St. John's Church of Ireland, Stoneyford Road, Lisburn, County Antrim, BT28 3SR

St. John's Church of Ireland is a rectangular rural Parish Church of Ireland located south of Stoneyford Road in the village of Stoneyford, County Antrim. Built in October 1841 as a Church of ease, it was not consecrated and dedicated until 28th October 1874. The church was constructed at a total cost of £554, with the land supplied by the Marquis of Hertford and a grant of £482 provided by the Church Accommodation Society. It was designed to accommodate a congregation of between 220 and 300 people.

The building is set on an east-west axis with a rectangular plan, comprising a projecting porch and chancel to the rear and a modern vestry added in 1997. The pitched natural slate roof features terracotta ridge tiles and raised stone verges to the gables with capped kneeler stones, also present on the gabled porch. Rainwater goods are cast-iron half round fittings on projecting timber eaves.

The walling is roughcast render on a plinth with raised sandstone quoins. Windows are a variety of timber-framed lancets, some latticed and some replacements; a notable leaded and stained glass tripartite Y-tracery window is positioned to the east. The principal elevation faces west and comprises a stepped gable with a central pedimented bell-cote (20th century addition) containing a bell and decorative kneeler stones. A continuous moulded and vented panel runs across the gable. A prominent projecting gabled and cheeked porch dominates this elevation, featuring a Gothic-arched paired moulded reveal on the plinth. The double-leaf timber-sheeted door has a timber-sheeted transom light, cast-iron strap hinges and handle, accessed by a single stone step with ramped access to the south. The north elevation is three openings wide, whilst the south elevation is also three openings wide. The east elevation is abutted by a projecting chancel with its tripartite Y-tracery window and brick chimney to the gable; a stepped entrance to the basement is enclosed by cast-iron gate and railings and is abutted to the left by the 1997 vestry.

The interior retains much of its 19th-century character. The church contains original timber pews and interesting early 20th-century detailing. In December 1889, the church underwent improvement works during which the uncomfortable high-backed box pews were replaced by open benches of pitch pine, and the space previously occupied by an unsightly prayer-desk and pulpit was reconfigured to seat the choir. The church underwent further renovations in 1934, when the current organ was also added. The building was later re-roofed and had a new heating system installed.

The church is set within the centre of Stoneyford village with a graveyard to the south and a church hall to the east. It is enclosed by a rubble-stone wall to the north and timber fence to the west, with the east side open to the church hall. A curved entrance wall with reconstituted stone and concrete gate piers, parapet wall, and decorative cast-iron gates and railings with ball finials provides access.

The site is historically significant in the context of the local community. The Ordnance Survey Memoirs of 1833–38 record that a Protestant congregation of approximately 150 people from Stoneyford had celebrated religious services in a local schoolhouse, as they were very remote from the Parish Church of Derriaghy. A license allowing the rector and curate of Derriaghy to conduct services in a schoolhouse in Stoneyford was granted in 1837. St. John's Church first appeared on the second Ordnance Survey map in 1857 as an oblong building and was not recorded as 'St. John's Church' until the third edition of the Ordnance Survey maps of 1900–1901. Griffith's Valuation of 1860 valued the church at £12, a value maintained until the end of Annual revisions in 1929. A Rectory was purchased for the church in 1862, and in 1887 the current parish of Stoneyford was formally carved out for the church. A small modern extension to the rear has been added and some original windows have been replaced. The church was listed in 1991, and in 1995 a plan to extend the church vestry was submitted; this vestry was constructed and opened by the Bishop of Connor in 1997.