St Matthew’s R C Church, 300 Drumsurn Road, Limavady, Co Londonderry, BT49 0PX

St Matthew's Roman Catholic Church, Drumsurn Road, Limavady

St Matthew's is a neo-gothic hall church built between 1900 and 1902 to replace ruinous remains located near Drumsurn Village. The foundation stone was laid on 24 June 1900, and the church was dedicated on 19 October 1902 by Bishop O'Doherty. The original architect was E J Toye, the builder was Mr McClean, and the construction cost was £2,300.

The church is a six-bay medium-sized hall with a natural slated high-pitched roof and a tiny bellcote. The exterior walls are finished in sand cement render with imitation quoins and a projecting plinth. Barge stones ornament the gables. The walls are smooth without buttresses or other external articulation. The main entrance is set within a projecting gable, and above the doorway are a pair of lancet windows positioned high as if to light a gallery within. Above these, in the gable apex, is a small oculus with hood moulding to light the roof space.

The building features tall pointed lancet windows with label moulding set rather high above each window head, each termination includes a decorative keystone. The gutters on the long walls are supported on chamfered corbels with minimal overhang.

The chancel projects from the nave at approximately half its width with a lower ridge line. Its gable contains a three-light Gothic window with stone mullions containing cinquefoil and quatrefoil tracery, a hood moulding, and terminations. A single small lancet window flanks either side of the chancel.

A single-storey sacristy block with pitched roof projects from the nave at right angles, with a centre chimney emerging from the ridge. A small recent extension to one side contains a reconciliation room.

The interior was originally finished in painted sand cement render. In 1983-84, the church underwent substantial renovation and liturgical reorganisation. A glazed canted porch with zinc pitched roof was added to the gable entrance. The roof timber and trusses were expertly renewed after a fire during construction work. Modern decorative glass was installed, modern liturgical items including a tabernacle, altar, ambo, chair, and font in Annalong granite were designed and executed by architects Corr & Associates, and glasswork was undertaken by N Shawcross. These renovations successfully restored the timber ceiling and trusses and enhanced the internal light and airy quality. The contractor for the 1983-84 work was Murphy Construction, Dungiven, and the architects were Corr & Associates. Very little apart from the stone walls of the 1902 building now remains.

The church is situated well back from Drumsurn Road with a fine, straight tree-lined avenue approach at right angles to the county road. Three broad flights of steps rise to the entrance porch, creating a handsome entrance. On either side are expanses of well-kept lawn, and the graveyard, which encompasses the church on three sides, is mature and filled.

The church functions as a curacy in the parish of Dungiven.