Methodist Church, High Street, Lurgan, Co.Armagh

Methodist Church, High Street, Lurgan, Co. Armagh

This is a good example of a 19th-century, two-storey Methodist church, originally constructed around 1826 and re-fronted in 1888. It sits within the continuous terrace on the south-western side of High Street, Lurgan, in the centre of the town. The 1888 remodelling and re-fronting was carried out by architect J. J. Phillips of Belfast, and the building retains an intact, finely detailed late 19th-century interior. The church has social interest as a functioning place of worship and remains a notable presence within its conservation area setting. It was extended extensively to the rear in several phases during the later 20th century.

Historical Background

The Methodist connection with Lurgan has deep roots. The Reverend John Wesley, founder of Methodism, first visited the town in July 1756 and returned on a further six occasions over the following 29 years. By 1770 his adherents were meeting regularly at Isaac Bullick's house, known as The Rookery, which stood on the site of what is now no. 20 High Street. In June 1778 these meetings transferred to a dedicated chapel, opened by Wesley himself in Nettleton's Court off Queen Street — a small, single-storey thatched building that survived in heavily modified form until 1973. By 1802 the congregation had outgrown even this, and a new, larger building was erected off High Street on a site immediately behind the present church. This too was outgrown by 1825, and the current church was then constructed facing directly onto High Street. According to the Ordnance Survey Memoirs of October 1837, the new building was described as a neat stone building 40 feet long and 36 feet broad, repaired in 1835 and capable of accommodating 500 persons, though a near-contemporary valuation records it as measuring 41 by 55 feet and 22 feet in height, reputedly built at a cost of £700. Valuation town plans of around 1836 and around 1864 show that the church was originally set back from the terrace line, with a forecourt enclosed by a low wall or railings. In 1887–88, this forecourt space was filled in when the present front block was added and the existing section renovated, all to designs by J. J. Phillips of Belfast. The Belfast News-Letter, reporting on the reopening of the church in August 1888, stated that it had undergone a thorough overhauling and in its repaired and renovated condition may be regarded as one of the most handsomely-finished and appropriately-equipped edifices in connection with the Methodist body in the North of Ireland. The report recorded that the entire church had been re-seated, a substantial new gallery erected, and a new staircase leading to the gallery installed. An ornamental wooden ceiling of very graceful design had been provided, along with a new pulpit and reading-desk. Pitch pine was used throughout the repair work, with all woodwork freshly varnished. The gas fittings were entirely new, and an ingenious heating apparatus was provided for both the upper and lower parts of the building.

North-East (Front) Elevation

The front elevation faces north-east and sits flush with the rest of the terrace. It is symmetrically arranged. At ground floor level the finish is rusticated render, rising from a bevelled plinth and bounded by unusual raised vermiculated quoins. The upper level has lined render with v-jointed in-out quoins at the corners. A deep string course separates the two floors, carrying the inscription HIGH STREET METHODIST CHURCH in raised serif capitals. An eaves cornice and parapet run along the top, with three plain recessed panels set in line with the first-floor windows.

The central ground-floor entrance is a segmental-headed opening fitted with modern partially-glazed timber doors, a fanlight with modern coloured glazing, and a timber and lead curving canopy-like hood. The reveal has barley-twist edging, and the whole opening is encased by plain pilasters supporting a high-level cornice. On either side of the entrance is a segmental-headed window with a plain render surround, a vermiculated keystone, and late 20th-century leaded glazing. Decorative galvanised security railings have been fixed to these window frames. Small notice boards are affixed to the wall between the entrance and the flanking windows.

At first-floor level there are three semi-circular-headed windows set on a sill course, each with decorative drip moulding and leaded glazing matching that of the ground floor.

North-West Elevation

The long north-west side of the church originally faced into a narrow entry, but this has been infilled by a single-storey corridor extension running practically the full length of the original building. To the street side this corridor presents a plain rendered frontage topped with a balustrade, and has a flat-arched doorway with a panelled timber door. At the far left-hand end, the north-west face of the church itself continues the treatment of the front elevation — lined render topped with a parapet — marking the extent of the 1888 addition. This section has a gabled roof that appears to be slated. Beyond it, the 1826 building is slightly lower and has a hipped, slated roof with a slight overhang, a decorative metal vent to the ridge, and a further square metal projection along the ridge to the north-east. The walls of the original section are plain rendered, and to this side there are two tall, narrow semi-circular windows to the right of centre with leaded glazing as before.

South-East Elevation

Roughly half of the south-east side of the building is abutted by the neighbouring property, but the two windows corresponding to those on the north-west side are visible.

South-West (Rear) Elevation

The rear of the building is largely obscured by later extensions, with only a small area at the top still visible. This is rendered in the same manner as elsewhere and does not appear to have any openings.

Rear Extensions

The additions to the rear — comprising a hall and church offices — are of multiple periods and are extensive, more than doubling the footprint of the 19th-century structure. The two- to three-storey section immediately attached to the rear of the original building dates from around 1957. A slightly lower foyer section connecting this to the further extensions was added around 1993, at which point the whole ensemble was refurbished. The large double-height hall to the south-west was added around 1990. All rear additions are of modern appearance. At the rear, a separate T-shaped structure is shown on the valuation plan of around 1836 — possibly the former chapel of 1802, though curiously that plan captions it as Old Presbyterian, which may simply be a valuer's error regarding the denomination, and the building is not recorded in the valuation book. By 1864 a larger structure is shown to the rear, which from the plot lines appears to have belonged to the neighbouring property to the north-west. The separate mid-19th-century structure at the rear is recorded on updated maps until at least 1975; its site is now occupied by the large church hall added around 1990.

Interior

The interior dates from the late 19th-century remodelling and is intact and finely detailed. It comprises a communion area with an elaborately detailed raised pulpit, a three-sided gallery with a decorative carved balustrade, and an ornately carved panelled ceiling.