
The old church in the grounds of Glenmona House, Cushendun is the main feature of this week’s Thursday Doors post. Constructed in 1838, it was a Church of Ireland place of worship for some local landlords and their families and built of locally quarried red sandstone. Because the congregation dwindled over the years, the church was deconsecrated in 2003 and is now an arts, heritage and community centre. After thirteen long years of campaigning, lobbying, application forms and hiccups, restoration began in autumn 2018, and the keys were handed over to the dedicated volunteer group, Cushendun Building Preservation Trust, in July 2019. I’ll put a link at the end of this post if you would like to see the interior and read more of the history.*

You can see from the next photograph how close Glenmona House is to the church. I think the large circular object in the foreground might have been a fountain or a sundial at one time.

At the edge of the grounds around the house you can see some cute little holiday pods that look right at home surrounded by all those trees.

I found a smaller, even cuter, wee house attached to one of the trees and had to include it in this post.

It’s called a beach hut for good reason. You’ll see why in the next image.

That’s the view across the road, with a nice little beach just a stone’s throw away.
Thanks for stopping by this week. Dan’s post has links to lots of interesting places that are great to visit virtually in this time of restricted travel. Next week’s Thursday Doors will feature a variety of buildings not too far from the old church.
This post kept getting better and better, Jean. I love the old church. I hope the restoration goes well. It has such a unique footprint. The main house and the wee house are both amazing. Oh to be that close to the shore.
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The location is idyllic, Dan.
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Great selection – loved the beach hut!
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There was a lot to see in that one small area.
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😎
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This is a gorgeous post, Jean. I love visiting old churches and this one is so pretty.
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It’s small but beautiful.
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Small but beautiful, Jean. I’m glad it’s still in use in some way.
janet
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A lot of old churches are still used in some form here, Janet. It’s a terrible waste to let them decline. One has been turned into a family home near us.
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What amazing captures, Jean!
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Thank you, Teresa.
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Up to our ears in snow, so a blue sky over a beach, any beach, even a cold beach, is a nice change of scenery! Gate for the win!
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We only had a couple of days of snow, thankfully. Just enough to enjoy it without any disruptions.
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Wow, I love that gate looking out over the water – the setting for a story or a fairy tale! Am so happy the renovated that church, especially since it was built with locally quarried stone! I deserved to be renovated:)
Guess what, (in my last weekly post: Winter in Texas) we had an ice storm that began in the evening of Valentines day with temps below zero, and power outages – in Texas! By the news it was called a once-in-a-generation ice storm. It was so unusual that friends in Holland told me they had gotten the news. I keep being amazed by Texas:) Jesh
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We heard about that here, Jesh. Do you have a wood stove to keep you warm. It must feel like that movie The Day After Tomorrow, where a polar vortex freezes everything solid. So much for global warming, solar panels and wind turbines aren’t much use in that situation. Stay warm.
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This is fun. I like the little beach hut, but love the last photo. That gate is something else.
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It’s definitely a gate with a view, Ally.
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I like the “holiday pods”. I could definitely imagine staying there, if I had the run of the beach.
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My daughter stayed in one with her son, it was fine for a couple of days but the beds were very narrow and not too comfy. A bit like camping, lol.
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Okay, my longing is officially cured. Camping and I don’t mix. lol
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Ha ha. It’s in between camping and glamping, Marian.
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