Clough Presbyterian Church, The Square, Clough, Downpatrick, BT30 8RB

Clough Presbyterian Church

This early and well-proportioned cruciform Presbyterian church stands south of The Square in the centre of Clough village, surrounded by a graveyard. The building retains Grade B2 listing status for its architectural and local historical interest.

The church's origins date to around 1735, when it was constructed by general subscription as a much smaller structure. Ordnance Survey mapping from 1834 shows it as roughly T-shaped with a shorter southern wing. By the revised Ordnance Survey map of 1858, the building had assumed its present cruciform plan, which developed during the 1840s. The four wings are identical except for minor variations in fenestration. Each gable contains a single first-floor window and a ground-floor door to the centre, except the north-west wing which has no door and instead has two evenly spaced ground-floor windows. The side walls of each wing contain two unevenly spaced windows, with the exception of the side walls facing the porch and the south wall of the south-west wing, which each have a single window. All corners have moulded in and out quoins. The walls are finished in lined render with Bangor blue slate roof and cast iron rainwater goods.

The building remained in its mid-19th-century form until 1996–97, when a large modern porch was added to the north angle between the north-east and north-west wings. This porch dominates the front elevation with an uncompromisingly modern aesthetic. The double doors are sheeted with small vision panels and a plain fanlight surmounted by a stylised keystone feature, centred in a gable with chamfered wings. A bracketed canopy is set at the apex, beneath which sits a small glazed oculus. Either side of the door are modern multi-pane windows with top openers. The windows throughout the building are now modern top-hung frames with Georgian-like panes, installed at the same time as the porch. The communion table and pulpit date from 1955.