Aghadowey Presbyterian Church, Ardreagh Road, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, BT51 4DN

Aghadowey Presbyterian Church is a large gabled church built around 1830, refurbished around 1910 and again in recent years. It stands on the south side of Ardreagh Road in Aghadowey, south of Coleraine, set within a rectangular plot that incorporates a cemetery and associated school buildings.

EXTERIOR

The church is of rectangular plan, with a small two-storey gabled extension and a lean-to porch to the rear. The roof is pitched natural slate with blue/black angled ridge tiles and a small rendered chimney stack to the south gable. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods are carried on timber brackets, with square downpipes. The external walls are dry-dash render on a cement-rendered plinth, with cement-rendered quoins.

The windows are late 20th-century coloured leaded lattice lights — pointed-headed at gallery level and camber-headed at ground floor — all set in cement surrounds with projecting painted sills. The tall round-headed windows to the south are original early 19th-century leaded and stained glass.

The north-facing gabled front faces the road and is three openings wide at both gallery and ground floor levels. At the apex of the gable is a louvred oculus with a hood mould. At ground floor centre is a pointed-headed doorcase with a modern glass panel door surmounted by a replacement leaded and coloured glass transom, set in a moulded surround with archivolt and hood mould. The entrance is reached by three concrete steps, with ramped access to the west.

The east elevation is five windows wide at both gallery and ground floor levels. The south gable has two round-headed original stained glass windows, with two round-headed louvred openings above them at the apex. At the centre of the south gable the two-storey gabled extension abuts the main building, with a single-storey lean-to porch to the left of it. Both the extension and the porch are detailed to match the main church. The extension has one-over-one sash windows to the first and ground floors on both cheeks, with an additional small window to the upper right of the right cheek. The lean-to porch abuts the extension at its right cheek and has a timber window to its left cheek; it opens to the south via a modern timber-sheeted door. The west elevation is detailed to match the east.

INTERIOR

The interior is relatively well preserved and largely dates from the Edwardian refurbishment of around 1910.

SETTING

The church is set back from Ardreagh Road, surrounded by farmland. The entrance from the road is flanked by dry-dash walls with concrete coping topped by fleur-de-lis head railings; these terminate in square piers with corniced stone caps topped by ball finials, which support cast-iron gates with fleur-de-lis heads. A tarmacadamed entrance drive leads to a concourse and parking area to the east.

To the west side of the entrance is a small refurbished single-storey gabled hall — the original school building, dating from around 1840. To the east side of the entrance is a former school building dated 1910, which has been extensively refurbished. A large two-storey gabled modern church hall, built around 2001, stands to the east of the site.

The cemetery contains a variety of headstones and tombs dating from the mid-19th century, some enclosed by Victorian decorative cast-iron railings. The cemetery adds to the quality of the setting and the historic integrity of the site.

HISTORY

A Presbyterian congregation was established at Aghadowey by 1655, when the first minister, William Jaque, was appointed. The first record of a meeting house dates from 1705, when the church was either rebuilt or enlarged. An early minister, Reverend James McGregor (minister 1701–18), is reputed to have fired the cannon at the Siege of Derry in 1689 to announce the arrival of relief ships. He later emigrated to New England with several of his congregation, founding a new town called Londonderry and building the first Presbyterian church in New England.

By the early 19th century the congregation was meeting in a small thatched church in Carnrallagh townland, which was extended and renovated around 1813. The present building dates from 1830 and, according to the Ordnance Survey Memoirs, was designed by an architect from Garvagh. The 'Presbyterian Meeting House' appears on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1832 as a simple hall aligned north–south, and is listed in the Townland Valuation of 1828–40 as a 'new meeting house' at a valuation of £25.

The Ordnance Survey Memoirs describe the building as a 'large, spacious building of dark stone with a handsome gate from the road'. However, the walls were severely damaged in a storm on 20th November 1830 and had to be taken down and entirely rebuilt, leaving the congregation with a debt of £2,000. Contributions came from local gentry and clergy, with the largest donations from the London livery companies: the Irish Society donated £300, with further contributions from the Drapers, Skinners, Ironmongers, Clothworkers, and Vintners. The interior was fitted up 'with elegance' and could seat 1,150 people across ground floor and gallery pews. The aisles were flagged, and the building was lit by 25 windows, including three in the vestibule and session rooms. The graveyard extended to an acre, though it was noted at the time that no trees had been planted around the building. The house was rented from Reverend John Stirling at five shillings per annum 'if demanded', and the minister was John Brown, who received a stipend of £85 along with a Regium Donum of £100. Dr Brown subsequently served a ministry of nearly 60 years.

During the ministry of Samuel W. Morrison (1901–29) the church was renovated at a cost of approximately £1,200 and a new school was erected (dated 1910), replacing the earlier building of around 1840. Valuer's notes from the 1930s record a plan of the church with vestry and minister's rooms to the rear, and note that the former school to the right of the entrance was at that time being used as a bicycle store. The church could then accommodate 480 people on the ground floor and a further 260 in the gallery. An organ was installed in 1940 and the graveyard was extended in 1945. The congregation was linked with Crossgar in 1976, and membership today stands at approximately 165 families.

The building was listed in 1977. The gates, piers and walls were repaired in 1980. In 2001, permission was granted to add a further church hall to the site, to the south of the existing church hall and former school.