About
Built in 1875, this B1 listed church was designed by the architect Sir Thomas Drew and was built by the Mulholland family in memory of St Clair Kelburn Mulholland.
St Clair was one of five brothers who founded the York Street spinning mills in Belfast. When he died, his daughter Mary Filgate Mulholland decided to build this private chapel in his memory. The Mulholland family helped to maintain this church, providing a sexton’s house, a schoolhouse at Newport and a Rectory.
The church became part of the then Diocese of Down, Connor and Dromore in 1916 and has been in use as a parish church ever since. The founder of the Ulster Architectural Society Sir Charles Brett believes that All Saints’ is the finest ever designed by Thomas Drew, built in a distinctly English style with walls of black stone and small red roof tiles. The interior is particularly ornate with a apsidal sanctuary lined with encaustic tiles. Brett tells us that Sir Thomas Drew (1838-1910) worked for Charles Lanyon and designed many churches throughout Ulster, before being appointed as diocesan architect of Down, Connor and Dromore in 1865. He was knighted in 1900 as part of the Queen’s birthday honours.
The Mulholland’s are buried in the family plot in the grounds of the church. A parish graveyard came into existence in the 1920’s and it contains 21 Commonwealth War graves.
