Kilmore Presbyterian Church, Drumaghlis Road, Drumaghlis, Ballynahinch, Co Down

Kilmore Presbyterian Church

This two-storey hipped roof Presbyterian church was built in 1832–34, possibly to a design by William Smith. It stands on the east side of Drumaghlis Road, roughly 3½ miles east of Ballynahinch, set on a slight slope with a graveyard to the south.

The church is a well-detailed and well-preserved example of early 19th-century Presbyterian architecture. The symmetrical classical front façade faces roughly north-west and presents a low, broad proportion. At its centre is a wide shallow bay divided into three sections by four full-height pilasters. The ground floor of the central section contains a large panelled timber double door with a Gibbs surround and a projecting lantern above. Flanking this are sash windows with Georgian panes in 10/10 configuration. High panels occupy the wall above each window and doorway; those above the windows are plain with tiny decorative moulding, whilst that above the door carries the date '1832' in raised numerals. The pilasters stand on cushion bases and plinths, supporting an entablature with cornice and blocking course parapet. The outer edges of the front elevation have in-out quoins, a plain eaves course and parapet.

The north-east and south-west façades are identical, each with four ground floor windows matching the front design and four larger semicircular-headed windows (16/10) on the first floor. Both are finished in rough cast. The rear façade of the main building contains two first-floor windows filled with stained glass. Two squat chimney stacks sit close to the eaves.

To the rear is a double-gabled single-storey extension, possibly in part dating to around 1850 but evidently added to in later phases. It now mainly features modern windows. The south-west face of this extension has a modern panelled and glazed door within a bay to the left, with a sash window to the right. The extension is finished in rough cast with dry dash to the north-east face, and its roof is slated. Cast iron rainwater goods serve both sections. A rough cast rendered wall to the west of the church features decorative iron gates.

Interior details are of particular note. The church retains surviving box pews. The coffered ceiling, organ, pulpit fittings and stained glass windows to the rear were probably installed in the early to mid-20th century. The building originally comprised the main rectangular portion only; by 1858 a small extension had been added to the rear.

Historical context: The Presbyterian congregation at Kilmore came into being in 1831 when, following the Arian controversy, the Rademan congregation split between subscribing (orthodox) and non-subscribing (Unitarian) factions. The more numerous Unitarians retained the old meeting house at Rademan, while the orthodox faction acquired land to the south in Drumaghlis and erected this church. Construction cost £1,500. The 1836 Ordnance Survey Memoirs describe it as "a plain, slated, rectangular building…neat, whitewashed and in good repair."

To the south of the church, the graveyard contains a terrace area at its southern end featuring a crowded series of vaults and graves dating from around 1835 to the 1870s. These include headstones of various styles, with some obelisks and plain gabled vaults.

The church has group value with the nearby lecture hall and sexton's house, which enhance its setting.