All Saints Parish Church

All Saints Parish Church was constructed in 1596 and is considered to be Ireland's finest Elizabethan Gothic ecclesiastical building. It is one of the oldest parish churches in Northern Ireland, still in use. Previously, it used to be the spiritual home of the Clotworthy and Massereene Families.

About this building

The Massereene Family has greatly contributed to the construction of the church. The tower, funded by the Board of First Fruits and designed by John Bowden, was added to the church in 1816. The church has several funerial monuments, R A Flaxman being the finest one. Further, the Massereene Chapel has turned into the unoffical Royal British Legion Chapel for the town. The history of the church goes back to the medieval times. The ancient burial ground where the church is sited serves as an evidence for the same.

Other nearby buildings

Wikimedia Commons/Mervyn Greer

Ardboe Monastery

Ardboe Monastery is an ancient monastery founded in 590 by Saint Colman. In the 16th century, the old church built by St. Colman gave way to the present church (in ruins). The entire monastery was destroyed by fire in the 20th century. One of the main remains of the former monastery is the High Cross, the first one built in Ulster. There are a total of twenty-two panels of Old and New Testament scenes on all four sides of the cross.

Ulster Architectural Heritage Society/Flickr

Carlisle Memorial Methodist Church

One of Belfast's most striking buildings, Carlisle Memorial Methodist Church has served as a gateway to North Belfast since 1875. Designed by native son, WH Lynn, it took just three years to complete. Built in a High Victorian neo Gothic style as a memorial to the children of local builder James Carlisle, it is being brought back into use by the Belfast Buildings Trust through a long term programme of regeneration.