Gartree C. of I. Church, Gartree, Largy Road, Crumlin, Co Antrim

Gartree Church of Ireland, Crumlin

A basalt rubble church with sandstone dressings in Gothic Revival style, consisting of a nave and chancel with a pinnacled tower to the west gable and a gabled transeptal projection to the south side. The main entrance faces south in the base of the western tower.

The south elevation displays a three-bay nave with a lower chancel to the right and a three-storey tower to the left. The nave roof is finished in Bangor blue slates in regular courses, contained by sandstone copings to gables at each end, with cast iron guttering and downpipes at each extremity. The basalt rubble walling retains original lime mortar pointing and features a projecting chamfered sandstone plinth and projecting sandstone eaves course. Two-stage angle buttresses occupy the extremities of the nave.

The nave elevation is symmetrical, with one window to each side of a central projecting gabled transept containing the private aisle of the original benefactor. The south elevation of the transept comprises three bays: a gabled central portion flanked by flat parapeted bays to each side, terminating in pinnacled angle buttresses. Moulded sandstone coping runs across the gable and parapets. The walling matches the main nave except for five courses of brick filling to the corners below the parapet ends. The central gabled portion is marked by two-stage buttresses with sandstone weatherings and contains a central Gothic lancet window. This window has projecting chamfered sandstone surrounds (partly spalling) surmounted by a projecting moulded label. The metal tracery, painted white, comprises two lights with a cusped roundel to the head, lozenge pattern glazing bars containing two bottom-hung vents. The nave windows to each side of the transept are similar, with one vent.

The west wall of the transeptal projection has moulded sandstone coping to the parapet, which abuts a label stop of the nave window. A Gothic arched doorway with sandstone dressings similar to the windows features stop-chamfered jambs and a rectangular 4-panelled timber door with upper panels glazed and lower panels raised and fielded. A Gothic arched fanlight contains two glazed panels of Gothic quadrant shape. A cast iron downpipe runs in the corner with the nave. The east wall of the transeptal projection is similar except the door is 6-panelled and a panelled timber rail runs between the door and fanlight. The roof of the transeptal projection is slated as the nave.

The side of the chancel to the right is a blank wall with projecting plinth and eaves course as the main structure, slated roof contained to the right by gable copings, with metal gutter and downpipe.

The tower is three-storey, of square plan. The walling matches the previous nave treatment with moulded projecting stringcourses. The ground and first floors have clasping buttresses of basalt rubble. The second floor has octagonal sandstone pinnacles to each corner, projecting up as octagonal finials with smooth rendered crenellated parapets and sandstone copings to the crenellations. The ground floor contains a larger Gothic arched doorway of similar design to the previous doorways, with a rectangular timber 4-panel door and 2-panel Gothic arched tympanum, wrought iron handle, and sandstone doorstep. Above the doorway projects a sandstone shield without inscription. The first floor has a roundel with moulded sandstone surround, filled with a timber panel containing a small circular opening. The second floor has a Gothic lancet opening dressed as the previous windows, containing wooden louvres.

The western face of the tower is similar to the south except it has a narrow Gothic lancet window to the ground floor with lozenge pattern metal glazing bars in a white-painted metal frame. The north face of the tower has similar treatment except no openings to the ground or first floor levels, with a cast iron downpipe to the left-hand side at each level. The east face has similar treatment to the top storey as the other faces.

The west elevation of the nave to each side of the tower has plain walling with a pedimental feature to the top where the projecting eaves course returns up at an angle to form the gable coping. In the west gable to the south of the tower at ground level is a small rectangular opening containing an iron door with ventilation holes; the inscription is illegible.

The north elevation of the nave has three windows. The roof, rainwater goods, and walling match the south elevation. The windows are Gothic lancets as on the south elevation, except the central window has stained glass and a protective steel mesh grille attached. The north side of the chancel is similar to the south side.

The east gable of the nave has walling as the entrance elevation, with projecting sandstone coping. The projecting eases courses of the north and south walls return for a short length to each side. Four rectangular cast iron ventilator grilles sit below the gable copings, two to each side on the raking line. The east gable of the chancel has similar projecting sandstone copings with short projecting eases courses returning from each side. A central Tudor arched window dressed as the previous windows contains three-light perpendicular Gothic tracery in sandstone with stained glass and steel wire mesh grilles. Below the window at ground level is a segmental relieving arch with roughly shaped basalt voussoirs.

The church stands in its own churchyard in a remote rural location. The churchyard is grassed with a gravel-covered area to the entrance front and is planted with numerous yew trees. No memorials of architectural or historic interest are present.

The churchyard is entered by a large Gothic Revival entrance archway built of sandstone ashlar (painted), comprising square piers in two stages with a Tudor arch connecting them. The front elevation faces south. The front face of each pier has a weathered buttress to the lower stage, moulded cornice, and rectangular sunk panel to the upper stage containing white marble inscription plaques. A moulded cornice, plain blocking course, and tall pyramidal pinnacle with foliated stone finial top each pier. The spandrels of the arch have moulded quatrefoil motifs and moulded cusping, with moulded quatrefoil piercings to the parapet over. Wrought iron double gates, painted silver, occupy the opening. To each side are short curving screen walls, smooth rendered, lined and blocked, with flat sandstone copings (all painted), terminating in short square piers with weathered caps. The pier to the east abuts a rubble stone boundary wall of the churchyard. The pier to the west abuts a rendered wall, wet dashed with small stones and a projecting smooth rendered coping, which connects with the single-storey church hall. The rear elevation of the gateway is similar to the front but without inscription plaques to the piers and with plain unmoulded rear faces to the arch and parapet.

The churchyard boundaries are formed by rubble basalt walls of no distinction to the north and south, and by belts of trees to the east and west, with a plain iron gate to the east. The surrounding area comprises flat agricultural land, formerly a wartime airfield, with distant views to Lough Neagh. To the south are large industrial warehouses of no architectural distinction, and adjacent to the west end of the front boundary wall is a single-storey church hall of no special merit, rendered with wet dash, slated roof, modern rectangular timber fixed light windows with top-hung vents, and rectangular ledged timber doors.