Presbyterian Church, Shore Street, Donaghadee, Co Down, BT21 0DG

A two-storey Presbyterian church on Shore Street, Donaghadee, originally built in 1822 as a relatively plain gabled structure with simple gothic detailing. The building has been substantially altered and extended over successive periods, fundamentally changing its appearance and character.

The original 1822 church was a square building constructed at a cost of £600, raised by subscription. It featured a gabled front with simple gothic pinnacles to either side, a moulded string course following the line of the gable verge set slightly lower, and a small roundel feature at the apex. A round inscription plaque to the front reads "Erected Anno Domini 1822 Rev. William Skelly Pastor". The original gothic traceried window frames were replaced with leaded lights around 1926.

In 1861, an L-shaped single-storey school house was built to the north side of the church, linking at the north-eastern corner. In 1894, a large two-storey gabled porch was added to the west front. The lower face of this porch is framed with plain buttresses and has rusticated render to the ground floor. To the first floor are two evenly spaced pointed arch-headed windows with a small eroded plaque between them legible only for the date 1822. The gable has stone coping returning at each side to create a split pediment effect, with a further inscription plaque in the tympanum. A gallery was added internally at this time, and the ceiling may have been replaced.

In 1975, the building was completely renovated and a squat two-storey entrance tower was added to the south side. This tower is square in plan with a plain pyramidal-capped buttress to each corner, a decorative projecting moulding to the top of ground floor level, and a pointed arch-headed doorway with plain moulded surround to the centre of the south face. A tall lancet window is positioned to the first floor. East and west faces each have lancet windows to the first floor with shorter windows to the ground floor.

A single-storey linking corridor connects the tower to the 1894 porch, with a pointed arch-headed window to its west face and completely glazed south face.

By 1975, the former school house to the north had become the church hall, serving this purpose until 1998 when it was demolished. A very large modern-style two-storey hall complex was constructed in its place in 1999, containing halls, meeting rooms and associated facilities. The entrance foyer provides access to the first floor of the 1894 porch and thence to the gallery within the main church. The west face of this section features a right-of-centre recessed two-storey gabled glazed entrance bay, framed by plain pilasters with rusticated render to the ground floor. Two modern windows appear to the ground floor and two to the first floor on the left, with one first-floor window on the right. The south façade has a central slightly projecting gabled bay with split pediment and round plaque. The central bay contains three pointed arch-headed windows with a single similar window to either side.

The east facade of the original church section is symmetrical with a pointed arch-headed window to each side and split pedimented gable. Between the windows at a lower level is a small blind window. The facade is framed with reducing squared buttresses rising to support pyramidal pinnacles. A round inscription plaque appears as before with a small roundel feature to the apex.

With the construction of the hall and tower, the whole building has doubled in size and taken on a modern appearance, with only scattered elements of gothic detailing indicating the original 1820s church. The building sits dramatically just north of the town centre on the seaward side of Shore Road. Walls are finished with smooth render, rusticated in parts. The gabled roof is covered with slate and rainwater goods are cast iron. A modern steel fire escape is exposed to the south face of the modern extension.