Christian worship on this Co.Antrim site between Portrush and Bushmills has been taking place since the 14th century, but this derelict building is thought to date back to the early 1600’s when the area was being populated by the Protestant settlers from the Scottish Borders, which may account for its name, dedicated to the north English saint Cuthbert.

Apparently it is the only church in Ireland dedicated to Cuthbert. 

One of the interesting features of the site is a memorial stone, dedicated to the seamen who lost their lives in the Girona shipwreck. La Girona, a Spanish Armada galleass, sank off Lacada Point (near Portballintrae/Giant’s Causeway) on the north Antrim coast on the night of 26 October 1588. 

After the Armada’s defeat, the ship put into Killybegs (Donegal) for rudder repairs. There it took on hundreds of survivors from other wrecked vessels, sailing for Scotland on 25 October overloaded with roughly 1,300 men (including senior officer Alonso Martínez de Leiva). A gale struck after it cleared Lough Foyle; the compromised rudder failed and the vessel was driven onto the rocks. Only nine people survived; about 260 bodies later washed ashore. Local chieftain Sorley Boy MacDonnell of Dunluce Castle aided the survivors and sent them on to Scotland. The wreck was rediscovered in 1967 and yielded a major haul of gold and artefacts, now held by the Ulster Museum.

The now derelict building fell into disuse in the 19th century. It’s situated on Ballytober Road, not far from Dunluce Castle, on the road between Portrush and Bushmills, and is well worth a visit.

Fujifilm X-T50