Christ Church, College Square North, Belfast, is by William Farrell and dates from 1833. It was built for the Rev Thomas Drew.
Christ Church, College Square North, Belfast, is by William Farrell and dates from 1833. It was built for the Rev Thomas Drew. Christ Church is a plain but dignified Greek Revival Church of Ireland building with weathered beige sandstone facade to College Square North, consisting of a square portico set forward from the main wall, with Ionic columns flanking the lugged and pedimented entrance door; dark red brick sides with arched recesses for margin-paned windows; good tall railing with plain spikes rising from florations above the rail, set on stone coping. It was built as a "free church" to accommodate members of the Church of Ireland who could not afford to rent pews - St Anne's and St George's had seats for only six poor people, yet there were over 16,000 nominal members of the Church of Ireland in Belfast at the time - and many of its early parishioners were farmers living in the nearby countryside. It was closed as a church in June 1973. It was deconsecrated in the early 1990s and, after lying redundant for several years, suffered severe fire damage in 1996. Its future was secured by the intervention of the Belfast Buildings Preservation Trust who, in partnership Royal Belfast Academical Institution, have restored and adapted the building for use as a library and IT Centre of Excellence. The body of the church has been divided by a new floor, while the intricate timber ceiling has been spectacularly recreated from the photographs. The project has won a series of awards from across the British Isles.
Size: 4256px × 2831px
Location: Christ Church, College Square North, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Photo credit: © Roger Bradley / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: architecture, belfast, buildings, christ, church, college, heritage, historic, history, religion, square
