Ballyclare Presbyterian Church, 34 Doagh Road, Ballyclare, Co Antrim, BT39 9BG

A modestly scaled mid-nineteenth century Presbyterian church constructed in a simple style from locally quarried stone with understated stucco detailing.

The building is a detached double-height single-cell barn-style Presbyterian church, built around 1860, located to the north of Doagh Road and aligned north-south. It is rectangular in plan and faces south. The pitched roof is slated with lead-capped masonry verges, roll-top blue and black ridge tiles, and half-round uPVC rainwater goods set to a stone corbel course. The walling is rubble basalt built to courses with strap pointing over chamfered cement plinths.

The south elevation features painted block-marked rendered walling over a chamfered rendered plinth and straight channelled quoins. A gabled bellcote rises to the apex with a round-headed opening, though it contains no bell. The central entrance is round-headed with rendered blocked deep reveals having a keystone with an iron lamp affixed. It is accessed by three concrete steps and a ramp, and is fitted with a modern timber and glazed double door with a stained glass tympanum. Single windows flank the entrance to either side, each with a rendered architrave, sills, and keystone. The first floor contains three oculi with rendered architraves, splayed reveals, and keystones facing the cardinal points. The west and east elevations each have five double-height windows. Windows throughout are round-headed with basalt voussoirs, slightly projecting painted smooth-rendered reveals and sills, and modern painted timber stained glass casements. The north gable is abutted by a large modern multi-storey two-storey extension built around 1990, which has significantly compromised the integrity of the church in both scale and style.

The church is set back from the road and bounded by a modern rock-faced concrete plinth wall with steel railings to the south, enclosing a tarmac parking lot. To the east is a roughcast dwarf wall with saddleback concrete coping, accessed by an ornate mild steel gate.

Historically, the church emerged in 1861 from a congregation associated with the non-subscribing Presbytery of Antrim. In that year, following disagreement with the minister, a petition of complaint was delivered to the Presbytery and in 1862 the congregation voted to withdraw. An 1863 legal decision in favour of the minister led to a further breakaway forming Second Ballyclare. The church had 71 supporting families in 1856, rising to 135 supporting families by 1861 with weekly attendance between 200 and 250 persons. By 1981, the church had 557 supporting families with 350 weekly attendees.

While the church has played a significant role in the development of Presbyterianism locally, and Presbyterian tradition remains deeply rooted in the wider county of Antrim, the building is not among the best examples of the type. Its architectural and historical integrity have been compromised by various alterations, additions, and the loss of some historic fabric.