{{coord, 54.772, -6.004, display=title, region:GB_scale:5000 Second Ballyeaston Presbyterian Church is a church building of the

Presbyterian Church in Ireland The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI; ga, Eaglais Phreispitéireach in Éirinn; Ulster-Scots: ''Prisbytairin Kirk in Airlann'') is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the Republic of Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in ...

. It is located in the village of Ballyeaston, in the Six Mile Valley, just two miles north-east of

Ballyclare Ballyclare () is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 9,953 according to the 2011 census, and is located within the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area. It sits on the river Six Mile Water. The town ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

History

The congregation was established in 1763 at Rashee, close to the present building, moving to the current site in 1768. Originally a Seceding congregation, Rashee became known as Second Ballyeaston Presbyterian Church in 1846 when it joined the General Assembly of the

. During the troublesome times prior to the

1798 Rebellion The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a Irish republicanism, ...

led by the

United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional reform, ...

, the congregation's minister, the Reverend William Holmes, an opponent of the rebel cause, formed and drilled The Ballyeaston Yeomanry. The field in which they paraded became known as "The Parade", and the current

manse A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...

, known as "Parade Manse", was built there in 1907. William Holmes was also responsible for informing state authorities of the location of rebel forces hiding at Glenwherry in June 1798, but they were saved from capture by being warned by another local man, John Magil. Despite Holmes's opposition to the United Irishmen, many Presbyterians and their neighbours supported the rebel cause.

Church architecture

The church building features a tower with a bronze

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

, an unusual feature in Irish Presbyterian architecture. Built originally in the 'barn' style of Presbyterian Churches, a plain style not unlike that of a large barn, the entrance porch and tower were added in 1901 during a major refurbishment in which the pulpit was moved to the east wall and a gallery added.

Ministers

There have been 10 ministers in the congregation's 243-year history: Revd Anderson (1763-1768), Revd William Holmes (1768-1813), Revd J. Wright (1813-1842), Revd A. Pollock (1842-1859), Revd A. B. Porter (1860-1901), Revd W. Brann (1901-1941), Revd James Coulter (1941-1965), Revd Robert A. Boyd (1966-1990), Revd Purvis Campbell (1990-2005), Revd Christopher Glover (2006–present).

External links

Second Ballyeaston Congregational WebsitePresbyterian Church in Ireland
Churches in County Antrim Presbyterian churches in Northern Ireland