Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church, Main Street, Crumlin, Co Antrim

The Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church at Crumlin is a late Georgian church built between 1820 and 1839, retaining most of its original features both inside and outside and enjoying a largely unspoilt setting. It is an outstanding example of its period with unusual plan form and very fine sets of box pews in both the main body of the church and the gallery.

The building is octagonal in plan, constructed of rubble basalt in rough courses with roughly squared quoins. It features a projecting plinth of basalt rubble with squared sandstone coping and brick dressings to openings. A projecting platband runs at first floor level continuously around the church. Later cement grouting has been applied to the upper stages of the walls. The main entrance faces north and comprises a pedimented two-storey projecting gabled entrance bay, with the side elevations to the main church angled off to the rear.

The north elevation is symmetrical. The ground storey contains a central doorway in a segmental arched opening with double doors featuring raised and fielded panelling and plastered reveals finished flush. A large deep concrete doorstep leads to a deep stone paved area in front of the entrance, approached by three steps on all sides. One window flanks each side of the entrance: segmental arched with flush plastered reveals and projecting stone cills, fitted with timber vertically hung sliding sash windows of 6 over 6 with margin lights and horns. Modern steel mesh protective grilles are bolted over these windows. The first floor contains two similarly detailed sashed windows with semi-circular arches. Between these windows is a shaped datestone inscribed 'MDCCCXXXV' set in a moulded surround. The entrance bay is surmounted by a plain pediment. The side walls of the projecting gabled entrance bay contain a blank window recess to the ground floor, segmental arched and blocked with painted stucco, and a semi-circular arched sashed window to the upper floor. These walls are of rubble basalt with brick dressings; the plinth is later cement rendered with a projecting brick eaves course. Cast iron gutter and downpipe run along each side. The roof is of Bangor blue slates in regular courses behind the front gable coping. A small square brick chimney with modern pots sits on the ridge at the rear wall of the porch projection.

The side elevations of the church are of similar character, with segmental arched windows to the ground floor and semi-circular arched windows to the upper floor, all protected by grilles. The plinth is cement rendered and contains square sandstone panels drilled with hexagonal arrangements of ventilator holes. A red brick eaves course runs around, with cast iron gutter and downpipe in the centre of the main side walls, breaking through the first floor platband. The main roof is slated as the front, with prominent rounded tiles at the ridges. The rear wall is similar to the sides except the windows are sashed 6 over 9 with margin lights, set in semi-circular arches, and the windows break the line of the first floor string course.

The church was built for Reverend Nathaniel Alexander, who retired shortly before the building was officially opened on 17 September 1837. Designed to accommodate 800 people and estimated to cost £1,000 to be paid for by subscription, it replaced an earlier church dating from 1723 situated further north within the same grounds. The congregation of the earlier church was Presbyterian but during Reverend Alexander's ministry it changed to Unitarian. The general layout of the gallery and pews may have been modelled on that of the 1st Presbyterian Church (Unitarian) in Rosemary Street, Belfast, built in the 1780s. Reverend Alexander was succeeded by Reverend George Hill. The building was repaired in 1992 by Leighton Johnston Associates.

The church stands in its own grounds set well back from the main street. The grounds are grassed with a rough tarmac area in front. The northern boundary is effectively formed by the unprepossessing backs of buildings on the main street. The boundaries to the sides and rear are formed by concrete post and wire fences with tall trees around the fringes of the rear part of the grounds where the church stands. The front portion of the grounds is a graveyard planted with yew trees; there are no memorials of special architectural interest. The setting is slightly spoilt by a painted heating-oil tank located conspicuously in the central area of the grounds.

The gateway opening off the main street comprises a pair of original heavy iron gates of restrainedly ornamental design mounted on square piers. The piers are rusticated on the side facing the street-front, panelled to the sides and rear with roughcast panels, and have large overhanging flat sandstone caps. The western pier abuts an old gabled roughcast building of no architectural interest; the eastern pier abuts a modern gabled rustic brick house. The driveway is of rough hard surface and curves round to approach the church. Rusticated surrounds to coved short front screen walls with roughcast panels face the street-front.