St Polycarps Church Of Ireland, Church, Upper Lisburn Road, Belfast, County Antrim, BT10 0BB

St Polycarps Church of Ireland

A double-height gabled Gothic-revival sandstone church located on the south side of Upper Lisburn Road, Belfast. Built between 1930 and 1932 to designs by architect P. M. Jury of the Blackwood & Jury firm, with construction carried out by the local firm J & R Thompson.

The church follows a rectangular plan set on a west-east axis. The principal west-facing elevation features a projecting single-storey lean-to entrance porch at centre, flanked to the north by a single-storey outshot with hipped slate roof and curved end, and to the southwest by a square-plan four-stage tower with an octagonal belfry. A gabled baptistry projects from the northwest corner.

The walls are laid in random coursed rock-faced Scrabo sandstone with red Aspatria sandstone dressings and a chamfered plinth course. The pitched natural slate roof has raised stone verges and a cross at the apex, while the aisles have lean-to natural slate roofs. A moulded cornice supports cast iron ogee guttering discharging to rectangular-section downpipes.

The main west gable contains a large three-part tracery window with carved stone supporting blocks to the sill. A pointed arch door opening sits within a square-headed stone surround, opening onto four stone steps. The outshot to the north has a smaller gable facing north with a four-part tracery window, and a blind gable facing south. Angled two-stage buttresses topped by gablets support the structure.

The southwest tower features a west face with a two-part square-headed window to the first stage and a square-headed window above. The south face has a projecting octagonal plan stair-tower with two round-arch windows and a tapering stone roof, a square-headed window to the second stage, and a red sandstone carved band at the base of the belfry. The octagonal belfry has four lancet louvred openings and is topped by a castellated parapet, with three-stage diagonal buttresses to the corners.

The north elevation comprises a four-bay north aisle with the curved outshot to the west and the chancel to the east with two projecting gabled outshots. Each bay has a three-part tracery window separated by two-stage buttresses. Square-headed windows light the curved outshot. Four square-headed three-part clerestory windows serve the nave. The projecting gabled outshot to the east of the aisle is flanked by two-stage buttresses and has a square-headed door opening with segmental-arched sheeted timber doors opening onto four stone steps. A small square-headed window with clear leaded glazing sits to the west of the door, and a hexagonal chimney on a square base rises to the apex. The gabled outshot directly to the east is slightly lower and has a two-part square-headed window with clear leaded glazing and a square-headed door opening onto a small platform below ground level, fenced with iron railings.

The church is abutted to the east by a single-storey flat-roofed modern corridor connecting to a double-height pitched-roof modern hall dating from 1960.

The east elevation is gabled with kneelers and contains a large three-part tracery window with a moulded hood. Angled buttresses to the corners support a stone cross at the apex. The south elevation comprises a four-bay south aisle and tower to the west, and the south elevation of the chancel with a projecting gabled outshot to the east. Each bay of the aisle is separated by a two-stage buttress and contains a three-part tracery window. Four square-headed three-part windows at high level serve the nave. Angled buttresses support the gabled outshot. A two-part square-headed window with clear leaded glazing lights the south end of the chancel.

The church stands within its own grounds, with adjoining halls to the east (1960s) and southeast (c.1970). Two memorials to the northwest are contained within square plan plots surrounded by dwarf stone walls, with geometrically arranged horizontally laid plaques, some bearing inscriptions. The site is partly lawned with a tarmac parking space to the south, enclosed by hedging on all sides. Two replacement gates on the Lisburn Road entrance are supported on caged square-plan pillars. Windows throughout feature perpendicular tracery with stained leaded glazing.