My 1st cousin, 3 times removed, the Rev. Thomas West, was the minister of this church for 52 years (1867 to 1920). I have discovered, in a collection of his family's papers passed down to me, a booklet commemorating the 150th anniversity of the church in 1987. Within the booklet is a history of the church. Although the history is rather lengthy, you will find the answer to the question about the name of the church. FIRST ANTRIM PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 1837- 1987 The New Meeting House Following the establishment in 1726 of the new Presbyterian congregation in Antrim, the people worshipped in a simple church building in Millrow (now Riverside). The congregation grew rapidly over the years with the result that the building became too small. Attempts to extend and enlarge it were inadequate. The building, being old, needed frequent repairs, and the costs for maintenance were soaring. In 1828 the congregation took the decision to build a new church. Lord Massereene and Ferrard offered the church four acres of land in nearby Bog Park (Belmont Park) for £400. The site included a few houses along High Street (now Church Street). By selling these houses, together with some adjacent pieces of land, the cost of the site was realised , within a few years. Preparations for building the new church moved quickly. The Foundation Stone was laid on June 9th, 1834. Building work began straightaway, but took nearly three years to complete. The new Church was opened For public worship on June 18th, 1837 by Rev. A. Nesbitt of Glasgow. The only information about the construction that is available today is a reference in an old document to ”a sum of money…. paid to Mr . Molyneau, Contractor, and Mr. Dixon, Builder.” This new church building must have been very conspicuous, surrounded as it was by small, low, thatched dwellings. Perhaps this is why it was sometimes referred to as ‘The Cathedral of Antrim.’ The outside of the church, and in particular the front part, was an adaptation of a design very popular with the planners of Presbyterian churches of that time. It is described as follows in the Ordinance Survey Records of 1830- 1860: “The front entrance at the northern end is in the Egyptian style and has a handsome and massive appearance. It consists of a portico (the ascent to which is by six spacious steps}, supported by two massive white porphyry columns with capitals of the Doric order. i These support a frieze and pediment which, with the entire of this front, are stone finished.” Other details of the building from the same report are: “The new meeting house erected by Millrow congregation is a handsome, substantial and spacious structure, situated 90 yards to the south of High Street, and near the east of the town. The external dimensions are 78 feet long (from north to south), 58 feet wide (from east to west) and 29 feet high in the sidewalls. It is well lit by two rows of windows in each side and by two ornamental windows in its northern or entrance front. The windows in the upper row have circular heads, but those in the lower row have square heads: The house is well built of whin-stone, the walls are three feet thick and the roof has a trifling pitch and projects over a handsome cornice.” “Inside, the ground floor has 74 pews and the gallery has 58 pews. Together with the aisles these can provide accommodation for about 1,000 persons. The pulpit is on the southern end of the meeting house and is reached from the basement by a well constructed concealed spiral stair; underneath the southern end of the meeting house is an apartment 24 square feet intended for holding a Sunday School.” The total cost of the building was £3,000. Several methods were used to raise this sum and included: Special collections (which amounted to about £120) taken” at all sermons preached on its being opened.” (One of the special preachers was the great Rev. Dr. Henry Cooke ); the sale of tickets of admission to these special services at a cost of one shilling each; the selling (or letting) of pews (sittings) within the church; contributions solicited from church members, and from friends in neighbouring congregations. The Synod of Ulster (a forerunner of the General Assembly) granted permission for the Church to appeal to some churches in Scotland for financial help. The income from all these sources, together with the money received from the sale of the old church building, was inadequate, and two years after the opening service the deficit was in excess of £1,700. Over the next few years a series of misfortunes delayed the clearing of the debt. High unemployment, low wages, emigration on a large scale and the Potato famine of 1846-47, all had their effects. Another set-back was a disruption within the Church membership which occurred in 1850 and resulted in a number of families leaving the Church to form a new Congregation, Second Antrim Congregation ( the present High Street Congregation). Five years later Gas lighting was introduced into Antrim town and the church was connected to the Mains thereby doing away with the old system of lighting which was by locally produced ‘mould’ candles. The debt was still considerable, amounting to approximately £775. Misguidedly, and for reasons not recorded, the church authorities decided to reduce the Insurance coverage on the property from £1000 to £500, an action which cost them dearly a short time later. A fire started in the basement where on weekdays a Primary school was held. In winter this area was heated by an open turf fire which had to be smothered out in the evenings and re-lit in the mornings. On the evening of Friday, January, l0th 1862 the fire was not completely extinguished. Some live embers are thought to have rolled on to the floor, and, fanned by a strong wind, set the building alight. The choir and pulpit areas were severely damaged. Repairing the damage took 19 months, and the building was re-opened for worship in November of the same year. While repair work was in progress the opportunity was taken to construct the Classroom. In the original plan of the church the centre gallery extended back to the entrance or gable wall. By building up the back wall of the downstairs part of the church to ceiling height the rear portion of the gallery was cut off, thus forming an excellent room for the Bible Class and other group meetings. On April 6th, 1860 the name of the congregation was changed in the official records from “The Congregation of Millrow Presbyterian Church” to its present title of “The Congregation of First Antrim Presbyterian Church.” The church deficit continued to mount, and when their new minister, Rev. Thomas West was ordained on 20th November, 1867 he was faced with the daunting task of clearing off the debt. It was said that, “some deserted the Church in its difficulties, not enduring the sacrifices. “ Mr. West had, therefore, to take steps to, “establish confidence in the solvency of the congregation’s finances.” In this he had the full support and help of Mr. Thomas H. Adams, whose example, drive and powers of persuasion so challenged the people to give that in two years’ time the debt was completely cleared. The congregation then set about raising, “£500. for repairing and redecorating the church". For two decades little or no work was done to the property as all available finances were channeled into the purchase and conversion of a house in Riverside for a Manse for Rev. West and his family. However, by the turn of the century it became obvious that the old plaster ceiling in the church was in a dangerous condition and in need of urgent attention. It was taken down completely and replaced by the beautiful ceiling which still adorns the sanctuary. The cost involved was £254. Other work carried out at the same time included, “putting new ceilings in the lobbies and entrances to the galleries, mending the roof of the church, renovating windows, and re- decorating the whole building.” The cost for all this work was £639. Organs in churches became very fashionable in the early nineteen-hundreds. First Antrim’s first organ, installed in 1907, was presented in memory of Mrs. A.G. Wilson, who has been described as being, “an ardent church worker.” This instrument was replaced 16 years later by another ‘presentation’ organ, the donor being Mr. John McAdam a member of Session who had moved from Antrim to Whitehead. In 1927-28 when Antrim town lighting changed from gas to electricity and gas was no longer available, the Church had no option but to change over as well. The cost of the necessary readjustments was £85.12.00. This change led to the installation of the third organ, the Adams Memorial Organ, presented in 1932 by Dr. J.J. Adams in memory of his father, Mr. Thomas Hugh Adams (Dr. Adams also bore the entire cost of the necessary renovations to the pulpit and choir area of the church). The windows of the church were now in need of attention. The committee decided to replace them all with leaded lights, thereby adding very considerably to the character of the building. This work was completed in 1940. No further repair schemes (apart from those necessitated by wear and tear and the ravages of dry rot) were undertaken until 1971 when the interior of the church was re-decorated. Teams of volunteers stripped the paint work off the pews in preparation for repainting. The choir area was enlarged and re-designed and the whole building was re-decorated in a pleasing range of harmonising colours. The addition of floor carpeting and seat coverings transformed the interior of the building completely. The last major work to be carried out was in 1978. The basement area was re-designed to provide a Minister’s Room (Blackstock Room) with access by a stairway to the church and pulpit, and a Conference Room (Primary Room), with adjacent kitchen and other facilities. An airy, cheerful, and comfortable place to worship, well designed and executed” is the comment of the compiler of the Ordnance Survey Report. This description is as true today as it was 150 years ago when the building was erected. It reflects great credit on those who conceived, planned and built this magnificent church and is an enduring memorial to their vision and their faith. To the congregation of today it stands as a symbol of the Endurance and Solidarity of the Christian Gospel, a message which has been, and is, faithfully proclaimed from within its walls. “I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”, Psalm 122 : 1 (N.I. V.)

> My 1st cousin, 3 times removed, the Rev. Thomas West, was the minister > of this church for 52 years (1867 to 1920). I have discovered, in a > collection of his family's papers passed down to me, a booklet > commemorating the 150th anniversary of the church in 1987. Within the > booklet is a history of the church. Although the history is rather > lengthy, you will find the answer to the question about the name of the > church. Many thanks for taking the time and trouble to give us all the benefit of such full information. My own ancestral research suggests a possible baptism at that church and I shall pursue that with added interest now I have so much background information to enhance the picture. Chris Morgan