Gates and Railings, Presbyterian Church, Scarva Street, Banbridge, Co Down, BT32 3AD

Gates and Railings to Scarva Street Presbyterian Church, Banbridge

These wrought-iron gates and railings, originally erected in 1871, no longer survive. They have been demolished and replaced with a modern set of cast-iron railings and rendered gate piers, the replacement taking place around 1993. This record documents the original gates only.

The original ironwork was installed as part of a wider programme of alterations and repairs to the church carried out under the supervision of Robert Cochrane, civil engineer. The Irish Builder of 15th December 1871 described the ensemble as "a handsome wrought-iron railing on cut-stone base, ornamental wrought-iron entrance gate and wicket, with hollow wrought-iron pillars filled with scroll-work, surmounted by gas standards." Cochrane designed the ironwork to complement the Italian architectural style of the church and adjoining school-house. The contractor responsible for fabricating and installing the ironwork was Hugh McMullan.

The church to which these gates belonged has a long and historically significant history. A Presbyterian meeting house was first erected on the site in 1716 on the banks of the River Bann. The congregation underwent a significant split in the late 1820s following the subscription controversy, in which the minister Reverend James Davis opposed Dr Cooke and led a liberal faction. When Dr Cooke prevailed at the 1828 Synod, Davis drew up the Remonstrance — the historic document that gave its name to the Remonstrant Synod of Ulster, commonly known as the Unitarians. Davis was among 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 constructing the present church on Scarva Street, assisted by a gift of £120 from the Marquess of Downshire. The new minister, Robert Anderson, was ordained in the partially completed building on 22nd June 1830, with temporary seating provided for the occasion. The completed church was formally opened on 27th March 1832, when Reverend Dr Cooke preached. The total cost of construction was £1,200.

The Ordnance Survey Memoirs of the 1830s described the building as "a whinstone building corniced with granite," measuring 65 feet in length and 47 feet in breadth, erected in 1829 at a cost of £1,000 raised by subscription, with a good gallery, seating for 650, and an average attendance of 250. The Townland Valuation of 1828–40 valued the meeting house at £28, rising to £58 in Griffith's Valuation of 1856–64, which recorded it as the "Presbyterian Church and National School House."

A school-room was built by the congregation in 1857 without an architect or contractor at a cost of approximately £560. Further extensive alterations were carried out in 1878–9 by the architects Young and Mackenzie, with John Harkness as contractor, and the present interior is largely attributed to this period. These works involved modernising the seating, replacing the pulpit with a platform and movable desk, and substituting the plaster ceiling with recessed panelling. Stained glass windows were inserted in 1900, and alterations to accommodate an organ were made in 1920, supervised by William Wright Larmor, engineer to Banbridge District Council and assistant county surveyor for County Down, who was also a member of the congregation. Two classrooms and a heating system were added to the school in 1907 at a cost of £600.

By the First General Revaluation of 1933–4, the church was valued at £140. It was described as well built and in good condition, heated by low-pressure hot water with seating for approximately 500. The church hall, used as a Sunday School, comprised a main hall, two good-sized rooms, and a basement beneath the classrooms, heated by high-pressure hot water. In 1943 the school buildings were requisitioned by the War Department, though the use made of them is not recorded.

In 1963 the Banbridge Chronicle reported work in progress on a new "modern Georgian front" designed by Morris H. Ferguson ARIBA, which involved removing the original facade. This was later criticised by the architectural historian Brett, who described the new porch as "perfectly horrible" and the new facade as "grotesque." New church furniture and a new organ were also dedicated in the 1960s.

A restoration scheme began in the summer of 1973, supported by the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, to reinstate the church front. The main contractors were Messrs John Sinton Ltd of Tandragee, at a cost of approximately £18,000. The architect was Robert McKinstry B.Arch, ARIBA, an alumnus of Banbridge Academy and a leading member of the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society. A service of thanksgiving was held on 12th May 1974. Five new stained glass windows were fitted to the front at this time, gifted by the Ervine family, the PWA, the Young Wives' Group, the Girls' Auxiliary, and the Boys' Brigade. 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 to the old Great Northern Railway goods office in Great Victoria Street, Belfast. 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 facade included a carved representation of the Presbyterian motif of a burning bush. At the time of recording, the congregation numbered approximately 550 families, making it the largest congregation in Iveagh presbytery.