Christ Church (C of I), Woburn Road, Ballyrawer, Millisle, Newtownards, Co Down, BT22 2HY

Christ Church is a Church of Ireland parish church built in 1843 to designs by William Farrell, with a tower and spire added in 1859 by Charles Lanyon and William Lynn. The church stands on a slight rise at the end of a tree-lined lane south of Woburn Road, west of Carrowdore, and is a fine example of a mid-19th century parish church.

The building is constructed of snecked rubble with sandstone dressings, while the tower, chancel and side porch are in sandstone. It is a single-storey gothic structure comprising a nave, chancel projection, tower and spire. The nave, chancel and porch roofs are gabled with Bangor blue slates and stone parapets. The three-storey buttressed tower stands at the north gable.

The main entrance is on the ground floor of the north facade of the tower, consisting of a timber-sheeted double door set in a pointed arch headed opening with chamfered reveal and floral-capped columns to each jamb. Above the doorway is a gable-shaped drip stone moulding with finial and carved angels at the gable ends, with a small carved roundel near the apex (from which an iron lamp now projects). Above this is an inscription panel dedicated to Harriet Dunbar, with a carved angel to each side.

The middle storey of the tower contains a small pointed arch window with stone tracery, label moulding and carved head stops. The upper storey has twinned pointed arch openings with linked label moulding, carved head stops and carved angels where the label moulding joins. Each opening contains four louvered lights with cusped trefoil heads and tracery infill. At the head of the tower is a cusped frieze, topped with an octagonal spire with cast iron cross finial. The east and west faces of the tower are similar to the north, with a small roundel window with trefoil opening to the ground floor. The exposed upper level of the south face matches the north elevation.

To either side of the tower on the north gable of the nave are pointed arch recesses with rubble infill. Both the east and west facades of the nave have three pointed arch head windows with raised and chamfered surrounds. Some windows contain stained glass, others have plain diamond panes, and there is variety in frame style. The north gable of the nave is buttressed.

The east facade of the chancel has a pointed arch window with Y-tracery and a quatrefoil to the right, with a buttress to the left. The rear gable of the chancel is also buttressed and has a large central four-light window with intricate tracery and stained glass. The exposed west facade is blank.

A small gabled projection in sandstone is attached to the left side of the east facade of the chancel and the south-west corner of the nave. To the south facade of this projection is a timber-sheeted door set in a deep recess with pointed arch head. To the immediate left is a buttressed chimney breast topped with a decorative sandstone chimney pot. To the left of the chimney breast is a tiny trefoil window. The west gable of this projection has a pointed arch window opening containing two lights and a quatrefoil. The north facade of the projection is blank. Traces of arched stonework on the walls of the nave suggest that transepts may have been part of the original plan.

The graveyard lies to the east of the church with headstones dating back to 1843. A small recently built church office with kitchen and toilets stands to the west, constructed of rubble walls with hipped roof and pointed arch windows. Original-looking wrought iron gates stand to the north of the church.

The parish of Carrowdore was created largely through the work of the Primate, Lord John George Beresford, whose niece was married to George Dunbar of nearby Woburn House. The land was donated by Nicholas de La Cherois-Crommelin of Carrowdore Castle, and the building was constructed largely at Beresford's expense. Initially the church comprised a simple nave and small chancel, though evidence suggests a tower and larger nave were part of the Primate's original intention. The tower and spire were not added until 1859–60. Lanyon and Lynn, in a letter to George Dunbar in September 1859, stated that they had "not made it very elaborate in its ornament as it would not be in character with the rest of the building". The small rear projection was presumably added at this stage, and the chancel may have been enlarged at the same time. The tower is dedicated to Harriet Dunbar, Archbishop Beresford's niece, who died in 1859. The graveyard contains, among others, the grave of poet Louis MacNeice.