Killinchy C of I Parish Church, Church Hill, Killinchy, Newtownards, Co Down, BT23 6PP

Killinchy Church of Ireland Parish Church

This is a simple rural parish church built in 1829–30, prominently situated on a hill at the north end of Killinchy village. The church retains its late Georgian character, though its appearance has been compromised by the addition of 'salt and pepper' pebbledash render to its facades in recent times, likely during the 1960s.

The church is a relatively small, plain and compact single-storey Gothic structure with a three-storey tower at its west end. The tower is buttressed and topped with battlements and four tall pyramidal pinnacles. At ground floor level on the south face of the tower is the entrance, consisting of a timber sheeted door set within a pointed arch opening with chamfered sandstone reveal and label moulding. Above the door is a small diamond-shaped inscribed panel, and at second floor level is a pointed arch louvered opening. The west and north faces of the tower each have similar second-floor openings, with a slightly taller first-floor window on the west face featuring small leaded lights. A narrow projecting course marks the second floor level.

The north and south facades of the nave each contain three tall pointed arch windows with small diamond lights and decorated tympana, fitted with coloured glass. At the east end is a small projecting chancel with a large pointed arch window of similar decoration. A lean-to vestry and office is attached to the chancel, with a low-level timber door on its east facade. Two flat arch windows with sash frames appear on the north facade. The nave roof is gabled and covered in Bangor blue slates. The entire facade is finished in pebbledash render with smooth cement render to wall edges and narrow surrounds to windows.

A curved wall with simple wrought iron railings bounds the church to the west and north. At the west entrance are stone gate pillars with a simple wrought iron gate. The graveyard to the south contains headstones dating back to at least 1672.

The site has held a church since early Christian times. The name 'Killinchy' translates as 'church of the island', possibly referring to the prominent position of the site itself. The church appears in Pope Nicholas IV's taxation list of 1306, valued at 20 shillings, but then disappears from records until 1622, when Sir James Hamilton came into possession of the area. The church was then reported to be in ruins, though it is unclear whether it was totally rebuilt or simply repaired. By the 1740s, when Walter Harris noted that it was 'seated on a high hill and therefore called by some in jest "The Visible Church"', it was evidently still standing. Around this period, the then minister, Reverend Hamilton Traill, built a rectory a short distance to the east.

The present church was constructed in 1829–30 at a cost of £1,200, with £800 raised by subscription. The siting was not exactly the same as the old church; the Ordnance Survey memoirs of 1833 noted that the former church had 'become much dilapidated [and] is un-roofed'.

The listing comprises the church, gate piers, gates, curved wall and railings. A recently built estate of single-storey houses in grey brick on the western side of the nearby road has somewhat diminished what would otherwise have been a quiet rural setting.