Mortuary Chapel in graveyard, North Road, Carrickfergus, BT38 8LP

Mortuary Chapel, North Road Cemetery, Carrickfergus

An ornate mid-Victorian mortuary chapel built in 1859, positioned at the centre of an inter-denominational cemetery on the east side of North Road. The chapel displays delicate detailing and timberwork, and holds substantial social interest to the local community.

The cemetery was established in 1859 as an additional burial ground for the parish of Carrickfergus, augmenting the old churchyard of St Nicholas's. It was provided under the bequest of Charles Edmonstone Kirk of Thornfield, late Captain of the 1st Royals. According to an inscribed tablet within the chapel's east wall, the central portion of the cemetery—surrounded by four walks running parallel with the boundary walls and extending approximately 35 feet from them—was designated inalienably as a free burial place for the poor of the parish and for strangers. The remaining plots, lying between the boundary walls and these walks, remained under the rector's disposal, with a burial fee of two shillings and sixpence payable for use of these plots. The ground remained in Church of Ireland possession until taken into the care of the Borough Council in 1990. The cemetery contains nineteenth and twentieth century gravestones, gated plots, and decorative memorials including an obelisk and Celtic cross. The earliest recorded death is 1853, with the earliest located stone dating from 1870. The graveyard first appears on the third edition Ordnance Survey map of 1902.

The single-cell mortuary chapel features a pitched roof of natural slate with deep overhanging eaves, fretted timber bargeboards, and a dropped finial. The walls are chamfered timber frame with vertical timber boarding infill over a stepped rendered plinth. Windows are openwork lattice lights in timber frame with cusped tracery. The principal gable faces south, consisting of a central entrance flanked by a pair of window openings, with decorative cast-iron gates and timber framing above to the apex. The east and west elevations are five bays wide; the north bay is rendered, while the four southern bays each contain a pair of window openings. The north elevation is rendered. The graveyard is bounded on all sides by hedging, with access via a pair of square rubble gate pillars to the south and an entrance avenue leading from North Road. The chapel remains in use as part of this active burial ground, which continues to serve the community.