Church

St Patrick, Cairncastle

St Patrick, Cairncastle

St Patrick’s Church of Ireland church on Ballymullock Road, Cairncastle, County Antrim, is a Grade B1 First Fruits church of 1815 overlooking Ballygally Bay, in the Diocese of Connor.

Location
Cairncastle, County Antrim
Country
Northern Ireland
County
County Antrim
City / town
Cairncastle
Address
Ballymullock Road, Cairncastle, County Antrim, BT40 2NQ
Postcode
BT40 2NQ
Built
1815; vestry 1861; chancel 1891
Consecrated
1815
Architect
Welland & Gillespie (1861 vestry and seating)
Denomination
Church of Ireland
Dedication
Patrick
Diocese
Connor
Parish
Kilwaughter and Cairncastle with All Saints, Craigyhill
Grade
B1
Style
First Fruits Gothic
Materials
Basalt rubble with Ballycastle and Giffnock sandstone dressings
Grid reference
D 365 077
Opening hours
Due to current Covid19 restrictions, for other times of opening, please check our parish website or call us for the church to be open by arrangement. The church is usually open on Sundays from 11.30am to 12.30pm for worship.
Access
Level access to the main areas. Accessible toilets in church

Overview

A medieval church on the site appears in the papal taxation of 1306 as Karkastell. By 1622 the old church was in disrepair; a successor of 1657 was later described as ruinous. Foundation walls of that earlier building remain in the graveyard. Lewis recorded the present nave and tower, ‘a small plain edifice with a lofty spire’, built with a Board of First Fruits loan of £350 and consecrated in 1815. Welland & Gillespie proposed new seating and a vestry in 1861; a chancel with encaustic pavements and a Mayer of Munich east window was added in 1891. The fabric is un-coursed basalt rubble with sandstone dressings and a slated octagonal spire on a battlemented west tower. The building is Northern Ireland listed building HB06/03/016 (Grade B1). Listing URLs for Northern Ireland are not used in the Gazette list-entry field. The parish is Kilwaughter and Cairncastle with All Saints, Craigyhill; a bicentenary service was held in 2015.

Further Information