A Potted History of Hill Street
Victor Malcomson

The town of Lurgan was built in 1619 by William Brownlow Esq. and consisted of 42 houses. The population slowly increased and in 1684 the congregation of First Lurgan was formed and for 175 years was adequate to serve the Presbyterian population.

Due to the introduction of the power loom into the linen weaving industry in the early 19th century, the general population greatly increased and in 1859 Lurgan, like the rest of the Province, was influenced by the wonderful visitation of the Spirit of God during 'The '59 Revival'. The Rev. L. E. Berkley then minister of First Lurgan, worked tirelessly among his people but eventually it became necessary to form a new congregation and so a daughter church was born - Second Lurgan or Hill Street, Lurgan as it is commonly known. At first, meetings were held in a wooden building near to the site of the proposed new church, with the church being formally established in 1861.

The first minister of the church was the Rev. John Groves Clarke, during whose ministry the church building was erected. In 1874 Mr. Clarke accepted a call from Athy Presbyterian Church and was followed by the Rev. Charles William Kennedy. During Mr. Kennedy's ministry the initial suite of buildings, compromising the manse, lecture hall, school and teachers residence were built and the tower was added to the church.

A passage in 'The Irish Presbyterian', appearing shortly after the completion of the church buildings is as true today as it was when it was written, "to launch a new ship, to do business in the deeps, is to call up romance and adventure, but to send a new congregation into the great deeps of human life, there to do business for God is to call forth greater romance and greater adventure still. The founders of Hill Street Church had many adventures and the romance is not yet ended."

The next two ministers of Hill Street were the Revs. James Haire and Andrew Gibson, both of whom subsequently became Moderator of The General Assembly. Mr. Gibson served as chaplain to the army during The First World War and was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry. During his absence with the Forces his place was taken from October 1915 until July 1917 by Mr. R. J. Wilson (who later became Principal of Assembly's College and Moderator of the General Assembly) and from February 1918 till March 1919 by Mr. Wm. McAdam (who also became Moderator of the General Assembly).

Following the Rev. Gibson's acceptance of a call to Leeds in 1927 the Rev. W. J. McClure was installed as minister. Thus began the longest ministry to date, lasting twenty seven years, which was followed by the shortest, that of the Rev. J. L. Heaney of five years. Although differing in the length of time, both were very fruitful and have an honoured place in the history of Hill Street. It was during Mr. Heany's ministry that the first McClure Hall was built. Samuel Calvert & Sons were the builders, the foreman being one of our own Committee members Mr. Harry Cherry, who is descended from one of the foundation families of the congregation.

Mr. Heany was succeeded by the Rev. J. D. McGonaghey in 1962. Shortly after this a new manse was built on the Gilford Road. The builder was our own Albert Nesbitt and the architects were Mr. J. McCormick and Mr. Ray McKay. About the same time it came to the notice of the Church Premises Committee that the roof of the Church was in need of repair. Mr. George Gilmore, a member of the Kirk Session undertook to organise and oversee the work and Mr. Cherry again acted as foreman.

After ten years Mr. McConaghey was called to Seaview in Belfast and in 1972 Hill Street called the Rev. John Girvan who at that time was minister of Emmanuel, and well known as an outstanding evangelist. In 1978 it became evident that the suite of Halls were inadequate for our needs and Mr. Gilmore once more organised and oversaw the building of the new McClure Halls, the plans for which were drawn up by Mr. Cliff Gordon, one of our own members. The foreman on this occasion was also a member of Hill Street, Mr. Cecil Scott. In 1981 Mr. Girvan became Moderator of the General Assembly, the only one of our ministers to hold the office while still in Hill Street. He retired from the congregation in 1984 and became our Senior Minister.

Dr. Girvan was succeeded in 1984 by the Rev. T. A. Moore, whose ministry maintained the high standards in Biblical preaching and pastoral care which has epitomized the congregation since its inception. Building on the work of his predecessors, under his dedicated leadership the congregation has prospered and once again there was a need for extra accommodation. This was achieved by joining and developing two houses adjoining the Church and by connecting our whole suite of buildings into one unit. This fulfilled the vision of Mr. Cecil Hutchinson, a member of Kirk Session.

Mr. Moore’s faithful ministry came to an end in June 2005. A call was made to, and accepted by the Rev. Nigel McCullough from Ballygrainey Presbyterian Church. The Rev. McCullough was installed on Wednesday 31st May 2006, and we look forward to a new era of God’s blessing as we welcome Mr. McCullough with his wife and family. It is our prayer that much will be achieved in Christ’s name in the years that lie ahead.