Church of The Immaculate Conception (RC), Glenshesk Road, Ballycastle, County Antrim

Church of The Immaculate Conception

A small, plain Roman Catholic church of 1827, located on high ground to the west of Glenshesk Road, roughly 3.5 miles east of Armoy. The building was erected on land generously donated by the wife of John Cuppage Esq. of nearby Glenbank House, who also had the area around the church planted and ornamented. The church was built under the direction of Rev. Hugh McCartan. It appears on the Ordnance Survey map of 1832 and is described in the OS Memoirs of 1831–39 as "tolerably well built but wholly unfinished internally". The valuation of October 1834 records its dimensions as 54 feet by 28 feet by 11½ feet.

The structure consists of a simple rectangular gabled building with a gabled porch to the north and a vestry to the southeast. The vestry extension is shown on the revised OS map of 1857, while the porch appears to be a late 19th or early 20th century addition. The building was extensively renovated in 2003, with new altar fittings and pews installed.

The church is finished in painted lined render with moulded in-out quoins and a slated roof. The main entrance is on the west face of the porch, consisting of a flat-arch doorway with timber-sheeted door. The north gable of the porch features a pointed arch window with double lancet timber tracery (or Y tracery) with roundel over, filled with small leaded panes. Above this window is a stone panel inscribed "Glenshesk Chapel erected A.D. 1827. The site was a generous gift of Mr Cuppage". The main north gable of the church itself bears a large round window with quatrefoil frame and stained glass, topped by a modern Celtic cross finial.

The west facade of the main building has five pointed arch windows, evenly spaced and uniform in size except for the rightmost, which is taller and appears to be a later insert. The second, third, and fourth windows from the left have double lancet timber tracery with small leaded panes and small stained glass panels. The first window is filled entirely with stained glass and has no tracery; the rightmost window also lacks tracery but has glazing similar to the three middle windows. The south gable of the main section is devoid of openings.

At the left (south) end of the east facade of the main building projects a gabled vestry, boiler room, and toilet section. The south face of this projection has a flat-arch window with modern timber frame. To its right is a small projecting lean-to porch with a doorway containing a timber-sheeted door incorporating a louvered panel. The east gable of the projection has a small window to its right. The north face of the projection contains two doorways similar to the main entrance; the left doorway leads to a toilet and has a disabled access ramp. The east facade of the main section has a window to the left of the projection matching that on the right of the west facade, with three further windows to its right matching the three middle windows of the west facade.

The church is approached via a drive to the south, with a stone-lined but slightly overgrown pedestrian pathway to the north. The area immediately surrounding the church is paved, with sloping lawn to the east and a tarmac-covered car park to the west. At the northwest corner of the car park stands a decorative wrought-iron gate inscribed "J S 1829". A slightly more decorative cast-iron gate of somewhat later appearance stands at the entrance to the pedestrian pathway.

The building, whilst retaining its original 1827 fabric, was substantially renovated in 2003, resulting in a somewhat sharp and arguably modern appearance.