St Malachy
Belfast, County Antrim
Hidden amongst Belfast’s streets lies a true architectural gem, St Malachy’s modest red-brick exterior gives little hint of the richly ornate interior within, a striking contrast that delights all who step inside.
Awarded a grant to help fund a project to re-roof the building. The felt parapet wall gutters and valleys which were installed in the 1960s which have failed. The church plans to scaffold the roof, remove the slated perimeter together with the felt valleys and parapet gutters, and replace this part of the roof with natural slate pitched roofing, lead valleys and lead parapet gutters. The work is urgently required to keep water out and avoid terminal decay of roof timbers, internal plasterwork and the Binns Organ. If the work is not carried out soon, the building could become unusable within one or two years.
May Street Presbyterian church was built in 1829 for the famous minister, Rev Henry Cooke. It is a classical Georgian building with the galleried church set over a basement and is now Grade A Listed. A Binns organ was installed in 1914 and is still in regular use. The church is situated in the Linen Conservation Area of Belfast which was designated in 1992.
The project will allow the continued use of the building for worship and other regular activities. Once the main roof is secure there are future plans to reopen the church’s basement café, to re-roof the Lecture Hall with a flat roof for a crèche and fitness training for the adjoining proposed office development and to use the building for conferences associated with the new development.