Church of Ireland Church, Ballyquin Road, Carrick, Limavady, Co Londonderry, BT49 9HA

Church of Ireland Church, Carrick

A small mid-Victorian Church of Ireland church built between 1846 and 1847 in Neo-Gothic Tudor style, located on a dramatic promontory above Carrick gorge where the River Roe cuts a 100-foot-deep ravine. The church was consecrated on 25 May 1847, created as a perpetual curacy drawing districts from Tamlaght Finlagan, Balteagh and Bovevagh parishes. The first rector was appointed in 1873.

The building is constructed of random rubble schist with clasping sandstone corner buttresses terminated by spiky pinnacles crowned with decorative sprockets and pediments, some now lost. The roof is slated natural slate with plain ridge tiles. The design shows clear influence from the Down & Connor church Accommodation Society plan developed by Lanyon.

The church comprises a nave with an unusually shallow transept at the west end and a projecting gabled porch with entrance, mirrored by a small chancel at the east end. The nave roof pitch is approximately 30 degrees, while the transept and entrance gables exceed 50 degrees. The nave windows are tall, two-light pointed designs with subtle cusping and diamond glazing, chamfered sandstone trim, and bold sloping cills. A vigorous moulded label terminates in a handsome acorn-like stop. Three identical windows appear in each long wall of the nave, with one each in the transept gables and on the return west wall. The three-light cusped gothic windows of the chancel have plain sandstone trim without label moulding.

The entrance gable features a fussy bellcote complete with bell and pointed pinnacle, flanked by lower gabled projections. The clasping buttresses to the entrance porch change from square to octagonal, rising to form stops to the barge stones with moulded capping. Barge stones of the porch are surmounted by small columns, repeated over the apex of the east gable of the nave and transepts. The exposed gable of the entrance is smooth rendered. The entrance door has a three-centred arch with complementary label and stops. A projecting and sloping plinth stone encompasses the building. Gutters are cast iron half-round with round downpipes; downpipes spill into good sandstone gully covers, not used at the chancel.

Originally the nave was heated by a stove in the centre of the nave passageway. In 1907 the plaster ceiling was replaced with an excellent timber ceiling. The chancel and vestry may have been added at this time, their external appearance differing from the remainder. A boiler room below and to the side of the vestry has an unusually extended chimney.

The church is sited at the end of a cul-de-sac running downhill from the Ballyquin Road on a promontory overlooking Carrick glen. A low stone wall protects against the steep drop. The small grassy walled area is dotted with tall mature trees, both evergreen and deciduous, with the glen profuse with vegetation. Access is via a low rendered wall with painted iron gates and stepped stile. The former Glebe House stands adjacent, creating a location of remarkable solitude broken only by the sound of rushing water and birdsong.

Thomas Scott of Willborough and James Ogilby of Pellipar contributed towards the building costs. As the parish straddles the River Roe, a footbridge was constructed across the waters to connect both sides of the parish.