St. Ignatius' Church of Ireland, Saintfield Road/Comber Road, Carryduff, County Down, BT8 8BU

St. Ignatius' Church of Ireland, Carryduff

Built around 1965 to designs by Donald A. Shanks, an important figure in the development of modern church architecture in Northern Ireland, St. Ignatius' is a rendered Church of Ireland building of considerable architectural distinction. The church sits on a large corner site to the west of the junction of Saintfield Road and Comber Road, set at a slightly lower level than Saintfield Road and enclosed by a low redbrick wall with original steel railings. To the rear is a large bitumac parking area and landscaped garden.

The building presents a loosely hexagonal plan facing southwest. A geometric concrete tile roof features six gables radiating from a central nodal point, with lead-lined valleys and metal hoppers and downpipes. The structure combines a double-height hall (built in 1954 to designs by Dennis O'D Hanna) with a new polygonal nave, joined by a chapel dedicated to Bishop Jeremy Taylor (bishop of Down and Connor 1661–1667). These elements are linked to a flat-roofed glazed entrance lobby surmounted by a slender copper-clad spire on four legs. The original spire over the 1954 parochial hall was replaced with a roof light.

The walls are painted concrete with a brown brick plinth course. Window openings are irregularly shaped, set within concrete frames, with steel-framed leaded coloured glazing designed by Frank Foster of York House Studios, Belfast. The angled front southwest elevation features a large kite-shaped window opening filling the entire gable and a triangular-arched door opening with sheeted hardwood door and glazed side and overpanel. To the left, a lozenge-shaped concrete frame contains a triangular-shaped window opening in its lower half. The entrance wing displays moulded concrete walls and an angular glazed projection on an overhanging concrete base. Its rear elevation also has an angular glazed projection with steel-framed windows and doors opening onto a concrete paved platform enclosed by original steel railing and cast-concrete steps with open risers. The main rear elevation mirrors the front, with a triangular-arched door opening onto a concrete platform and flight of open riser concrete steps enclosed by original steel railing. The north elevation comprises a single large gable with a central kite-shaped concrete frame containing a large timber crucifix, flanked by diminutive landscape window openings.

The interior reflects creative use of light and spatial organisation. The church is able to seat 200 people, with a further 50 accommodated by opening folding doors across the entrance to the nave. The stained glass windows were designed by Frank Foster and manufactured by Messrs J. McManus Ltd, Belfast. The original electric organ by the Compton Organ Company of London was replaced in 1984 with an Allen organ; the original was subsequently installed in Killaney church. The church bell, approximately 280 years old, originally hung as part of a peal in the tower of Faughart church, County Louth. After the destruction of that church, it was preserved in the Rectory of St Nicholas' church in Dundalk before being brought to Carryduff by a parishioner.

The church was designed by Shanks and constructed by Sloan Brothers Ltd of Belfast at a cost of £32,000, with the foundation stone laid in September 1964. In 1990 the building was further extended by additions to the north and east façades of the parochial hall. These improvements included enlargement of the kitchen, provision of a vestry and choir room, new toilet facilities, a lobby, a minor hall with small kitchen, two upstairs rooms, storage space, and new heating and lighting systems. The new hall complex was named the Dean Good Memorial Hall and was designed by Ernest Knox architects at a cost of £113,000.

The development of the church reflects Carryduff's transformation in the 1950s and 1960s from a small village into a satellite commuter town for Belfast. Before this period, Carryduff had comprised only a few houses and a Presbyterian church. The Church of Ireland recognised the need for a place of worship; regular services began in a local barn by 1952. The initial 1954 dual-purpose hall met growing demand, but by the early 1960s a purpose-built church became necessary.

Donald A. Shanks served as Belfast Education Board Architect from 1954 to 1960, when he entered private practice with Edwin Leighton. The firm was joined by Jim Kennedy in 1964 and Joe Fitzgerald in 1965, producing several bold educational buildings including Victoria College and Portadown New Technical College, as well as Dungannon District Council Offices. Since 1954, Carryduff church has been grouped with the older church of Killaney, sharing a rector.