St Cedma’s C of I Church, Inver Road, Larne, Co Antrim

St Cedma's Church of Ireland is a rare example of a medieval-foundation church still in active use, standing on the banks of the Inver River in Larne. Its main walls may date from as early as the beginning of the 14th century, when a church dedicated to St Cedma was first recorded on this site, though the present fabric may not predate the 15th century, when the site was re-founded by the Third Order of Franciscans. Much of the original fabric has been altered and the entire interior was remodelled in the Victorian period, but a number of genuine medieval details survive or have been re-used in the current structure. The church is also a scheduled historic monument.

The building is a gabled rectangular stone church with noticeably battered (inward-sloping) walls, a crenellated and pinnacled western tower, and a small gabled vestry projecting from the north-east corner.

The tower walls are of basalt rubble with recessed pointing. The main entrance is set in the north wall of the tower through a Gothic arch with crisp-cut voussoirs in reconstituted stone — not original — and jambs of basalt, limestone, and red sandstone. The doors are rectangular, diagonally sheeted in varnished oak, also not original, with a matching tympanum panel. Above the archway is a re-used carved stone of medieval origin depicting a human head with a leafy beard. Higher up the tower is a circular ocular opening with sandstone dressings, wooden louvres, and decorative ironwork grilles. Above that are pointed lancets set in basalt arches, also with louvres and grilles, surmounted by a narrow slit with a projecting sandstone sill and head. The tower is topped with plain crenellations and spiky corner pinnacles. The west face of the tower has a blocked-up semi-circular moulded archway at ground floor level, inscribed with the date 1788. The east face of the tower has a high-level lancet and slit matching those on the north.

The main body of the church has a long unbroken roof of Bangor blue slates laid in regular courses between sandstone gable copings, with black ridge tiles and three cylindrical metal roof ventilators of 19th century appearance. Cast iron gutters and downpipes run along the eaves. The walls throughout are of basalt rubble with reticulated pointing that includes galletting with small river stones and slate, and limestone quoins at the corners. A wrought iron lamp is mounted at the north-west corner of the nave; though a post-war addition, it is considered appropriate.

The north elevation of the nave contains four windows, all with irregular dressings and stained glass protected by iron grilles. Reading from right to left: two large two-light sandstone windows, each with a tracery light, both 19th century Gothic Revival; a narrow Gothic lancet with a cusped head within a square label moulding, all in limestone and genuinely medieval, dating from the 15th century, with a red sandstone sculpted head projecting from the wall above and a Tudor rose in marble set below it; and a large two-light Gothic arched window of mid-20th century renewal. Low down in the wall, between the last nave window and the vestry, are three flush-edged limestone blocks built into the wall, possibly quoins from a previous doorway.

The projecting gabled vestry at the north-east corner is Victorian. Its roof matches that of the nave. The walls are of snecked basalt with sandstone dressings and a projecting plinth; the gutter is of moulded cast iron on moulded corbels. The gable coping is surmounted by a small Gothic stone cross, a re-used medieval piece from the west end of the nave. A wrought iron lamp is mounted in the apex of the gable — a post-war addition considered appropriate. The vestry windows are Gothic Revival lancets with cast iron glazing bars in a lozenge pattern with margin lights. The vestry door is a new but appropriate replacement.

The east gable of the church is symmetrical, with the same battered walls and distinct batter continuing into the gable. Stone copings rise to a short chimney. The principal window is a three-light traceried sandstone window in the Victorian Gothic Revival style, containing stained glass protected by grilles. Built into the south shoulder of the gable is a re-used medieval stone carving of an animal.

The south facade of the nave mirrors the wall construction of the north side. Seven windows are present, all containing stained glass protected by grilles. Reading from right to left: two lancets with square-cut sandstone dressings, Victorian Gothic Revival; a two-light Gothic arch with a plain tracery light in reconstituted stone with square-cut dressings, a 1920s insertion; a two-light Victorian Gothic Revival window with a plain tracery light and square-cut dressings; another similar, but with some stonework renewed and set in a cement surround with a brick arch and a Georgian sandstone sill; another two-light Gothic arch with a plain tracery light, square-cut dressings, and splayed sill, all in sandstone, also a 1920s insertion; and finally a white painted timber two-light window with a rhomboidal tracery light between, all with small panes — three by nine plus intersecting traceries to each lancet — set in a plastered reveal with a brick arch, dating from the early 19th century with a Georgian sandstone sill. Low down in the south wall, between the last two windows and almost hidden by later memorial slabs, is a blocked Gothic arch in limestone with basalt voussoirs. This is genuinely medieval and dates from a period when floor levels both inside and outside the church were lower than they are now. There are some recent replacement quoins at the south-west corner of the nave.

In the angle between the west end of the nave and the tower stands a lean-to porch of similar materials but mid-20th century construction, with a three-light window in a concrete surround containing translucent glass and leaded lights, and a rectangular double door in its west wall. Above the porch, the south face of the tower mirrors the north. Projecting from the lean-to porch is a covered walk with a flat asphalt roof carried on wooden posts, connecting the church to the hall range to the west. This is a modern post-war addition and is considered to detract from the church. The hall range itself — St Cedma's Hall — is of basalt and concrete brick and has no special architectural interest.

At the entrance to the churchyard stands a gabled lych gate of open oak construction. Its roof is of small Bangor blue slates in regular courses with blue ridge tiles, carried on two king-post trusses with curved struts in the gables and five collars between. The trusses carry inscriptions in raised letters: "Teach us to number our days" on the east truss, and "Gift of H.H. Smiley, Drumalis" on the west. The gate rests on four oak supports with curved struts and a concrete base, with oak railings closing the gaps to the boundary walls and large wrought iron hinges and handles to the gate. An adjacent noticeboard is of the same solid oak construction as the lych gate. The current lych gate was erected in 1958 as an accurate replacement of the late Victorian original. A noticeboard of the same solid oak construction stands adjacent.

The building stands within a graveyard reached along a cul-de-sac beside the Inver River, with many stone slabs and other memorial stones. The churchyard is bounded by rubble stone walls — the boundary wall to the south and east was lowered in height during the 1970s, having previously stood around twelve feet high — and entered through the lych gate described above. The setting is enhanced by the churchyard and its lych gate, and is adjacent to a public memorial park. However, the setting is considered to be spoiled by poor quality post-war additions at the west end, and the church is separated from the main town centre by an elevated dual carriageway.

The history of alterations to the building is well documented. The lower part of the tower was built in 1778 and raised in height in the 1820s to replace an unsafe spire. The church was repaired in 1819, when the original medieval roof was removed and the exterior walls were roughcast. In 1840 the building was remodelled: the floor level was raised, Jacobean pews were removed, a west gallery and tower stairway were added, and the main entrance was moved from the north-east — where the vestry now stands — to its present position in the tower. The vestry was added and the present east window tracery inserted in 1860–61, work presumed to have been designed by Joseph Welland of Dublin, as architect to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The interior was remodelled in 1878–79 to designs by Samuel P. Close of Larne, including new pews, a new font and baptistry area, a new pulpit, lectern and reading desk, a chancel arch, communion rails, chancel floor tiles, and decoration of the chancel ceiling, the last of these executed by Cox Sons Buckley & Co of London. In 1881 an organ was erected in the gallery. The roof was re-slated in 1949. In 1955–56, the church and tower were re-pointed, ironwork grilles were erected in the tower windows, exterior ironwork lamps were added, new entrance doors in teak were fitted, and the window beside the pulpit was renewed, all to the designs of Denis O'D. Hanna, Diocesan Architect. The present lych gate was erected in 1958. St Cedma's Hall was built to the west of the church in 1958–59 to the design of Gerald Smith, an architect who was a member of the congregation. During the 1950s, headstones from the graveyard were placed around the perimeter walls.