Former Gelvin Church & School, Gortgarn, Legavallon Road, Dungiven, Co Londonderry

Former Gelvin Church and School

A former Catholic church built in 1845 at Gortgarn, succeeding an earlier mass house of 1802, now converted to commercial and community use. The building is of modest architectural pretension but holds significant historical and social interest as an example of multiple changes of function over nearly two centuries.

The structure is a four-bay building with gabled ends and slate roof. Originally built as a church with rendered and whitewashed walls, it featured four square-headed windows facing the road and two widely spaced windows on the opposite wall. The altar was likely positioned on the long wall initially. A small Maltese cross adorned the north gable, typical of contemporary churches in the area such as those at Gortnahey and Muldonagh.

The church served until 1902, when the new church of St Matthew at Drumsurn opened and the building was repurposed as a school, accepting pupils from the nearby Ballymacallion school which subsequently closed. It continued as a school until June 1967, when it became a parish and community hall. In recent years the Diocesan Trust sold the property, retaining the adjacent graveyard, and the current owner has converted the building to a store with an added extension serving as a local history centre, now known as the Binn Chapel, referencing the original local name meaning "behind the ditch".

The building has undergone substantial alterations during its conversions. The entrance in the north gable is now blocked up with rendered wall. Windows on the west wall have been filled in, though sills remain; some painted window frames remain visible on the rendered front. The east wall is unfinished, with original windows blocked and a large vehicular entrance constructed alongside a pedestrian door. A concrete block extension with pitched roof and gable has been added at the south gable with a separate entrance. The roof has been reslated in natural Welsh slate. The Maltese cross on the north gable has been retained. The boundary wall facing the road has been rebuilt in concrete block faced with local rubble. The building demonstrates the retention of its basic form throughout its various adaptations.