St. John'S Church Of Ireland Church, Shore Road, Newtownabbey, Co.Antrim

St. John's Church of Ireland, Shore Road, Newtownabbey

A detached Gothic Revival church of stone, built around 1840 and enlarged in 1859, sitting on its own grounds on the east side of Shore Road facing west. The church was designed by Charles Lanyon as a chapel of ease for the parish of Carnmoney, built without charge, and the transepts were added later in 1859 by J Welland & Son. The building was recorded in the Griffiths Valuation of 1859 under the occupancy of Reverend Thomas Black, valued at £22.

The church presents a modest exterior belying a richly decorated interior. It has a double-height gable-fronted form with a two-stage tower at the northwest corner, transepts to north and south, and a gabled chancel to the rear with gabled projections to either side. The structure is built of coursed and squared rubble blackstone with sandstone detailing throughout. A projecting cement plinth course runs around the base, simulating sandstone ashlar.

The roof is of natural slate with ridge tiles and lead valleys, recently re-slated around 2006 with steeply pitched slopes. The front gable rises above the principal roof with chamfered sandstone coping and a diminutive raised gablet containing a blind Gothic panel. The tower carries a crenelated parapet wall with sandstone coping and a corbelled string course, with decorative sandstone corbelled pinnacles at all four corners, each bearing blind panels. Angle buttresses with offsets support the lower stage of the tower and the northwest corner of the front gable, rising to a square pinnacle with four gablets. A chamfered sandstone stringcourse runs around all four sides on the offset courses, with a plain frieze below. The front elevation frieze is adorned with a Gothic arcaded moulding.

A catslide roof covers the north vestry, rendered in rubble stone with sandstone ashlar quoins to the transepts.

Windows throughout are of substantial quality. The front gable contains a large Gothic opening with a hood moulding and flush sandstone surround, divided by carved sandstone tracery into three trefoil-headed panels with a cinquefoil panel above and several spandrel panels, all glazed with stained glass and weather glazing. Paired lancet openings serve the belfry stage of the tower, sharing a splayed sandstone sill with splayed reveals and diamond-shaped timber louvers, all beneath a single sandstone hood moulding. A small lancet sits above the door opening to the lower stage, while a double-height lancet to the north carries a hood moulding and stained glass.

To both side elevations are lancet window openings with cement hood mouldings, stepped cement reveals and surrounds dropping to the plinth course, splayed sandstone sills, and iron trefoil-headed frames glazed with stained glass. Both transept gables contain tripartite arrangements of lancet openings in red sandstone, with stone relieving arches above and stained glass with weather glazing (that to the north is mostly replaced by red cement). The rear chancel gable lights a further large Gothic window opening with sandstone hood moulding, flush splayed surround and sandstone gothic tracery glazed with stained glass and weather glazing. Trefoil-headed sandstone window openings appear to other elevations with stained glass, while the vestry has a paired square-headed opening carved in stone with leaded lights.

The entrance to the church is through a four-centred arch door opening at the front of the tower, finished with a deep moulded sandstone surround, a sandstone hood moulding terminated by a fleuron to either side, and a vertically-sheeted timber door with iron furniture, opening onto a sandstone flagged forecourt. A further square-headed door opening serves the vestry from the catslide section, with a chamfered sandstone surround and vertically-sheeted timber door with iron furniture.

The interior is notably rich, displaying high-quality timber panelling, pews and altar furniture, and an elaborate exposed timber roof. Impressive carved stone arches open to the transepts and chancel, while the collection of stained glass windows contributes significantly to the architectural appeal.

Recent restoration works, undertaken around the time of the 2008 survey, have sought to reverse twentieth-century cementitious replacements and restore the original appearance with appropriate materials, including the re-slating of the roof and replacement stone detailing.

The church stands within its own grounds with a bitmac forecourt enclosed by a low rubble stone wall with a pair of sandstone piers supporting decorative iron gates with ogee-shaped capstones. The gates are flanked by a matching pedestrian gate, with a further pier in red sandstone of later date. A church hall and rectory, both built around 1970, stand to the south and northeast respectively. The setting greatly enhances the appeal of the area.