Loughbrickland Reformed Presbyterian Church, Main Street, Loughbrickland, BANBRIDGE, Co Down, BT32 3YB

Loughbrickland Reformed Presbyterian Church is an early nineteenth-century church of symmetrical double-height design, located on an elevated site at the south end of Loughbrickland village on Main Street at the junction with the Dublin Road. The building is rectangular on plan with a hipped natural slate roof fitted with blue-black angled ridge and hip tiles, rendered and painted walling with painted granite quoins, and no chimneystacks. Cast iron rainwater goods sit over projecting rendered eaves.

The principal north-west elevation is symmetrically arranged with three windows flanking a central entrance. The entrance is contained within a painted stone doorcase with pilasters supporting an entablature with blocking course. The entrance doors are replacement six-panelled hardwood. The north-east and south-east elevations are each three windows wide. The rear elevation is two windows wide with a small lean-to boiler house to the far left. Windows throughout are replacement round-arched hardwood casements with painted granite sills.

The church stands on an elevated V-shaped site overlooking the village and is bounded by a random rubble stone retaining wall with stone soldier coping. Access is at the north-east point via a pair of double cast-iron gates with a cast-iron arch overhead having a frame flanked by curlicues. The gates are supported on a pair of finely dressed square-section granite piers, each with a recessed panel to the front, moulded cornice, and shallow diamond-pointed caps. A tarmacadamed drive to the church is flanked by yew trees, with grassed banks to either side.

The church was founded in 1835, with the foundation stone laid on 29 June of that year in the presence of a large assembly including Rev Mr Downes of Boardmills and Rev Mr Patterson of Grallagh. The stone was laid by James M Reilly of Scarva House. The building was designed with attention to taste, accommodation, and economy, and cost £800 when finished, raised by public subscription with Lord Downshire contributing £40 and providing the ground rent-free. It is described in the OS Memoirs compiled around 1837 as a whinstone building corniced with granite. The first minister, Rev Samuel Simms, was ordained in 1839 and served until his retirement in 1871; he is buried behind the meeting house.

The congregation was formed when the existing Original Secession Church in Loughbrickland joined the Reformed Presbyterians in the 1830s. The Scarva and Loughbrickland Reformed Presbyterian congregations then became united. The Reformed Presbyterian church in Ireland originated from a dispute regarding the Revolution settlement of 1690, when a minority of Ulster Presbyterians objected to the settlement as disregarding earlier covenants and the absence of recognition of the kingship of Christ. Known as Covenanters, they held separate meetings until 1757 when they depended on visits from Scottish ministers. A Reformed Presbytery was formed in 1763 and a Synod in 1811. Today 37 congregations exist, the vast majority in Northern Ireland, following the settlement patterns of the original Scots plantations in Antrim, Londonderry, and Down.

The interior of the church was stripped around 2000 following deterioration of the fabric due to fungal attack and dampness. All internal fittings, the floor, and internal wall plaster were removed. New free-standing pews were installed along with new front doors. The entrance lobby was rearranged and stairs relocated to provide a minister's room and crèche. This rearrangement also created an expanded gallery area on the first floor. Emergency escape routes were added at the rear with new fire escapes pierced through the walls. The basement was filled in and a new boiler house extension was added to the rear. The roof was replaced during this period. Although the church retains its original simplicity of proportion and style, defined by lack of ornamentation, these recent refurbishments have stripped it of much of its historic character and interest. The loss of most historic fabric and fittings has significantly degraded its historic integrity. However, its location and the survival of the original gates and gate piers remain of note, and it continues to be of local historic interest.