Donaghmore Presbyterian Church, 41 Corcreechy Road, Newry, Co Down, BT34 1NE

Donaghmore Presbyterian Church

This early 18th-century barn church stands on the junction of Corcreechy Road and Manse Hill Road at Lisserboy. Dating from around 1705-1706, it has been substantially altered, particularly during extensive restoration in 1895, and retains no original external features.

The church is built with cement-dashed walls and a smooth basecourse with rendered blocked quoins. The pitched natural slate roof runs roughly north to south, with moulded concrete skew and moulded kneelers to the front north gable only. An advanced eaves course carries modern plastic rainwater goods. The south gable has a small cement-rendered chimney. Modern ground-level ventilators are present on the sidewalls.

The front north-facing gable is the principal elevation. It features a broad platband at eaves level forming a pediment with a cusped border. At the centre of the apex is a large oval panel with moulded architrave and key-blocks at cardinal points. This panel bears raised painted render lettering reading "DONOUGHMORE / ENLARGED 1762 / 1705 / RESTORED 1895 / PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH". The façade displays a grand central doorcase with dressed granite Tuscan columns supporting a plain stucco entablature, above which rests a segmental pediment inset with a decorative motif. The door itself has six moulded raised and fielded panels and a beaded muntin. To either side of the doorcase are tall semicircular-headed windows with rendered apron and architrave with keystone. Both windows are five-paned, timber-framed and modern, with coloured leaded quarry glazing.

The east and west elevations are identical. Each has five tall plain windows detailed as those to the front gable but with plainly glazed panes and margin panes in leaded coloured glass (square panes). At the north end of each elevation is a group of decorative windows: a pair of small semicircular-headed lights set within a common rendered architrave with keystones. Above these is a large circular wheel window with architrave featuring key-blocks at cardinal points. The wheel window has alternating yellow and green glazing.

The rear south gable is blank and is abutted by a small, low single-storey return. This return has a pitched natural slate roof with half-round plastic rainwater goods and dashed walls. Its south gable contains a small 6/6 sliding sash window with semicircular Y tracery head and granite cill. The left cheek of the return has a four-panelled bolection-moulded door. The right cheek is blank at ground floor level; its basement has a modern timber door accessed by five steps enclosed by a modern cement-rendered wall. A modern oil tank abuts this section.

The church is enclosed by a dwarf wall carrying modern 20th-century spearheaded railings supported by diagonal braces. Two sets of iron gates with cast spearheads, slightly different in detail, open onto the junction of Corcreechy Road and Manse Hill Road. Each gate is hung on large lined-rendered piers. To the left (east) of the church stands a modern church hall and car park.

The congregation at Donaghmore separated from the Newry Presbyterian congregation around 1705 and undertook to build a meeting house. A site was provided by John Johnston (died 1765) of Tremont or Traymont, who was also the first ordained minister of the congregation. The meeting house was begun circa 1705 and completed in 1706 at a cost of £800, raised by the congregation itself. The church was enlarged in 1762. It is captioned as a "meeting house" on the 1834 Ordnance Survey 6-inch map for County Down. The first valuation book describes it as measuring 76 feet by 37 feet 6 inches by 20 feet; the second valuation (1862) refers to it as a "Presbyterian meeting house". Extensive restoration was carried out in 1895, when new windows were added, existing ones remodelled, the front gable was stuccoed, the old gallery was removed, new pews were installed, and the interior was comprehensively upgraded.