St Anne
Killough, County Down
As you approach the village, St Anne's is the tallest and most strking building; it has centuries of history, with connections to Strangford village and the Castle Ward Estate.
Bright Parish Church is a simple hall church on a much older, elevated site on the Lecale peninsula, with panoramic views across the Irish sea, the Mountains of Mourne, and the Lecale coastline. Antiquarian records suggest that the site has direct links to St Patrick, with whom the Lecale area is intimately connected, being the birthplace of Christianity in Ireland.
The current church is notably unaltered. It retains its liturgical layout, built in a simple classical revival style. Despite some renewal, the interior retains elements such as the original floor, pews, openings and sanctuary, and has considerable authenticity.
Its simplicity reflects the fact that this is a small rural church, with longstanding links to the farming and seafaring communities which surround it.