Pratt Memorial Church (C of I), Carrigenagh Rd, Kilkeel, Newry, Co Down, BT34 4PZ

Pratt Memorial Church, Church of Ireland

A high-quality church hall erected in 1889 on the corner of Carrigenagh Road in Kilkeel, designed in the Arts and Crafts style using the local granite tradition. The building was commissioned as a meeting hall to commemorate a former rector of Christ Church, Kilkeel, and was designed by Max Clarke ARIBA of London. The contractor Thomas Grills of Kilkeel completed the work for £345, with the agreement signed on 6 December 1888 and completion achieved on 1 May 1889. Around 1910, the hall was consecrated for use as a church, which necessitated the construction of a vestry and insertion of a raised communion platform.

The church is a picturesque rectangular hall with a steeply pitched natural slate roof featuring deep overhanging eaves with exposed rafter tails and sarking boards. Cast iron rainwater goods are fitted throughout. Two tall chimneys of squared granite rubble with oversailing granite caps rise prominently; one has chamfered sides and occupies the angle formed by the porch with the front pitch of the church roof, whilst the other stands at the junction with the vestry roof at the rear. The walls are constructed of rock-faced squared granite rubble set in strap-pointed regular courses.

The west gable elevation, facing the main road, features an angled granite buttress at both ends. At its centre are a pair of tall 36-pane metal-framed side-hung casement windows flanked by a 15-pane window on each side, all cased in smoothly dressed granite. A small plain window occupies the apex of the gable. A church name board reads "Church of Ireland Cargenagh Church Kilkeel Parish".

The south elevation faces a minor road and contains a projecting gabled porch to the left, constructed of similar materials and roof form as the main block. The overhanging roof is supported on granite corbel blocks. The flat-headed granite lintel above the entrance bears interlocked alpha and omega symbols and the inscription "Pratt Memorial 1889". Two metal-framed windows light the left cheek of the porch, and two steps lead to a double-leaf sheeted timber door. Along the façade to the right of the porch are three pairs of 15-paned windows, all metal-framed and cased in dressed granite.

The east gable features three tall 30-pane windows and a small plain light in the apex. The rear façade includes a vestry return abutting at the left, constructed of similar materials and roof form. The vestry has an entrance door on its left cheek and two double-glazed PVC windows in original openings on the right cheek. On the main wall to the right of the vestry are two and a half pairs of 15-pane windows matching the front elevation, with an identical single window to the left.

The grounds are enclosed at the front and side by a strap-pointed and regularly coursed squared granite rubble wall with oversailing copings. A decorative wrought-iron gate along the main road side provides access to the main entrance.

Original detailing survives in excellent condition throughout. Architect's drawings dated October 1888 indicate that the original conception included a ventilator on the roof apex, red tiles, and a limestone lintel over the porch—none of which were implemented. Subsequent alterations include radiant heaters added in 1958 and roof re-slating approximately five years before the listing record. The font was brought from a church in Dublin some forty years before the listing record.

Max Clarke (1851–1938) was born in Munich, Germany. He was articled to Charles John Phipps and served as assistant and clerk of works for theatres in Cork and Sadler's Wells. He became a Member of ARIBA in 1880 and was a lecturer and member of the AA, the Society of Engineers, and a Freemason.