First Comber Presbyterian Church, High Street, Comber, Co. Down, BT23 5HL

First Comber Presbyterian Church is an impressive and unusual single-storey cruciform plan Presbyterian church built in 1740, with 'intersecting' gables and other substantial detailing probably added during a comprehensive remodelling programme in 1887.

The church is set on a slight slope on the north-west side of High Street at approximately the highest point of the street. It was believed to have been built in 1740, replacing an earlier church on the site dating from 1670. The building appears to have been cruciform from the beginning, as it is shown as such on the 1834 Ordnance Survey map. The Ordnance Survey Memoirs of 1837 record that it 'underwent considerable repairs in 1836 at a cost of £300' but make no comment as to additions to the original structure.

The church has a cruciform plan with each wing gable-ended. In the four angles between the wings is a further smaller gable set at 45 degrees. The church can be entered via any of three wing gables facing north-east, north-west and south-west. Each of these gables is served by a small double-gabled porch with a flat-roofed 'well' between. Three small pointed-arch windows are set within rectangular recesses to the gabled face of each porch. The north-west porch has a timber-sheeted door with arch design on each of its outer faces, whilst the north-east and south-west porches have a similar door only to the south-east face of each. Above each porch, on the main gable, is a pointed-arch window with label moulding over. Above each of these is a small louvered roundel opening with moulded surround.

The smaller gables in the angles and the main south-east gable each have large pointed-arch recesses with label moulding over. Within each recess are twinned semicircular-arched windows with a roundel above. The whole window ensemble is dressed with brick and blue engineering-like brick. The entire façade is finished in V-channelled render and painted. The main gables have an eaves course with moulding to apex and iron finials. The main roof is covered in natural slate with rendered parapets. Cast-iron skylights are positioned near the ridge on the south-east wing. The porches are covered in asbestos slates. The windows contain stained glass.

The south-east gable faces directly onto the footpath. To the north-east and south-west of this gable stretches a low rendered wall set in stepped fashion on the slope of the street. The wall is punctuated by square panelled pillars and decorative railings.

In 1887 the building was completely renovated. At this stage the gables to the intersection may have been added, and with them the colonnettes to the interior. The windows were probably remodelled at this stage, and the galleries (outside steps to which are said to have been shown on a 1860s painting of the church) were probably removed. The railings to the front may date from this period, as may the porches, though both may be 20th-century additions. The church was refurbished in 1992.