Groomsport Parish Church, Donaghadee Road, Groomsport, Co Down, BT19 6LG

A cruciform Church of Ireland church with two-stage tower, dated 1842, built to designs by Sir Charles Lanyon and set on the north side of Groomsport village, overlooking the sea. The main body of the church is aligned north-south with transepts to east and west, and entrance tower to south-west re-entrant angle; there is a lean-to vestry extension to south-east. Roof is pitched natural slate with blue/black angled clay ridge tiles and having sandstone kneelers to all gables. Cast-iron rainwater goods on cavetto-moulded sandstone eaves. Walling is roughcast with ashlar sandstone quoins and string course at floor level. Windows are tripartite stained-glass lancets (unless otherwise stated), surrounds are generally chamfered blocked sandstone with a number of reconstituted stone replacements. The tower is two-stage with castellated parapet, gableted pinnacles, string course between stages, and sandstone quoins. It has a four-centred arched entrance opening to west having a double-leaf wood grained door set in reconstituted stone surround, with panelled tympanum and bronze door furniture. It is surmounted by a stone shield inscribed with gilded date: 1842. There is a single lancet to south cheek; second stage has bipartite louvred lancets with linked stone hood-moulds to all elevations. To right of tower, nave is one window wide; the transept has tripartite lancets to gable and bipartite lancet to north. The chancel has a gothic tracery window to north gable, having a sandstone surround, with hood mould detailed with foliated carved stops. The east side consists of the east transept and vestry at left. The transept has a square-headed timber door accessed by a concrete step to north cheek, and tripartite lancets to east gable. The vestry has a gothic timber door with bronze furniture and tripartite gothic windows, all to east elevation. It is also lit by two gothic windows at south. The remaining east elevation has a single lancet window to the left. South gable has a break front containing tripartite lancets surmounted by a single lancet with hood mould detailed with foliated carved stops. Setting The church is set in a tarmac car park planted with shrubs to borders and enclosed by a rubble stone boundary wall with soldier coping to road, saddleback render coping to remainder. It is accessed at south west by a mild steel gate supported on square ashlar sandstone piers with moulded caps. Roof: Natural slate Walling: Roughcast Windows: Stained glass RWG: Cast-iron