Survey Data
Reg No
41401825
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Social
Previous Name
Derryvally Seceders' Meeting House
Original Use
Church/chapel
In Use As
Community centre
Date
1800 - 1805
Coordinates
269789, 321170
Date Recorded
29/04/2012
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding six-bay barn-style Presbyterian church, dated 1800, with recent lean-to extension to north-east long elevation. now in use as community hall. Half-hipped slated roof, sprocketed to gable ends, and having cast-iron rainwater goods. Lined-and-ruled rendered walls, with date plaque to west elevation. Round-headed window openings with tooled sandstone sills and replacement timber frames. Three-centred doorway to north elevation with double-leaf timber battened door. Interior has blind round-headed blind arch to south gable wall, with pilasters and moulded architrave. Timber battened ceiling. Some timber pews remain. Replacement timber flooring to nave. Two square-headed door openings accessing vestibule at north end. Carved timber staircase from vestibule to meeting room at first floor level. Square-headed door opening accessing recent changing facilities and toilets at east, with recent timber door. Graveyard to north-east.
Appraisal
Derryvally Presbyterian church is of social significance to the local Presbyterian community, forming part of a religious grouping with the First Ballybay Presbyterian church and Derryvally National School to the south-west. It was constructed in 1800, following a disagreement in the congregation concerning the appointment of a new minister at the nearby First Ballybay, built in 1786. In 1909 the congregations were reunited into the First Ballybay church, and Derryvally church has became a community hall. The building is of classic Presbyterian type. The plain unadorned elevations, a reflection of the Presbyterian ethic, are complemented by its barn-style roof and enlivened by round-headed window openings. Although a modern extension has been constructed to the rear, this simple yet attractive structure retains its early character and features, including a subtle arch executed in plaster to the interior. Situated to the east of the Ballybay to Newbliss road, Derryvally church is bounded by a graveyard to east, and the Dundalk to Enniskillen branch of Great Northern Railway runs from east to west to the north of the church.