All Saints continues to rise from the ashes as restoration work continues after accidental blaze

EXPERT teams are still hard at work renovating historic All Saints Parish Church in the heart of Antrim town, after a devastating accidental fire over Christmas in 2024.

There was horror when a parish flower arranger entered the church on the day after Boxing Day to be met with a wall of black smoke. She did not enter but immediately called the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service shortly before 2.30pm. Two appliances from nearby Antrim fire station were dispatched to the incident.

It is thought that a candle from the Christmas Day service may have re-ignited. The news came weeks after it was announced that the National Churches Trust had awarded a £34,985 grant for urgent repairs to the south elevation of the church tower and days after All Saints had featured on the UTV programme ‘Hidden NI’.

The original portion of All Saints dates from 1596 and the tower and spire of 1816 provides the town with its most dominant architectural landmark. The church is reputedly the fourth oldest in which the Protestant religion is celebrated in Ireland. Inside are a plethora of treasures, including priceless memorials and monuments to the Clotworthy, Massereene and Ferrard dynasties.

However, by some miracle, the fire, which took hold in the mouth of the ‘Massereene transept’, did not cause major damage to any important antiquities, military standards or the structure of the church. It is thought that with the heavy front and inner doors shut, the blaze was starved of oxygen and burnt itself out.

A vault arch, chairs and a pew end bore the brunt of the flames, but ‘colossal’ soot damage permeated the intricate architecture, right down to the blackened keys of the pipe organ.

The Antrim Guardian attended the scene hours later, when the air was still thick with the stench of acrid smoke. Calling by to offer their well wishes and support were then-Mayor Neil Kelly and wife Christine, Bishop of Connor George Davison and a representative of St Comgall’s church.

The Vicar of Antrim, Archdeacon Stephen McBride said he was in County Down enjoying pizza with his family, with his daughter soon to give birth, when the call came that ‘the church was on fire’.

“That drive was very stressful, wondering what we were going to see. When we pulled into Antrim and saw that the roof was still on and there was no smoke or flames visible, there was a sense of relief.” he said.

“Back in September (2024) we got the call about the arson attack in Greenisland and I picked up the Bishop and drove us there and we watched that church burn, it was dreadful, and they lost their church hall too.

“Because the fire was so far away from the windows and both sets of doors were shut, there was no oxygen to feed it and it was as localised as it could have been - candles six feet away were not melted, one hymn book was burnt while the one next to it was not. The fact that is was not malicious has given us all great comfort.

“The St Comgall’s fire was deliberate and at my last parish during the Troubles, St Peter’s Church in Belfast was very badly damaged by a bomb, the roof and windows were destroyed and I know from experience how traumatic that can be for parishioners.”

150 people turned up to a service in the Parish Centre the following Sunday, including South Antrim MP Robin Swann, who embraced Reverend McBride and was applauded for his attendance.

Local people, clubs and businesses have donated thousands of pounds to help support the restoration work. Reverend McBride said that as well as being ‘one of the best Elizabethan Gothics’, it was clear that All Saints was very dear to the people of Antrim.

“We have strong community links, to the council, the local schools, the Loyal Orders, the Royal British Legion, Women’s Aid, St Comgall’s, we do a lot of charity work and we host the local Remembrance service.

“It’s not something we have ever blown our trumpet about, but as well as having the ‘wow factor’ in architectural terms, which is something we sometimes take for granted, we can also see in the response to what has happened, that the people here really appreciate All Saints as part of the community.

“The reaction has been phenomenal, my phone has not stopped and we as a church family are so grateful for the support, it is really heartening.

“While the damage could have been so much worse, we know we have an uphill battle in terms of repairing and cleaning up, which will take a lot of time and involve highly skilled experts.”

The then-Mayor, Alliance Antrim Town Councillor Neil Kelly recalled how he had only just been at All Saints for a carol service weeks previously, raising funds for the Mayor’s Charities.

“Just weeks after being in that lovely venue, with such a Christmassy atmosphere, it was quite upsetting to see the damage caused,” said Councillor Kelly.

“But the clergy and parishioners have a very strong frame of mind to do whatever they can to bring All Saints back to its former glory.

“By Sunday evening it was staggering to see how many people had donated, especially in a cost of living crisis.

“The strength of Antrim is its people and it is at times like these that we see that spirit shine through.”

In April 2025 it was revealed that the church was going to be restored at a cost of £1m by the best experts in the business after insurers approved a claim lodged after the accidental blaze.

Archdeacon McBride, told The Guardian: “On Thursday 27 February at 10.15am, we received the best news since the fire on 25 December – that our insurers, Congregational Insurance would be underwriting our insurance claim.

“It was the very best news for us. Although the damage caused to the structure of the church was fairly minimal considering that the fire smouldered for two days, the smoke damage was colossal.

“The smoke and soot have penetrated places you could never imagine, even getting through the tiniest of cracks and up into the bell tower.

“In order to clear away the smoke, soot and overpowering smell from the fire, the bill for the renovation will come close to £1 million.

“We are delighted that Gary Proctor, Divisional Director of TA Dallas (NI) and Ian Maconachie, one of Northern Ireland’s foremost conservation chartered surveyors, are liaising with Congregational Insurance on behalf of All Saints.

“The restoration project will take upwards of a year to complete. The floor is being lifted, the panelling to the sides of the church, the roof board and the casing around the trusses will all be removed and replaced.

“All the pews are going stripped back and re-polished. The electrical wiring will be replaced as will the lighting and sound systems. All the windows will be painstakingly cleaned and the monuments and pulpit will receive specialist treatment.

“The response from people near and far has been so encouraging and supportive.

“The donations from local churches, businesses, Orange Lodges and Bowling Clubs has been astonishing and the parishioners of All Saints are so grateful for this amazing generosity.”

Donors include the Antrim Branch of the Royal British Legion, Kilbride Parish, St Comgall’s and St Joseph’s, Antrim Journey Church, Killead Presbyterian, Loanends Presbyterian, Killead Parish, St Patrick’s & St Johns Bowl’s, St George’s Parish, Belfast, Glenavy Parish, St Peter’s Parish, Belfast, Baird’s Funeral Services, Antrim LOL District 13, Skeffington LOL, Lisburn District LOL, Gwynne Temperance, Antrim Grammar School, Lisburn District LOL No 6, Bateson True Blues 1925 and Antrim Churches indoor bowls league.

The Antrim Guardian called into All Saints last week to have a look at the work done so far.

The organ and all the pews have been removed and the pulpit base, font and some other monuments have been cleaned with a special laser device.

Looking at the videos on the Vicar’s phone, it appears like something out of a sci-fi movie, which he describes as ‘incredible’.

While it is away, the organ will also have its’ huge leather bellows refurbished. With its’ removal, beautiful oak panelling has been revealed for the first time in generations.

Some of the stone used in the memorial carvings is very soft and there were fears of permanent damage, but so far, everything is coming up beautifully.

Reverend McBride pointed out the Skeffington memorial, by John Flaxman, one of the foremost funereal sculptors his day and was a designer and modeller for Joseph Wedgwood’s pottery factory. The piece now looks as if it was installed yesterday,

The stunning stained glass is being painstakingly cleaned by two experts based in Downpatrick, up a scaffold, one cotton bud at a time. The team behind some of the repair work is also helping restore the library at Trinity College in Dublin.

Reverend McBride pointed out that now that the carpet has been lifted, there has been a discovery of encaustic, or inlaid, tiles, with the surface made up from different colours of clay.

These will be left in situ and restored to their former glory after years of being covered in underlay ang glue.

The Vicar said: “As we are peeling back the layers we can see that some work was carried out very well over the years, and other work was not!”

“We can definitely see this from some of the previous repairs on the roof and tower, there have been some real patch-up jobs over the years!”

The stained glass looks colourful and vibrant once more. Heating pipes have also been taken out of a system which is over 100 years old and will be replaced with something much more efficient and environmentally friendly. The Parish will foot the bill for this themselves.

The ornate Massereene chapel will be glazed, and used as a sound-proofed creche where parents can entertain children yet still hear and see the service, without worrying about whether their kids are disturbing other parishioners.

The Archdeacon explained: “The tenders came in at over £2 million, which is a colossal amount and we're hopeful that we will be back in the church for Christmas next year next year.

“The numbers are still holding up in the parish hall and the support from the community remains string.

“This will be very painstaking work. Ian Maconachie knows his stuff and has restored five churches, so he has a lot of experience and we have huge confidence in the fact that he is the man looking after us. We intend to have a big celebration to thank all those who have supported us since the fire.

“And when we think about Greenisland, which is facing total demolition, we know how lucky we have been.”

Reverend McBride had special thanks for sexton Cecil Barton.

“There was five of us who left the church the night the fire broke out. Cecil shut all the doors very firmly and properly and if not for that, I doubt we would have had a church to come back to. He made sure everything was safe and that prevented the oxygen getting in to feed the fire further.”

Once the stained glass has been cleaned, scaffolding will be erected throughout the nave and the mammoth task of inspecting, partially removing and repairing the massive vaulted wooden ceiling will begin.

The Archdeacon admitted that for a long time, he was unable to enter All Saints alone after the fire. But now, with each visit, he sees hope.