Millisle and Ballycopeland Presbyterian Church, Ballywalter Road, Ballymacruise, Millisle, Newtownards, Co. Down, BT22 2HS

Millisle and Ballycopeland Presbyterian Church

This single-storey Presbyterian church stands on the east side of Ballywalter Road in the south-east corner of the village of Millisle, close to the shore. Originally built in 1773, shortly after the formation of the Millisle Presbyterian Congregation, it has been progressively added to and substantially renovated on several occasions.

The building is roughly T-shaped but has a complex, sprawling appearance due to various stairwell projections and the proximity of a related building to its south side. The main body of the church runs north to south, forming the horizontal of the T. It is a simple gabled structure with four large semicircular-headed windows with plain render surrounds and stained glass on the west facade. At each gable are stone steps leading to a panelled door at the upper level of a plain, functional-looking full-height projection. Each door leads to a gallery within the church. Panelled doors at ground level on the north and south projections provide additional entry to the main body.

The east facade has windows at the far left and far right, with the vertical stroke of the T extending between them. This section has a gabled roof, a window and small boiler-house projection to the north, and a similar window to the south. On the east-facing gable sits a large semicircular stairwell projection with a castellated parapet and very large six-pane window. A chimney breast rises from the east-facing gable and stairwell. Projecting from the south side of the stairwell is a large single-storey gabled section extending at an angle north-west to south-east, with a panelled double door and modern windows. From its south-east gable extends a high rendered wall linking to a small store-like structure with a mono-pitched roof, which connects via a wall to a gabled outbuilding and church office to the south. Small upper-level windows appear on the east faces of both north and south projections.

The entire facade is currently covered in salt-and-pepper-style dry-dash render. The gabled roofs now have asbestos-free slates and the timber window frames have been recently replaced, giving the building a sharp, modern appearance. Some exterior detailing such as quoins and castellations have disappeared during recent renovations.

A small graveyard to the east and south contains headstones dating from 1850.

Historical development

The church was built in 1773, shortly after the congregation's formation. While under construction, some members broke away to build their own church at Ballycopeland. In 1828 the Millisle church was re-roofed, and in 1833 a new gallery was installed in the south end. According to the Ordnance Survey Memoirs, at that stage the building comprised 58 seats accommodating six people each, plus two small galleries with 16 seats (eight each) accommodating six persons per seat, with a ground plan of 60 by 42 feet and approximately 150 attendees on Sundays. In 1836 the session house to the south of the church was converted to a school house, the first school in Millisle. The Millisle and Ballycopeland congregations were re-united in 1906. In 1934 the Millisle church underwent complete renovation: the north and south-facing porches were rebuilt, a new semicircular porch was added to the east gable, windows were enlarged, and new galleries, pulpit, pews and floor were installed. Substantial renovation has taken place on at least one occasion since the 1930s, with the entire facade re-rendered and window frames replaced.