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Ballinderry Middle Church

The Middle Church, Ballinderry, consecrated in 1668. The Lych Gate at Middle Church, Ballinderry.
The Middle Church, Ballinderry,
consecrated in 1668..		 The Lych Gate at Middle Church, Ballinderry.
Rev. Canon Ernest Harris Rector Dr Fred Ruddell
Rev. Canon Ernest Harris
Rector		 Dr Fred Ruddell
Diocesan Reader

Ballinderry Road (Between Upper and Lower Ballinderry).

Rector: Rev. Canon Ernest Harris

Telephone: 9265 1310

Sunday services: Evening: 1st and 3rd Sunday at 7.00pm

Web site: www.connor.anglican.org

Robert Yarr Organist David Elwood People’s Warden John Hunsdale Rector’s Warden
Robert Yarr
Organist		 David Elwood
People’s Warden		 John Hunsdale
Rector’s Warden

HISTORY

The Middle Church, Ballinderry was built in 1668 at the direction of the Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore, Jeremy Taylor, who also financed its construction. It was built to replace the medieval church of the parish of Ballinderry, the ruins of which still exist two miles away at Portmore, close to Lough Beg. He chose this site for the new church because it was more convenient and accessible than the old church, being in the centre of the parish and on a country road. This is how the Middle Church got its name. It is also known as ‘Jeremy Taylor’s Church’.

In 1824 this church was itself superseded by the construction of a new parish church close to Upper Ballinderry village. Although the parish church continues today as the centre of worship, the Middle Church has regular evening services in the summer months and other services throughout the year. The Middle Church graveyard is still the burying ground for the parish. The oldest headstone dates from the late 17th century.

The Middle Church fell into disrepair after the opening of the new parish church and photographs taken in the late 19th century show the east gable end and part of the roof covered in ivy. In 1902 a programme of restoration was undertaken, with the aid of a donation of £2000 from Mrs Walkington, Oatlands, Upper Ballinderry. It was re-roofed and the windows were re-glazed. Prior to the restoration, the exterior was white-washed like a traditional cottage or barn, hence its description as a ‘barn’ church. In more recent times the parish has sought to maintain the physical soundness of the building without altering its character. There is no electricity so services are conducted by the aid of candle or other portable lighting and heating.

The church measures 71 feet long by 29 feet wide. It is thought that some of the wood used in the construction was removed from the medieval church at Portmore and re-used here. All of the oak would have been felled in the great oak forests that covered this district known as Killultagh (Coil Ultagh – the great wood of Ulster). The interior has the original 17th century oak pews with fixed candleholders, communion table and a three-deck ‘pepper pot’ pulpit, placed at the side of the church. The pulpit’s design means that the seat in the lowest position can be used by the parish clerk, the middle section used for the readings and additional prayers, and the upper section by the preacher. The lowest seat was known as the ‘Amen Corner’ because the clerk led the responses by the congregation. The large pew opposite the pulpit is traditionally known as ‘Lord Conway’s pew’. Fixed to the west wall is a former pew door, which has the date 1668 and two sets of initials carved on it. The church possesses a silver chalice dating from the 1660s, which is inscribed ‘the cup of Ballinderry’ and several 18th century Prayer Books. There is a chest dated 1706 and four long handled brass collection pans. A funeral hatchment bearing the arms of Bishop Taylor is on the wall opposite the pulpit. An external staircase gives access to the gallery, which is an eighteenth century addition to the church, made presumably to cope with an increasing congregation. There are two circular windows in the west gable, over which is a simple bell turret. The original 17th century bell was taken down in 1869, at a time when the church was not in use. It was sold in Dublin and later recast into a bell for Gilford Church. The present bell was donated by Wing Commander Higginson in 1954.

Bishop Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667) was a close friend of Edward, 1st Earl of Conway and Killultagh, whose family owned all the land between Derriaghy and the shores of Lough Neagh and developed the town of Lisburn. Bishop Taylor was chaplain to Charles 1 and therefore fell from favour during Cromwell’s time. Through the patronage of Lord Conway, he came to Lisburn in the 1650s. He also spent time at Conway’s house at Portmore and from this peaceful location developed his interest in Ballinderry. Taylor was a noted theologian who published several significant books, including ‘Holy Living’ and ‘Holy Dying’. The preface of another, Ductor Dubitantium or the Rule of Conscience, reads ‘from my study at Portmore in Killultagh, October 5, 1659’. Bishop Taylor died in Lisburn in August 1667 and was buried in Dromore Cathedral.

The present Rector, the Rev. Canon Ernest Harris, was instituted here in March 1990. Mr. Harris was installed as Prebendary of Cairncastle on the Chapter of St Saviour Connor at a Service of Installation in Lisburn Cathedral on Wednesday 22nd February 2006

For a more detailed history of The Middle Church, Ballinderry, written by Francis Joseph Bigger and William J. Fennell, click on: The Middle Church of Ballinderry and Bishop Jeremy Taylor.

Brief history as recorded in a book ‘Lisburn’s Rich Church Heritage’ by John Kelly

The church was built in 1668 at the direction of Bishop Jeremy Taylor, who also financed its construction. It was built to replace the medieval church of the parish of Ballinderry, the ruins of which still exist two miles away at Portmore. He chose this site for the new church because it was more convenient and accessible than the old church, being in the centre of the parish and on a country road. This is how the Middle Church got its name; it is also known as Jeremy Taylor’s Church. The construction work began in 1665 and the church was consecrated in 1668. The church, which is a plain structure, still has the original box pews and three-decker pulpit. Although the parish church continues today as the centre of worship, the Middle Church has regular evening services in the summer months and other services throughout the year. The Middle Church graveyard is still the burying ground for the parish. The oldest headstone dates from the late 17th century. The church fell into disrepair after the opening of the new parish church in 1824. In 1902 it was re-roofed and the windows were re-glazed. Prior to the restoration, the exterior was white-washed like a traditional cottage or barn, hence its description as a ‘barn’ church. In more recent times the parish has sought to maintain the physical soundness of the building without altering its character. There is no electricity so services are conducted by the aid of candle or other portable lighting and heating. It would be one of the finest examples of a plantation church in Ulster.