Downing Vault, Ballyscullion Parish Church, Main Street, Bellaghy, Co. Londonderry, BT45 8AB

The Downing Vault is a mausoleum of special architectural and historic interest, constructed in the early 18th century and standing in the graveyard on the north side of Ballyscullion Parish Church in Bellaghy. It is a well-proportioned example of neo-classical design, built of ashlar sandstone with a gabled roof finished in slate.

The vault is rectangular in plan with a carefully detailed facade. The east elevation contains the entrance, pierced by an iron door featuring a sunburst motif at its centre, with a plaque set above bearing the inscription "IID 1776". Drainage from the parapet gutters is directed via cast iron downpipes positioned on the east side.

The west elevation projects forward and is pedimented above a recess containing a marble inscription framed within plain architraves with plain square stops at the corners. Above this the main gabled face terminates in projecting shoulders, and the projecting base is chamfered. The south side is finished at roof level by a plain stone frieze moulded at the top, with a recessed marble inscription at the centre surmounted by a hood moulding. No base is provided on this elevation. The north side is similar to the south elevation and also contains a recessed marble plaque.

The inscriptions record the history of the Downing family. The principal panel commemorates Adam Downing Esquire, descended from a Devonshire family, who died on 15 December 1719 aged 53. He had distinguished himself at the Siege of Derry and the Battle of the Boyne, commanding an independent company, and was subsequently appointed a commissioner of the army in 1715 and deputy governor of the county. The inscription was erected by his eldest living son, John Downing, who in 1745 raised an independent company at great expense during the Scottish Rebellion. The west panel also records the death of John Downing's daughter Margaret, relict of Captain James Hand, and his wife Ann, daughter of the Reverend Simon Rowan, who died on 2 February 1776 aged 65.

The south panel commemorates Catherine Jamison Downing Nesbitt, who died on 26 February 1886 aged nearly 86 years. The north panel records that the vault contains several descendants of Adam Downing, including Dawson Downing of Rowansgift, interred 14 July 1807; the Reverend Alexander Clotworthy Downing, Rector of Leckpatrick, interred 13 April 1812; Tamison Downing, widow of the Reverend Alexander Clotworthy Downing, interred 2 November 1817 aged 80; and William Downing, son of Dawson Downing, interred 25 March 1845 aged 26.

The Downing family originated in Devonshire and were related to the Earls of Clancarty. The family's prominence extended beyond Bellaghy: Sir George Downing (1624–84) was created a Baronet under Charles II and granted land at Whitehall on which he built Downing Street about 1680, where prime ministers have resided since 1731. By his will of 1717, Sir George provided for the founding of Downing College, Cambridge, which received its charter in 1800.

Ballyscullion Parish Church, in front of which the vault stands, was completed in 1794 on the site of an earlier building of 1625. The vault itself dates to between 1700 and 1719, with the inscription dated 1776 possibly referring to later work. It represents a notable expression of neo-classical taste in its proportions and fine attention to detail.