Cunningham Memorial, Killead Presbyterian Church, Killead Road, Aldergrove, Crumlin, Co Antrim

The Cunningham Memorial is a well-proportioned late 18th-century memorial in the Classical style, erected in 1796 to commemorate Samuel Cunningham, who died that same year at the age of 28. It stands in the churchyard of Killead Presbyterian Church on Killead Road, Aldergrove, and is of local interest.

The memorial is constructed of sandstone in a Classical style. It comprises a tall pedestal of square section with a moulded cornice and inscribed panels, standing on a large moulded base and surmounted by an ornamentally treated stone vase. The stonework bears traces of reddish pink paint.

Each of the four faces of the pedestal carries an inscribed panel. The south face dedicates the monument to Samuel Cunningham "as a testimony of the affection of his surviving relatives and a tribute of the gratitude and esteem of the people of this parish." The east face provides biographical detail: Cunningham was born at Crookedstone in the parish of Killead and acquired business knowledge in Belfast before pursuing a career in the West Indies. He was killed on 18 October 1796 while returning home, during an attack by a French privateer on the Portland Packet. His remains are interred on the island of Montserrat, where the action took place. The north face describes his character and charitable bequests: he bequeathed £100 to the Poor-House of Belfast and £200 to the poor of the parish, from which a handsome annual sum is secured to them in perpetuity through landed property. The west face carries Biblical quotations on mortality and salvation.

The memorial is enclosed by plain iron railings with larger chamfered corner posts surmounted by fluted finials. The posts to the north-west and south-west corners are missing, though all finials remain intact. The ground area within the railings is concrete.

The memorial stands in a grassed area within the churchyard, just to the north of the church itself, and is easily visible from the public roads. It has group value with Killead Presbyterian Church and the associated railings.