Cathedral of Christ Church, (aka Lisburn Cathedral), 24 Castle Street, Lisburn, County Antrim, BT27 4XD

Christ Church Cathedral (Lisburn Cathedral), Castle Street, Lisburn

This is a freestanding Gothic hall-and-spire cathedral of rubble stone and ashlar, built around 1710 and facing Market Square in Lisburn. Although largely concealed behind the terraced buildings of Bridge Street to the south and Castle Street to the north, its spire is a dominant feature on the town's skyline, visible from all directions. The cathedral sits on a slightly elevated site, with Castle Gardens to the east and an entrance opening westward onto Market Square through tall iron gates and railings. Its tower and early 19th-century spire give the building its striking vertical presence. The cathedral is listed at Grade A and has group value with Lisburn Market House, another prominent public building immediately adjacent in Market Square.

Historical Background

The site has deep roots. In 1608, Sir Fulke Conway was granted the territory in and around Lisburn and laid the foundations of a church here in 1623, which probably served as a private chapel to Lisburn Castle. That building was destroyed by rebels in 1641, rebuilt shortly afterwards, and in 1662 Lisburn received a royal charter from Charles II in recognition of the town's loyalty during the rebellion, at which point the church was constituted a cathedral for the dioceses of Down and Connor. The cathedral was again destroyed in the great fire that consumed the whole town in 1707, though part of the tower structure survived. The decision to rebuild was taken immediately, and the foundations of the new cathedral were laid on 20th August 1708. Construction continued for several years and was still in progress in 1714. The vestry was added in 1728.

The cathedral clock dates from 1796 and, together with the bell tower, was presented by the Marquis of Hertford, the local landowner. The robing bell was recast in 1746, the two small clock bells were cast in 1796, and the large tolling or curfew bell was recast in Dublin in 1861. The organ, built in 1790, was also a gift from the Marquis of Hertford and was moved to its present location in 1834. The present spire was added to the tower between 1804 and 1807, the contractor being David McBlain of Limavady — son of the builder of the spire of Hillsborough Parish Church — at a cost of £1,300. A gallery was added in 1824 and its original pews survive.

The building appears on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1833 simply captioned "Church", but by the third edition of around 1900 it is shown as "Cathedral". The Townland Valuation of 1828–40 lists the "established church and schoolhouse" valued at £44, with dimensions recorded for a church, tower, vestry and store. By Griffith's Valuation of 1856–64 a small chancel had been added, measuring approximately 7 yards by 3 yards over two storeys. This was designed by William Farrell in 1841, and drawings survive in the Representative Church Body Library. However, this earlier chancel was replaced by a much larger structure in 1888, as announced in the Irish Builder of that year, though no architect was named. Sir Richard Wallace donated £500 towards the building fund. Work at this time also included the addition of buttresses to support the nave, the replacement of the east wall by a Gothic arch, and the dedication of windows in memory of Sir Richard Wallace and various bishops and rectors. A parochial hall was completed and choir stalls were installed in the chancel, along with a stone pulpit positioned at the foot of the chancel steps. In 1893 Jones and Willis supplied an oak bishop's throne in late decorated style, as announced in the Irish Builder of that year.

Further renovations took place in the early 1920s, when the nave and chancel were retiled. In 1925 the Irish Builder reported the dedication of the west entrance: for many years only a narrow passage had existed at this point and the building had been hidden from the street by surrounding houses. One of these was purchased by the cathedral authorities and demolished to create a proper entrance. The old gates, originally erected in 1795, were renovated and reinstated alongside new railings, pilasters and lamps of corresponding design, with steps leading from the gates up to the door of the building.

In 1950, following the Second World War, the east window was presented by Sir John Milne Barbour in memory of his wife Eliza Barbour and his son John Milne Barbour, who had died in an aviation accident in 1937. In 1990 the choir seating was moved from the chancel to a raised area below the pulpit, the communion rail was extended, marble chancel steps were installed, and the stone pulpit was replaced. The cathedral gates, which had been removed, were replaced again in 2003 and the clock chimes restored. In 2006 the vestry was refurbished and floodlighting was installed. At the time of the listing record's compilation, a major refurbishment and restoration project was under way, intended to repair the spire, replace the weather vane, repoint the stonework, repair the east window, and partially replace the roof, with internal improvements to sound, vision, lighting and decoration also planned.

Some notable sculptors are associated with memorial tablets inside the cathedral. Edward Smyth of Dublin completed the memorial to Lieutenant William Dobbs in 1780, and John Henry Foley created the monument to John Nicholson in 1861.

Exterior

The cathedral is rectangular on plan, set on an east–west axis. The roof is finished in natural slate with black clay ridge tiles and stone coping to the front and rear gables, supported on kneeler stones. The east chancel gable has a moulded coping stone, a decorative apex stone, and a gablet to the kneeler stone with a trefoil panel. Rainwater goods are replacement metal on iron drive-through brackets to a sandstone eaves course on the nave; those to the chancel are on a concave moulded sandstone eaves course.

The main body of the nave and tower is built in random uncoursed basalt walling with limestone ashlar quoins, a projecting rubble plinth course with chamfered sandstone, and a plain chamfer string course above. Cementitious strap pointing is used throughout. Double-height basalt buttresses, added around 1890 with sandstone quoins and offsets, flank the window openings to the nave. The nave windows are double-height pointed-arched openings formed in sandstone — three to the north elevation and four to the south — with squared stone voussoirs above a hood moulding with decorative label stops and a red brick relieving arch above each. The window openings contain paired cusped stone frames with diminutive paired cusped lights above, chamfered sills and surrounds, some leaded and stained glass, and storm glazing to the exterior.

The west gable of the hall is abutted by a five-stage rubblestone tower on a square plan, surmounted by an octagonal limestone ashlar spire with four corner pinnacles. The tapered octagonal spire is topped by a copper sphere and weather vane, and has diminutive lucarnes on two levels to four sides with quatrefoil apertures below. Deep torus mouldings mark the base of the spire rising from the square tower, with a four-sided limestone ashlar pinnacle on a pedestal at each corner. A deep moulded stone cornice runs around all four sides of the tower, with the walls slightly stepped out at each stage. The upper belfry stage has pointed-arched stone openings with Y-tracery and timber louvres. The stage below carries an iron clock face on the west elevation with small round-headed louvred openings to the north and south. The stage below that has a single round-headed window to the front elevation with a chamfered limestone surround, figurative label stops to the hood moulding, and a Y-tracery triple-light window with quarry glazing.

The west entrance doorway is a pointed-arched opening formed in carved sandstone with clustered colonettes and compound mouldings, containing replacement hardwood Gothic-panelled doors with an over-panel, set on a stone-flagged area with a pair of wrought-iron bootscrapers. A similar pointed-arched door opening on the south side elevation is formed in painted render with a double-chamfered surround and matching doors. The north side elevation has three windows, with the two central ones separated by a pedimented Ionic stone tomb, and three buttresses to the wall. A single-storey rubblestone vestry abuts the left bay of the nave on this side, with an additional concrete block toilet block attached to the east.

The east gable is abutted by a slightly lower gabled chancel built in rock-faced basalt, uncoursed with fine joints, with two double-height buttresses to each side. A large pointed-arched east window has a moulded sandstone surround and hood moulding with figurative label stops; five cusped lights occupy the large geometric tracery window, with the continuous string course dropping to accommodate it. The south side of the chancel has a single window opening, while the nave to the south has four windows, each divided by a buttress.

Interior

The interior retains much of its 19th-century character, including the rare original pews to the substantial gallery, an exposed timber roof, and parts of the Gothic altar furniture. The original 18th-century clock, bell and organ fixtures also survive.

Setting and Grounds

The cathedral occupies a slightly raised site to the east of Market Square and is positioned behind the terraced buildings of Castle Street and Bridge Street. Its own cathedral yard contains an interesting collection of stone box-tombs and upstanding grave-markers. A bitmac footpath encircles the building. The elevated front area is approached by five concrete steps and is enclosed to Market Square by tall decorative cast-iron gates and railings hung between a pair of stone ashlar piers that abut the gable of a terraced building on either side. To the rear of the site stands a former Church Hall. The listing covers the cathedral and gate screen together.