Methodist Church, West Street, Carrickfergus, Co Antrim

Methodist Church, West Street, Carrickfergus

This late 19th-century church in Gothic Revival style was designed by Samuel P. Close, a well-known local architect of Carrickfergus. Built between 1882 and 1884 (tenders invited 1 April 1882; opened 18 June 1884), it represents one of Close's less ambitious church designs, comparatively plain in detail and finish. The church has since lost a number of original features and much of its original character. The proximity of a modern hall complex to the rear and modern buildings adjacent to the east and south, combined with various alterations and additions, further detract from the character of the original setting.

The building comprises a rectangular nave with shallow transepts, and features a semi-octagonal stair turret positioned to one side of the entrance gable. The main entrance faces south.

On the south elevation, the entrance gable is finished in smooth cement render, lined and blocked, with a projecting moulded plinth and projecting moulded cornice to the gable coping. Stringcourses run across the elevation in plain form, defining the cills to windows and marking the springing point of the upper windows; all render and plasterwork is uniformly painted. The central entrance contains a pair of modern rectangular timber panelled doors surmounted by a plain fanlight with original Gothic arched framing. The doors are recessed in a Gothic archway with moulded and stop-chamfered reveals containing circular colonnettes, with a moulded label above. The doorway is flanked by single narrow lancets set in raised surrounds with moulded and stop-chamfered reveals, containing leaded lights fitted with later storm-proof glazing. Above the entrance are four graduated lancets in similar surrounds with matching glazing, topped by a small circular window in the apex of the gable. A modern concrete doorstep leads onto a concrete ramp approached by a flight of concrete steps bounded by cement rendered plinth walls and modern steel railings.

Set back on either side of the entrance gable are a narrow bay to the right containing a tall lancet surmounted by a small circular window, and a semi-octagonal stair turret to the left. The stair turret walls are rendered as the main elevation, including stringcourses with the addition of dentil cornices to the eaves. Each face of the stair turret contains a tall narrow lancet above a quatrefoil-panelled roundel in a raised circular surround; the roundel on the canted face to the front is covered by a later timber noticeboard. Moulded cast-iron gutters run along the eaves of each side bay and the return of the entrance gable, with circular cast-iron downpipes.

The west elevation comprises the nave wall, containing three tall lancets, with the semi-octagonal stair turret projecting to the right and a shallow gabled transept projecting to the left. The transept gable contains a graduated triplet of lancets surmounted by a circular window in the apex. The roofs, wall render, rainwater goods and storm-proof glazing match those of the south elevation.

The east elevation comprises the nave wall containing three tall lancets, rising to a higher gable to the left, with a shallow transept table projecting to the right. The walls here are smooth rendered without plinth, stringcourses or window surrounds, but feature plain projecting stone cills and a moulded cornice to the nave with flush verges to the transept gable. Cast-iron rainwater goods match those elsewhere. The raised gable to the left contains a tall lancet surmounted by a circular window in the apex; the transept gable contains two lancets. Storm-glazing as elsewhere is present.

The north elevation comprises a plain rear gable, smooth rendered and painted, with the track of lean-to projections now removed to make way for the modern hall complex. Cast-iron rainwater goods run to the return sides of the transepts at each extremity of the main new gable. Projecting from the rear gable on the right-hand side is a modern single-storey red brick link block connecting to the modern halls complex; across the left-hand side of the rear gable is a modern steel fire escape stairway.

The building stands on a corner site within the built-up area of the town, facing onto a side street at the front but set back slightly behind a low plinth boundary wall, which contains a modern open concrete ramp to the main entrance. The west elevation faces onto the main road and a deep paved pedestrian area, set back from it behind a low plinth boundary wall which contains an open paved area; the plinth wall is smooth cement rendered. To the rear stands a two-storey flat-roofed modern church hall complex in red brick, connected to the rear of the church by a low single-storey red brick link block. The east elevation overlooks a side yard, hard surfaced and containing some mature trees, bounded by an old basalt rubble wall to the east, a modern halls complex to the north, and entered by a set of modern iron railings and gates to the south, abutting the entrance gable of the church.

The church was built to replace an earlier Methodist church on the site, constructed in 1810–12. An organ, built by Lewis & Co of London, was installed in 1907. Lucarne dormers in the stair turret were removed in the mid-1980s. The church was listed in 1991. In the 1990s, ramp access was added to the main entrance front, storm-glazing was inserted in windows, and the gallery was remodelled. The modern hall complex to the rear was built in 1969. The building stands within the area of a scheduled monument (ANT52:60).