S.S. John R.C. Church, Springhill Road, Moneymore, Magherafelt

The Church of St. John, Moneymore, is an 1831 Catholic church significantly altered in the 1950s, situated prominently above Springhill Road with expansive views of the surrounding agricultural landscape towards Cookstown. Originally a plain, substantial building described in 1831 as 80 feet long and 40 feet wide, capable of holding 500 people, it was constructed at a cost of £250, with a contribution of £50 from the Drapers’ Company.

The church is a long, nine-bay hall with a projecting chancel and a tall, square brick tower incorporated into the nave wall, faced with roughcast rendering. The north-west facing “west” front has a central entrance sheltered by a projecting red brick canopy. Flanking the entrance are pairs of timber doors with raised and fielded panels, above which are small square windows forming a fanlight. A tripartite, square-headed window occupies the gable, which is finished in roughcast rendering. The north-east wall has nine tall, narrow, square-headed lancet windows with recessed panels above and below. A low, flat-roofed brick structure extends from the south-east end, covering four bays and continuing around the chancel to create sacristy accommodation and a secondary entrance, all faced in roughcast. The chancel projects from a roughcast gable, enclosed by the flat-roofed sacristy block; the chancel gable is windowless, while the sacristies have three square-headed windows on each side. A further low brick structure projects from the chancel gable with vertical windows on its side walls. The roof is slated, with flat sections asphalted. The south-west wall is dominated by a tall red brick tower with an octagonal belfry. Recessed areas on the tower’s sides are tiled and feature small slit windows, with decorative panels depicting symbols at the lower portion.

In the mid-1950s, the church was almost entirely rebuilt, with the original walls being reduced to a height of 1.2 meters before reconstruction. Following the canonisation of Oliver Plunkett, decorative panels were added to the tower. It is believed that William John Booth may have advised on the original church’s design.