Stormont Presbyterian Church, 618 Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast, BT4 3HH

Stormont Presbyterian Church stands at the corner of Upper Newtownards Road and Castlehill Road in Belfast. This gabled double-height Romanesque-style church was built between 1955 to designs by Belfast architect Thomas T. Houston and constructed by local firm James Buckley & Sons.

The building follows a cruciform plan with a square-plan tower positioned to the south-west and a two-storey flat-roofed porch to the south-east. A gabled double-height pitched-roof hall extends to the east. The church is flanked by a two-storey flat-roofed extension to the north and a single-storey flat-roofed extension to the east. The pitched natural slate roof features raised verges to gables and parapets with moulded concrete coping. Ogee metal guttering discharges to circular and rectangular section downpipes.

The walls are laid in rock-faced artificial stone on a moulded plinth, with smooth-faced dressings to cills and banding at impost levels. Round-arched window openings have smooth banded surrounds and splayed cills, mostly fitted with fixed timber casement windows.

The principal south-facing elevation comprises a square-plan three-stage tower to the west, a recessed double-height gable at the centre, and the two-storey flat-roofed porch to the east. The tower features a round-arched door opening with deep moulded surround, plain spandrel, and double-leaf square-headed timber door opening onto two nosed steps. A second-stage window consists of five round-arched lights with smooth banded surround. The belfry stage displays three-part round-arched louvred openings on all four elevations, with projecting bracketed eaves supporting a pyramidal roof. An eastern tower door with timber sheeting and glazing opens onto a ramp.

The gable displays seven round-arched windows to ground floor: four fixed timber casement windows and three stained glass windows. A rose window at high level features stained leaded glazing. A round-arched door opening at the east porch end sits within a shallow projecting surround, with recessed doorcase, panelled spandrel, and double-leaf square-headed timber door opening onto two nosed steps.

The east elevation comprises the two-storey porch at its south end, a three-bay wide nave, the projecting gabled east transept, and a single-storey bay to the north. The porch displays three-part round-arched windows to first floor and three-part round-arched windows to ground floor facing north with fixed timber casements and a tall window above. The nave has three tall windows, whilst the gabled transept contains three windows with a taller central opening.

The west elevation consists of the tower's west side abutted by a small single-storey flat-roofed outshot, a three-bay wide nave, the projecting gabled west transept, and a single bay to the north. This elevation is abutted to the north by a two-storey gabled modern extension. The tower's first stage features three-part round-arched windows with smooth banded surrounds, whilst the belfry displays three-part round-arched louvred openings. The nave has three tall windows and the gable contains three windows with a taller centre opening. A narrow projecting bay to the north has a round-arched door opening with panelled spandrel and double-leaf square-headed timber door. This section is partly modernised with a narrow extension of two-storey glazed metal frame.

The north elevation is a gabled wall abutted by the two-storey flat-roofed extension.

The church sits within its own grounds, with paved and tarmaced parking to the south and west enclosed by coursed rock-faced cast stone dwarf walling. Plain metal gateways to the south and south-west are supported on square section gate piers matching the walling, topped with pyramidal coping stones. A more recent gateway lies to the north-west.

To the east of the church stands a double-height hall dating from 1931 in similar style and materials.