Our heritage
Nearly 190 years of the story of 5 Paulett Avenue, East Belfast: from 193 signatures in 1835 to the next chapter we are writing now.
Photo: PVN survey
Timeline
Choose a date to read its story. Use the arrow keys to move between dates.
1831
Ballymacarrett is a district of hand-loom weavers, most “in very humble circumstances”, with no place of worship of its own. The Synod of Ulster asks the Presbytery of Belfast to take charge of the congregation there.
1835
On 31 August 1835 local Presbyterians resolve to build. Rev. Dr Henry Cooke and others approach Lord Templemore for a site, and a memorial signed by 193 people asks for a new congregation to be formed.
6 Jun 1836
The first stone is laid. About 400 Presbyterian families live in the district, but only 100 belong to any place of worship. The builder, Matthew McKenzie, estimates £1,225 for a house 65 ft by 40 ft.
23 Apr 1837
The church opens for public worship, opened by Rev. Dr Smith of Glasgow: a simple, rectangular church in a classical style.
1838
Rev. John Meneely is ordained as the first minister on 20 March 1838. He serves for more than forty years and in 1876 is Moderator of the General Assembly.
1860–61
The church is enlarged with transepts to plans by the architect William T. Matier, built by James McCracken for £650, and reopens on 10 February 1861.
1889 / 1898
The Belfast architects Young & Mackenzie remodel the church, bringing the front forward with a Perpendicular Gothic entrance bay in Scrabo sandstone. Records differ on the date: the Dictionary of Irish Architects gives 1889; the HED listing record gives a reopening in October 1898.
1928
The Lecture Hall’s foundation stones are laid on 5 May 1928, and the Duchess of Abercorn opens it on 6 October 1928. Designed by John MacGeagh, it is a seven-bay red-brick hall; its granite datestone reads “AD 1928”.
1937
The centenary is marked with renovations costing over £2,000, and J. Robinson’s Centenary Record of the congregation is published.
The Troubles
According to later accounts, from 1969 the Army used the old schoolhouse next door, and worshippers passed through a military checkpoint to reach services. The church kept its doors open.
12 Sep 2010
After 173 years of worship, the final service is held, led by Rev. Dr David Murphy. The congregation joins Ravenhill Presbyterian Church, and the building is sold.
Dec 2010
On 14 December 2010 the church is listed Grade B2 as a building of special architectural and historic interest (HB26/08/023 A). The Lecture Hall is recorded, but not listed.
2010–2026
For sixteen years the building stands empty and silent.
Oct 2026
Place of Victory for All Nations completes the purchase of 5 Paulett Avenue on 5 October 2026 and takes the keys on 7 October.
Spring 2027
Our aim: the Lecture Hall made safe, warm and usable by spring 2027, the first step in bringing the whole building back to life.
Stories
This church was not built by the wealthy. In 1835 the people of Ballymacarrett, a district of hand-loom weavers, asked to be formed into a congregation, and 193 of them signed their names to say so.
Nearly 190 years later we are asking the same of a new generation: to put their name to it, one brick at a time.
Lay your brick
Ordained here on 20 March 1838 as the congregation’s first minister, John Meneely served for more than forty years. In 1876 he was Moderator of the General Assembly, the highest office in Irish Presbyterianism.
A plaque inside the church, erected by its members, still honours their first pastor.
Above the platform, the burning bush of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland is still there, with its motto Ardens sed virens: “burning but flourishing”.
It feels like the right word for a building that has waited through sixteen silent years.
The 1837 church was a simple classical building. It grew with transepts in 1860–61, and Young & Mackenzie later gave it its Gothic front of Scrabo sandstone.
Its listing record singles out the well-preserved interior, including stained glass by Clokey’s of Belfast.
In 1928 the congregation built a Lecture Hall for its young people, designed by John MacGeagh and opened by the Duchess of Abercorn on 6 October 1928.
With a sexton’s house it cost about £7,000, a debt the congregation cleared within seven years. It is the first part we will bring back to life.
According to later accounts, during the Troubles the Army used the old schoolhouse next door, and worshippers passed through a military checkpoint to reach Sunday services.
Through it all, the church remained a place of peace.
In December 2010 the church was listed Grade B2 (HED ref. HB26/08/023 A) for its style, proportions, ornament, interior and its place in the life of East Belfast.
The listing covers the church. The 1928 Lecture Hall is recorded, but not listed.
Spot the details
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Video stills: Abandoned History, from the original film (opens Facebook in a new tab). Other photos: PVN survey.
Share your memories
Did you worship here, go to Sunday school, get married here, or grow up nearby in Ballymacarrett? We would love to hear your memories of 5 Paulett Avenue. Our team reads every one before it appears.
No memories shared yet. Yours could be the first.
Know something we have missed, or spotted a mistake? Tell us.
193 names began this story. Add yours to the next chapter.