Former Courthouse, Moira Pentacostal Church, 73 Main Street, Moira, Craigavon, Co. Armagh, BT67 0LH

Former Courthouse, now Moira Pentecostal Church

A large two-storey, three-bay late Georgian courthouse and market house built c.1810, occupying a prominent corner position on the south side of Main Street at its junction with Meeting Street in Moira. The building was originally L-shaped in plan and has been extended with modern additions to the rear.

The principal north-facing elevation is symmetrically arranged with a centrally projecting bay flanked by two similarly proportioned bays. Three large arched openings uniformly arranged across the ground floor are topped by first-floor windows. The west-facing elevation matches the principal elevation in design. The Bateson family crest is centrally located within the parapet over the central bay, originally positioned within the pediments. The east elevation abuts the adjoining building at 75 Main Street.

The walling is rubble-coursed basalt with decorative galletting, with painted stone plinth, surrounds and banding. The original pitched slated roof was raised and replaced with an asbestos pitched roof around 1960, fitted with a small capped central vent. Guttering is uPVC semi-circular with cast-iron downpipes. The original windows have been lost; current fenestration consists of large modern single-glazed infill to the ground-floor arched openings and single-glazed timber top-hung casements to the first floor with large rectangular stone cills. A modern timber entrance with glazed panels and sympathetic ironmongery includes a fanlight over. The south-facing rear elevation has been radically altered with infill structures and additions, including corrugated material cladding on the right-hand side. Originally rendered with fine dash, much of the original treatment has been lost.

Built by the Bateson family around 1810, following their purchase of Moira Demesne from the Rawdon family (credited with developing Moira in the early 18th century), the building exemplifies the dual-purpose market house and courthouse design once common throughout the province. The 1833 and 1858 Ordnance Survey maps label it as a "Market House", with an open arched ground floor serving the market and court houses occupying the upper floor.

The Court of Petty Sessions was first recorded in use from 1866, leased from Sir Robert Bateson's estate and later from his son Sir Thomas Bateson following their father's death in 1863. In 1909 the ground floor was converted to workshop use. From 1929 to 1979 the building served as a garage and filling station operated by J Ruddell & Son. The R.V. Binders Valuation (1933-57) recorded the building as "old and in bad repair" with "good situation on main thoroughfare". A 1935 inspection documented restored windows, a new ceiling necessitated by repairs to the courtroom overhead, a small rear yard serving the garage, an emergency stairway from the courtroom to this yard, and two 500-gallon petrol tanks belonging to the tenant.

During the 1960s, following the Court of Petty Sessions' departure, the upper floor operated as the Tempo Ballroom. The major internal alterations, rear modifications and roof changes apparent today are presumed to date from this period. Since 1980 the entire building has functioned as the Moira Pentecostal Church, having been acquired by the Trustees of Leslie Hale Evangelistic Association.

The courthouse retains original walling on the two main elevations with much of the galletting still intact. Despite loss of the interior and alterations to the rear, it displays good style and proportions characteristic of this building type. It occupies a significant architectural position within Moira and possesses group value with the adjoining historic terraces of Main Street. Its historical connections to the Bateson family make a positive contribution to the heritage of the town.