Stable Block, Christ Church of Ireland, 22 Derriaghy Road, Magheralave, Lisburn, Co.Antrim, BT28 3SH

Stable Block at Christ Church of Ireland

A single-storey stone building dating from about 1870, this former stable block is a modest vernacular structure of considerable historical and group value to the parish. It is now used as a store.

The building is rectangular on plan, detached and five bays wide, facing north onto Derriaghy Road where it forms part of the north cemetery boundary. It is constructed of snecked rubble basalt walling with lime mortar and has a pitched natural slate roof with black clay ridge tiles and cast-iron rainwater goods mounted on iron drive-through brackets to rendered eaves. The five-bay front elevation contains three window openings and two door openings, all with square heads formed in redbrick and concrete sills. Windows are replacement fixed multi-pane timber units, fitted with security wire, while doors are replacement timber sheeted versions. The door to the left opens onto two concrete steps. The east gable is blank rubblestone. The south rear elevation is blank rubble and is abutted by an embankment containing burial plots. The west gable, rendered in rough-cast and facing the principal entrance to Derriaghy Church, is also blank. Adjacent to the east gable is a pedestrian entrance to the church marked by a wrought-iron gate and overthrow. The interior has a timber sheeted ceiling with visible eaves.

The building was originally constructed as a stable and carriage house to serve Derriaghy parish church. It appears on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1832–3, though its precise date remains uncertain—possibly early nineteenth century or even eighteenth century, as a church occupied the site previously. Derriaghy Church itself was reconstructed around 1806–7. The stables do not appear in the Townland Valuation of 1828–40 but are recorded in Griffith's Valuation of 1856–64 as property of Reverend Henry Stewart, leased from the Marquess of Hertford, valued at £2 and later raised to £3. The valuation gives dimensions of 18 by 5 by 1 and includes the note "Solely for the use of the parishioners, being a stable and car house for [shire?] horses &c on Sabbath days". In 1949, the stables were converted into a parochial hall by the then vicar and voluntary helpers.

The building's simple rubble stone construction, plain slated roof, and traditional materials allow it to sit unobtrusively within the burial ground to the south. It possesses significant group value with the listed Christ Church itself and represents a rare surviving example of nineteenth-century parochial infrastructure.