Drumachose Presbyterian Church, Church Street, Limavady, Co Londonderry, BT49 OBX

Drumachose Presbyterian Church is a fine example of a cruciform neo-gothic church. Though rebuilt in 1875, it retains the late 18th-century plan form of its predecessor—a pure Greek cross with equal arms, a rare and distinctive configuration reminiscent of Scottish post-Reformation churches such as Lauder in Berwickshire (built 1673). The church occupies its original site, obtained on lease in April 1743 from John Alexander, and represents the continuation of Limavady's first Presbyterian congregation, established in 1655.

The building is constructed with greyish-white roughcast-rendered walls set on a smooth rendered plinth with pronounced batter. A pinnacled square tower, finished in sandstone, rises from the angle where two arms of the cross meet, positioned next to Church Street. The gable of each transept features a large three-light pointed window with three trefoils above in quasi-flamboyant style, the stonework crisply cut in sandstone and now painted. The flanking walls each carry two tall two-light pointed lancet windows with Y-tracery. The roofs, recently renewed, are finished in natural slate with ridge cresting, shallow overhangs, and louvred oculi in the gables.

A single entrance is located on the north-west side of the tower, marked by a pointed arch with label moulding. Above it sits a plaster shield inscribed with the date 1743. Where the tower rises above the roof pitches, a plain string course encircles it, with the two stages above defined by oculi and pointed louvred Y-traceried windows in the belfry. Shallow clasping buttresses terminate in slim pointed pinnacles topped with small knobs, between which run plain crenellations. A stepped, shouldered diagonal buttress braces the tower beside the entrance door.

The interior retains its dramatic spatial quality, with a prominent pulpit positioned to commanding effect. This arrangement preserves the character typical of post-Reformation Presbyterian churches of this plan type.

The original cruciform church of 1743 measured 24 feet by 24 feet internally on each arm or aisle, named Drumachose, Balteagh, Aghanloo, and Newtown—names that persist today. By 1874, the church required rebuilding. Tenders were called in April 1875, with plans and specifications available from William Wilson, proprietor of the Alexander Arms Hotel. The rebuilt church followed the original plan exactly, using the same foundations and reusing materials where possible, including the original roof timbers (ship timbers that proved difficult to adapt). The window tracery was fitted in 1886 using Dungiven sandstone. The entrance porch carries a plaque recording the dates and principal subscribers to the rebuild. A complete program of new construction was achieved, and by 1899 all debt had been cleared; the congregation then possessed a church, school house, session house, and sexton's house.

In 1982, concerns about the roof led to comprehensive renovation and restoration work at a cost of £80,000, including a complete new roof and strengthened walls. The church was reopened on 27 May 1984 with a new organ, choir furnishings, and a sound system installed.

The church sits close to Church Street, accessed through two sets of entrance gates in a rendered boundary wall. The setting is dominated by surrounding bitumac. To the side stands a former manse of 1864, now housing the minister's room, and beyond it a modern hall. A single-storey sexton's house is located immediately behind the church. To the south lies an extensive rectangular graveyard. Among the first graves is that of Reverend Nathaniel Brown DD, minister from 1845 to 1910. Dr Brown built Fairy Fort at his own expense in 1864, which the congregation later purchased and retained as the manse.