Presbyterian Church, Scarva Street, Banbridge, Co Down, BT32 3AD

Scarva Street Presbyterian Church, Banbridge

This free-standing Presbyterian church on the south side of Scarva Street in Banbridge town centre was built around 1830 in the Classical style and has been remodelled twice since — first in 1877–9 by the prominent local architects Young and MacKenzie, and again in 1963. It is a good example of that firm's work, and its relatively intact late-Victorian interior from the 1877 restoration is of good quality with fine detailing. The 1963 refurbishment, however, involved the removal of the original classical stone frontage, which significantly affected its historic character.

Architecture and Appearance

The church is rectangular in plan with a projecting porch to the front and a two-storey gabled return to the rear. To the southeast it is abutted by a single-storey porch leading to a minister's room housed in a large modern extension, which compromises the north-easterly aspect of the building. The roof is pitched natural slate with raised stone kneelers and cast-iron ogee rainwater goods on projecting eaves. The walls are ashlar sandstone, with band rustication to the ground floor and to the porch on the northeast elevation.

Windows throughout are round-headed and segmental-headed lattice leaded-and-stained glass casements. Those on the ground floor sit in moulded surrounds; at gallery level on the principal elevation they have moulded and lugged surrounds with a keyblock; the side wall windows have plain mouldings.

The principal northeast elevation is the 1963 façade. It is symmetrically arranged with three openings on each floor, divided and framed by giant order pilasters surmounting a plain moulded entablature and pedimented gable. At the centre of the gable is a carved Burning Bush with a banner reading "ARDENS SED VIRENS" (Burning but flourishing — the Presbyterian motto). At ground floor level, a projecting gabled porch with decorative kneeler stones and a round-headed window to each cheek is accessed by a set of splayed granite steps. The porch contains a modern double-leaf four-panelled timber door with an over-sized fanlight and label mould.

The southeast elevation has three evenly spaced windows at each floor and is abutted at the far left by the single-storey porch with a modern four-panelled door accessed via masonry steps. The southwest rear elevation has a gabled return at centre, abutted to left and right by single-storey extensions, with a round-headed window to both the southeast and northwest elevations. The northwest elevation is three windows wide at each floor; to the left is a recessed modern six-panelled timber door reached by a ramp with a modern metal handrail.

Interior

The interior dates substantially from the 1877–9 restoration by Young and MacKenzie and is of good quality. During that work the seats were modernised, a platform with a movable desk was substituted for the pulpit, and the original plaster ceiling was replaced by recessed panelling. Stained glass windows were inserted in 1900, and in 1920 alterations were made to accommodate an organ — work supervised by William Wright Larmor, at the time engineer to Banbridge District Council and assistant county surveyor for County Down, and also a member of the congregation. New church furniture and a new organ were also dedicated in the 1960s. Five new stained glass windows were fitted to the front of the church during the 1970s restoration, gifted by the Ervine family, the PWA, the Young Wives' Group, the Girls' Auxiliary, and the Boys' Brigade.

Historical Background

The congregation's origins go back to 1716, when a meeting house was erected on the banks of the River Bann at the Old Meeting House Green, serving the congregation for over a century. As Banbridge grew through the success of linen trading, the need arose for a new and larger place of worship. The Reverend James Davis, appointed in 1814, became a significant figure in the subscription controversy of the 1820s, opposing Dr Cooke and leading a liberal faction. When Dr Cooke prevailed at the 1828 Synod, Mr Davis drew up the Remonstrance — the historic document that gave its name to the Remonstrant Synod of Ulster, later known as the Unitarians. Mr Davis was one of seventeen ministers who separated from the Synod of Ulster in 1830.

The orthodox section of the congregation worshipped temporarily in the old Market House before building the new church on Scarva Street, aided by a gift of £120 from the Marquess of Downshire (who had also subscribed £300 towards the new Episcopal church). The new minister, the Reverend Robert Anderson, was ordained in the partially completed building on 22nd June 1830, with temporary seating provided for the occasion. The formal opening, when the building had cost £1,200, took place on 27th March 1832, when the Reverend Dr Cooke preached and a collection was taken to assist with the construction debts.

The Ordnance Survey Memoirs describe the building as "a whinstone building corniced with granite. In length it is 65 feet and in breadth 47 feet. It was erected in 1829 and cost 1,000 pounds which was defrayed by subscription. It has a good gallery and is well provided with seats and contains accommodation for 650 persons. The average attendance is 250." The Townland Valuation of 1828–40 valued the meeting house at £28; by Griffith's Valuation of 1856–64, the combined value of the Presbyterian Church and National School House had risen to £58.

A school room was built in 1857 without architect or contractor at a cost of around £560, with a further £600 spent in 1907 on two additional classrooms and a heating system. In 1871, alterations and repairs were carried out under the supervision of Robert Cochrane, including the enclosure of the site with a wrought-iron railing on a cut-stone base, ornamental wrought-iron entrance gate and wicket with hollow wrought-iron pillars filled with scroll-work and surmounted by gas standards — all designed by Cochrane in keeping with what was described as the Italian style of the church and school house, with Hugh McMullan as contractor.

The major Victorian remodelling by Young and MacKenzie followed in 1878–9, with John Harkness as contractor. In 1943, the school buildings were requisitioned by the War Department, though the use made of them is not recorded. The First General Revaluation of 1933–4 valued the church at £140, noted heating by low-pressure hot water and seating for approximately 500, and described the building as "well built and in good condition."

In 1963, a new "modern Georgian front" was constructed to designs by Morris H. Ferguson ARIBA, involving the removal of the original façade — a change that drew sharp criticism from the architectural commentator Brett, who described the new porch as "perfectly horrible" and the new façade as "grotesque." A restoration scheme began in summer 1973, with the support of the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, at a cost of around £18,000. The architect was Robert McKinstry B.Arch, ARIBA, an old boy of Banbridge Academy and a leading member of the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society. The main contractors were Messrs John Sinton Ltd of Tandragee, and architectural cast stone was manufactured and fixed by Messrs Alexander Greer Ltd (Stonetex) of Lurgan. Notably, the Ionic columns used in the restoration had originally flanked the doorway of the old Great Northern Railway goods office in Great Victoria Street, Belfast. A service of thanksgiving for the completed work was held on 12th May 1974. The building was listed in 1977.

In 1978 a choir room was added to the rear, and in 1985 a large extension to the church hall was built to designs by R. J. Thompson of Loughbrickland. The church railings and gate piers were replaced around 1993. In 2000, the entrance porch was replaced to designs by Whittaker and Watt, and new stonework to the façade included a carved representation of the Presbyterian burning bush motif. By the time of listing, the congregation of approximately 550 families was the largest in the Iveagh Presbytery.

Setting

The church is set back from the road with a central tarmac entrance flanked by lawned banks. Scarva Street to the northeast is lined with a variety of mid-20th century terraced housing. To the rear is a small graveyard with headstones dating from the mid-19th century, which adds to the interest of the site, though the setting here has been compromised by a modern manse. A large two-storey modern extension in a similar style to the church has been built to the northeast.