St. John’s Church of Ireland, St. John’s Road, Upper Kilwarlin, Hillsborough, Co.Down, BT26 6ED

Free-standing Gothic-revival stone Church of Ireland church, dated 1840, to the designs of Charles Lanyon. Cruciform on plan with bellcote to west gable, entrance porch to the re-entrant angle of the south nave and extension to north containing vestry, built 1975. Set back on the east side of St. John’s Road on landscaped site with extensive grave yard to the north, all enclosed by rubblestone wall. Cruciform-plan pitched natural slate roof with black clay ridge tiles and lead valleys, set behind slightly raised gables. Replacement metal rainwater goods to ogee-moulded sandstone eaves course. Random coursed squared sandstone walling with tooled sandstone plinth course and quoins. Lancet window openings with projecting chamfered sandstone ashlar surrounds and splayed sills with original cusped iron lattice glazing (tripartite to all gables). South entrance elevation abutted by south gabled transept and gabled porch to the left. Slightly raised transept gable has weathered sandstone coping with roll-moulded apex stone and resting on moulded kneeler stones, with small lancet opening below the apex. The entrance porch has a pitched natural slate roof set behind a shaped gable with sandstone coping and moulded kneeler stone. The sandstone ashlar front to the porch contains a Tudor-arched door opening with compound moulded reveals, stop-chamfered plinth blocks and replacement sheeted double-leaf timber door with iron furniture. Above the door is a marble date plaque stating: ‘Erected, from the, Free Contributions, of The Marquis of Downshire, and the, Inhabitants of Kilwarlin, aided by the, Down & Connor, Church Accommodation, Society, by the Ven., Walter B. Mant M.A., Archdeacon of Down, 1840’. West gable, facing the road is surmounted by sandstone ashlar bell gable containing equilateral arch, housing the iron bell on a moulded base course. At eaves level lucarne-like panelled kneeler stones project from the weathered coping to the raised gable. North elevation abutted by north transept (as per south elevation) with further vestry extension to the right built in artificial stone and natural slate catslide roof falling from the main roof. Tudor-arched sandstone door surround and sheeted timber door with iron furniture (moved from original location). East chancel gable, as per transepts. Setting: Set on a mature landscaped rural site on the east side of St. John’s Road encircled by bitmac driveway with large graveyard to the north containing many marble, stone and iron grave-markers dating from the 1840s to the present, enclosed by rubblestone wall to the road with concrete coping, hedging to the remainder. Short bitmac driveway opens onto the road via pair of tall rendered piers with stepped stone coping supporting pair of wrought-iron gates. Roof Natural slate RWG Replacement metal Walling Squared random coursed sandstone Windows Lancet iron lattice