Wesley Centenary Methodist Church, Hamilton Road, Bangor, Co Down, BT20 4JP

A double-height Gothic-style church dated 1891; built to the designs of James John Phillips. Rectangular plan form with extensive additions to the rear and side. Located in Bangor town centre; directly off Hamilton Road; opposite St. Comgall's Church (HB23/07/007A). Hipped slate roof with clay ridge tiles; ventilation lanterns removed. Moulded stone eaves; cast-iron ogee moulded gutters and circular down pipes. Squared uncoursed sandstone rubble with ashlar sandstone dressings and string course; projected plinth course. Lancet windows in ashlar sandstone dressings with leaded and stained glazing; chamfered long-and-short reveals. Paired timber sheeted entrance doors with fixed overlight inset to lancet opening with two-stage chamfered sandstone surrounds; hood moulding with foliated head-stops. The principal elevation faces south and comprises a symmetrical gable fronting the main body of the church, extended to the left side. The gable comprises moulded parapet coping with apex cross; flanking lateral two-stage buttressing rising to gableted pinnacles; terminated with finial crosses. Paired front doors centrally located accessed by modern steps and handrail. Sandstone frieze inscribed with “Wesley Centenary Church 1891”. Triple lancet formation to first floor level; elliptical louvred oculus to gable head. Paired first floor windows to the left hand side of the gable-end; matching in detail. The left (west) elevation is partially abutted and enclosed by a two-storey extension dated 1964. View obscured. The rear gabled (north) elevation is rendered and abutted by a diminished two-storey gable. The right (east) elevation is six-bay wide and rendered. Each bay is separated by stepped buttresses and comprise paired windows with shared cills. Two-tier projected rendered corbel course. The site has been infilled with various abutting extensions, erected in different periods and in varying styles. Abutting the rear is a double height pebble-dashed hall erected 1924; gable ended with moulded detailing. Further to the rear is a two-storey modernist building erected 1965 comprising red brick and smooth render with minimal detailing. Infilling the west side of the site is a matching minimalist-style single-storey block. The front of the site is bounded by a low level artificial stone wall with low-level rail; installed 1965. Setting Located on the street close to a main junction in the centre of Bangor with two/three storey retail and commercial buildings and several landmark historic buildings including St Comgall's Church (HB23/07/007A) and the Masonic Hall (HB23/07/008) in the vicinity. Roofing: Natural slate Walling: Sandstone Window: Leaded and stained RWG: Cast-iron