Carnmoney Parish Church, 75 Church Road, Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, BT36 6DJ

Carnmoney Parish Church is a double-height Church of Ireland church built around 1820, situated on the north side of Church Road in Carnmoney, on an elevated and ancient ecclesiastical site.

The church is constructed of random coursed squared basalt with a tooled dressed plinth and is cruciform in plan, facing west. It has a natural slate roof with terracotta ridge tiles and ogee cast-iron rainwater goods mounted on corbel blocks, with stone verges on kneelers. The building is characterised by simple Gothic detailing.

The three-stage square tower to the west is the dominant feature, with a double-height first stage and a stepped third stage. It is detailed with stringcourses and terminates in a castellated parapet with spiked pinnacles, gablets and fleur-de-lys finials at the corners. The first stage contains a replacement window to the west and a single diamond lattice loop to the north. The second stage has lancets on each side, while the third stage belfry contains paired Y-tracery cusped louvred openings with hood moulds. The west gable is largely abutted by the tower.

Windows throughout are Gothic cusped Y-tracery with chamfered blocked sandstone reveals and flush chamfered sills. The north elevation is two windows wide, separated by a clamp buttress, with the north transepts lit by a single three-part decorated tracery window with hood mould. A notable lucarne window on the west end features a verge and kneelers matching the main gable, with diamond lattice glazing. The east gable, abutted by the diminished chancel, is lit by a four-part decorated tracery window. The south elevation is abutted by the south transept and a double-pile vestibule and choir room, with an exposed central section one window wide.

A distinctive and unexpected gargoyle spout is set at wall level between pitches at valley level on the south side, now disused. The vestibule has a pointed arched door opening to the right and a cusped Y-tracery window to the left, divided by a small clamp buttress. Each opening is surmounted by a diamond lattice paned quatrefoil in a sandstone reveal. The door is replacement timber with strap hinges, accessed by two tiled steps and set in a two-order chamfered stone reveal.

A vestry abuts the north-east corner, detailed as the main body of the church with a shoulder-headed arched sheeted door to the north featuring rivets and strap hinges, and a window to the exposed right cheek. Diagonal buttresses and irregular quoins to the nave provide additional structural detailing.

The church occupies an ancient religious site, replacing a medieval church of which only foundations remain to the west. The present church was consecrated on 23 December 1856. It was built largely through the efforts of Reverend Samuel Smythe, curate from 1796 to 1849, and his son, Reverend George Smythe, who served as vicar until 1903. The first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1833 shows the church without transepts; subsequent maps record its expansion to its current plan. Early Ordnance Survey memoirs describe the church as a "plain old structure of an oblong square form measuring externally 64 by 26 feet, built of stone and rough cast" with a "little square tower containing a belfry and forty feet high." The records note that in 1824 it underwent considerable alteration, and in 1835 was newly roofed and repaired at an expense of £160. In 1838, during flooring work, original yew pews were discovered along with a human jawbone of enormous size beneath the floor.

Two major restorations were carried out in 1952 and 1982. The interior has been modernised, although it retains some well-crafted furnishings and richly coloured tiling with Celtic detailing dating from the Disestablishment era.

The church is set on an elevated site in an ancient churchyard containing numerous early and interesting memorials and grave markers dating from the seventeenth century. To the north is Saint Brigid's well. The church is bound to the road by a stone retaining wall enclosing a steep grassed bank planted with mature trees. Access to the west is via a pair of cast-iron gates mounted on stop-end chamfered ashlar sandstone piers with diamond pointed caps. Although the surrounding area has been extensively developed, the church retains something of a rural outlook, shielded by mature trees.