in the first floor is a circular window with a raised smooth cement rendered surround and a fixed light window with intersecting triangles of 'Star of David' pattern to the glazing bars and translucent glass, some tinted. To the right-hand side is the main entrance doorway, wider than the porch entrance to accommodate double doors, with a concrete step.

The south elevation has two semi-circular headed windows to the ground floor on each side of a projecting central gabled outshot supported on two rectangular smooth cement rendered piers at the corners, carried out over two graves below. The two outer windows in the main wall of the church are timber fixed lights of small panes, while the two inner windows incorporate a 3-pane top-hung opening light. The gable of the outshot has a central blind semi-circular headed panel blocked with smooth cement render and containing an off-centre modern metal ventilator grille, with a smooth cement rendered surround, unchamfered. The outshot walling is rendered with dry dash using yellow chippings, with smooth cement rendered rusticated quoins to the extremities and concrete copings to the gable, shouldered at the ends and surmounted by a shaped stone finial. A modern metal ventilator grille is located to the bottom left-hand side of the gable, with lead flashing turned down over smooth rendered corner piers and beam. The roof is slated as the main roofs. The side walls of the outshot have similar render to its gable and are carried on a smooth cement rendered beam along the bottom, with a moulded cement cornice along the top, cut into on each side to accommodate downpipes; downpipes and moulded gutters are of PVC. Directly beneath the organ loft is the grave of Reverend Samuel John Hamilton who died in 1933, and partly beneath the outshot is the family burial place of Reverend Joseph McKee, a 19th century memorial of plain design; neither memorial is of special architectural interest. The south elevation of the main church has a roof slated as previously described, with two flush rooflights and moulded PVC gutters with short downpipes to the gutters of the outshot below; short downpipes appear to be of cast iron.

The west elevation comprises a main two-storey gable to the right with the north aisle wing set back to the left, and a later single storey extension of canted form projecting forward from the main gable. The character and materials of the main gable and north wing are generally similar to the east elevation. The north wing has a cast iron downpipe to the left of a semi-circular headed timber fixed light, glazed as previously described, with a large circular window above. To the left of the downpipe is a basement doorway containing a modern 6-panel door reached by concrete steps enclosed by modern steel gate and railings. A prominent chimney, smooth cement rendered, lined and blocked, is surmounted by one modern terracotta pot. The main west gable has a first floor window similar to the east elevation. The single storey extension has walls rendered with dry dash of stone chippings, cement quoins to the angles, timber fascias with moulded PVC guttering, and a roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses. The west face of the extension contains a semi-circular headed timber window with small panes, comprising a fixed portion at the bottom surmounted by a bottom-hung vent above, with a rectangular fixed light of decorative leaded glass to the flanking angled face to the left, and a rectangular fixed light of 6-pane with a top-hung 6-pane vent above, to the flanking angled face to the right. The north side of the extension has a rectangular timber fixed light, 4-pane, with a top-hung 2-pane vent above, and two old marble inscription plaques mounted on it in rendered surrounds. The south side of the extension has a modern rectangular timber door, 6-panel. All windows have raised smooth cement rendered surrounds and projecting concrete cills.

The north elevation of the church comprises a central projecting north gable with the north walls of the east and west aisles set back behind. The main north gable is of similar character to the other main gables and contains two tall semi-circular headed windows with timber fixed lights with horizontal glazing bars and narrow margin lights, translucent glazing with some panes tinted, raised cement rendered surrounds and projecting concrete cills. The north face of the east aisle has one semi-circular headed window, a timber fixed light of 12 panes with Gothic tracery lights, with a cast iron downpipe to the right. The north face of the west side has a similar window with a cast iron downpipe to the left.

Access to the church is by a path to the west from the carpark via a pair of double gates of similar design to the railings, a path to the south from the manse grounds by a small plain looped iron gate, and a path to the east by the main gateway.