Magheramason Presbyterian Church

History

A deputation asked Glendermott Presbytery for a new church at Magheramason, in the parish of Donagheady, in June 1875. The presbytery recommended instead a house suitable for a preaching station. An appeal against that finding was dismissed by the General Assembly meeting in Derry on 14 June 1875. The petitioners had by then subscribed nearly £900 towards building, on a petition signed by 121 families.

A further appeal in 1877 was also dismissed, by 72 votes to 45, the Assembly directing the presbytery to provide for a Sabbath school and occasional evening services. The foundation stone of a new church was laid on 12 August 1877, and the opening service was held on Sunday 17 November 1878, three months after the dedication. Glendermott Presbytery reported to the General Assembly of 1879 that it had formed the people of Magheramason into a congregation, and Rev. Thomas Boyd was ordained as their minister on 18 June 1879. The congregation had been transferred to the Derry Presbytery by the time he resigned in July 1884. Its jubilee was marked in January 1928.

The building

The church as opened in 1878 could accommodate 500 people. It was built almost unaided by the people of the locality, farmers giving labour as well as money, at a cost of £1,100, and the pulpit was furnished from funds collected by a group of women interested in organising the congregation. The Witness, a weekly journal published in Belfast, reported that there was nothing very imposing or pretentious about the structure. A sexton's house, stables and a small hall had been built beside the church by 1884.