St Johns RC Church, Drumnacanvy Road, Craigavon, Co Armagh, BT63 5SR

St Johns Roman Catholic Church stands on the south-east side of Drumnacanvy Road in the townland of Lylo, Craigavon. This is a Grade B2 listed building of considerable local historical and architectural interest.

The church itself is a simple, barn-like structure built in 1863 in coursed fieldstone, comprising a single cell with gabled roof. It replaced an earlier church of 1813 that stood a few metres to the north-east. The roof is covered with natural slate, with cast iron rainwater pipes and extruded aluminium gutters. Small carved stone crosses top each of the stone gable parapets.

Attached to the north gable is an L-shaped, single-storey gabled schoolhouse of 1894. This unusual arrangement—with church and school physically joined on the same site—is notable, as National Schools established from the 1830s onwards were specifically intended to remain outside denominational influence and were symbolically prohibited from being built adjacent to churches. It remains unclear whether the linking block was originally constructed as a vestry or formed part of the schoolhouse from the outset. The school itself closed in 1974.

The church's main entrance was originally on the north gable but was relocated to the long east side following construction of the school. This east façade features a modest doorway with modern panel doors set within a brick-dressed flat arched opening, flanked by three tall sash windows with horizontal astragals and margin panes. Each window opening is segmental arched and dressed with brick, with inner brick reveals to the sides and top, and plain stone sills. The south gable is blank. The west façade also has three similar sash windows. The north face is largely obscured by the schoolhouse, though its upper section contains three windows with the centre window set higher than the flanking pair, which are slightly narrower.

The interior of the church was significantly reordered after the school's construction. The altar was moved from the south wall to the north wall. Around 1910, the then parish priest donated the present altar and its associated mosaics—features of particular note in such a simple building. In approximately 1962, the altar railings were removed and the altar table repositioned to allow the celebrant to face the congregation. In the 1970s, bomb damage resulted in the demolition of a boiler house that had stood against the west gable.