St Francis' Chuch of Ireland Church, Moss Road, Portadown, Craigavon, Co Armagh

St Francis' Church of Ireland Church, Moss Road, Portadown

Built in 1856, St Francis' is a mid-19th century church in Gothic Revival style that serves as a local landmark in a rural setting. The church was designed by 1855 and opened on 7 June 1856. It was built for a parish formed in 1854 from the neighbouring parishes of Loughgall, Killyman and Clonfeacle, on ground owned by Mrs Cope of Drumilly. The builder was Richard Cherry of Loughgall, and the church was consecrated on 17 July 1861.

The building comprises a nave and chancel with transepts and a western porch. The exterior walls are constructed of snecked limestone rubble with a batter towards the base, dressed with sandstone to the windows and quoins at the extremities. The roof is covered in Bangor blue slates in regular courses, set between dressed sandstone copings.

The south elevation displays a 3-bay nave. Windows are coupled Gothic arched lancets containing small iron lozenge-shaped panes with margins, set below limestone Gothic relieving arches. A cut sandstone bellcote sits on the western gable, with a bell hanging in a Gothic arched opening. The bell was made by Thomas Hodges, founder, of Abbey Street, Dublin, in 1856.

A gabled transept projects forward at the right-hand end, containing a large 3-light traceried window in the south gable with storm-proof glazing over stained glass. The window is topped with a moulded sandstone coping and a decorative finial of fleur-de-lys shape in sandstone at the apex. Side walls of the transept each contain a narrow Gothic arched lancet with lozenge-shaped glazing.

The western porch projects centrally from the west gable and contains a Gothic arched doorway with chamfered sandstone surrounds and a moulded drip. The original double timber doors retain their decorative ironwork hinges, latch and escutcheon, with iron nail heads to the boards. The doorway is approached by ramped stone flags. A tall narrow Gothic arched lancet glazes the west gable of the porch, while the north wall of the porch contains a smaller lancet of similar detail. At the base of the nave gable, to the left of the porch, is a perforated cast iron ventilation panel set in a chamfered sandstone surround.

The chancel extends to the right-hand end, projecting centrally from the east gable of the nave. Its south wall is almost entirely obscured by a projecting lean-to vestry, which contains a doorway with a chamfered sandstone shouldered arch. This doorway retains its original timber door with decorative hinges, handle, and escutcheon, with nail heads to the boards. The north wall of the chancel contains a coupled window similar in form to those of the nave, but with storm-proof glazing over stained glass. The east elevation comprises the blind east gable of the nave with a centrally projecting chancel. The chancel gable contains a large Gothic arched 4-light traceried window containing stained glass covered with storm-proof glazing, which was erected in 1898. The lean-to vestry extends to the left of this, containing a small pair of coupled windows. Below these windows is a basement area containing a rectangular timber tongued and grooved sheeted door set in red brick jambs and concrete lintel, reached by a flight of stone steps. The basement stairwell is bounded by plain modern steel railings on a low smooth rendered plinth wall.

Moulded metal gutters sit on shaped sandstone corbels, with metal downpipes discharging into perforated sandstone gully covers.

The building retains original features to both its exterior and interior. The organ was made by Telford & Telford of Dublin and brought from a parish in the Diocese of Dublin or Glendalough around 1888–1890. A stone pulpit was erected in 1906.

The church stands with its main length parallel to the main road, set back slightly from it on slightly elevated ground within its own churchyard. The front boundary is formed by a rubble basalt retaining wall backed by a hedge. At the right-hand end is a vehicular gateway comprising a pair of dressed sandstone square piers with chamfered corners and chamfered pyramidal caps, containing a pair of original iron gates which appear to have been extended. To the right of that is a small modern iron pedestrian gate with a rubble stone wall beyond. A tarmac driveway extends to a large tarmac area to the west of the church. The churchyard contains a grassed area between the main road and church, with some trees, and a graveyard to the rear. Side boundaries are formed by modern wooden fences. Adjacent to the church, standing to its west, is a roughcast church hall.