COOTEHILL, 49 Bridge St, Secession Presbyterian

A finely constructed Gothic Revival Presbyterian church with crisp carved stone detailing, possibly designed by John Boyd. It replaced a Presbyterian meeting house that had been on the site from 1728. The graduated lancet composition in the west gable and the entrance porch door with plate tracery to tympanum are well executed and give the composition a formal yet inviting presence on Bridge Street. The interior retains its historic furnishings which add artistic interest to the building, being the work of skilled craftsmen. Presbyterians were drawn to south Ulster in great numbers in the early eighteenth century by the development of the brown linen manufacturing trade, which was especially promoted in Cootehill by the Cootes of Bellamont Forest. In Lewis' Topographical Dictionary for 1837 he noted that there were two Presbyterian meeting houses in Cootehill, one on this site and the other at Meeting House Square.

[ National Inventory of Architectural Heritage ]