Clifton Street Presbyterian Church was the earliest Church to be built on Clifton Street, completed in 1863. The Church aimed to provide an alternative worship space for the oversubscribed Presbyterian congregation from the church that stood at the junction of Academy Street and Donegall Street. As the city continued to grow and expand, many churches were oversubscribed, and so looked to provide additionally premises close by. This ensured that no one would be turned away from a place of worship. Other churches on Donegall Street faced a similar issue, with St Patrick’s establishing its own satellite church in 1873- St Joseph’s in Sailortown. The new Clifton Street Church was to be built on the corner of Stanhope Street and was designed by Belfast’s architectural powerhouse of the time- Young and Mackenzie. Young & McKenzie were often contracted to design Presbyterian churches, and were involved in various stages of expansion of Duncairn Presbyterian. Those of you who are more familiar with the City Centre will pass by a number of Young and MacKenzie’s grand creations. The Scottish Provident Building beside City Hall, as well as the Presbyterian Assembly buildings were of their design. The design of Clifton Street Presbyterian would later inspire the design of the Clifton Street United Presbyterian Church on the opposite side of the road.
The first minister of the Church was Reverend John Mecredy, whose enthusiasm and commitment to temperance defined much of his reputation. Accordingly, Mecredy is described as being ‘an ardent advocate of the most extreme principle of temperance and the most rigid purity in public worship’.[1] Nevertheless, his kind and devoted character was also noted in the media after his death. Mecredy both worked and lived within the North Belfast community, as the manse was built next door to the church. After Mecredy’s death, he was succeeded by Reverend Samuel Thompson. Thompson served the church faithfully for 36 years, up to his retirement in 1924. He was a popular and personable pastor which may have contributed to his Church’s enduring after its founding church (Donegall Street Presbyterian) had closed. Clifton Street Presbyterian was also defying the trend facing a number of inner-city churches- dwindling congregation numbers. One Belfast journalist notes, in 1917, that attendance in inner city congregations are ‘not so large as in suburban Churches’.[2] Nevertheless, he notes a ‘very good congregation in Clifton Street’.[3] Following the retirement of Reverend Thompson in 1924, the position was passed to Reverend Joseph Cordner, then in 1939 to Reverend H.H. Aitchison. It was under Aitchison’s stewardship that tragedy would strike!
On the 15th April 1941, German bombs struck Clifton Street during the Belfast Blitz, with the church buildings taking a direct hit. Eagar to continue providing a place of worship, especially in the wake of the Blitz and with the World War still raging on, the Church conducted combined services with the United Clifton Street Presbyterian Church from the following month, in its unaffected building across the road.[4] Thereafter the churches were combined and the ground of the former Clifton Street Presbyterian Church lay vacant for many years. For a short time, shops were built on the area but none with lasting effect. In 2019 social housing plans were approved for the site, including four houses and six apartments. Sadly, any trace of the former church has been lost to time.

[1] Witness, https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0004299/19170223/129/0007?browse=False, 23rd February 1917.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Belfast Telegraph, https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0002318/19410517/192/0002?browse=False, 17th May 1941.
This work was part of a series of research pieces that were conducted by a member of the Queen’s University Public History Course. The work was fully researched to an academic standard, and has been fully referenced. It was updated in 2025 to include more recent information.