Exterior Front

Saintfield in the 16th century was part of the Clandeboye territories of the O’Neills, but in 1606 it passed into the ownership of a Scottish laird, Sir James Hamilton, who planted the area with Scottish settlers.  Over subsequent years, linen manufacturers and tradesmen settled in the village and fairs and markets were established.

One famous minister of the church was the Reverend Thomas Ledlie Birch whose ancestors had arrived in Ulster, like so many Scots, in the 17th century.  Reverend Birch, born in 1754, studied at Glasgow University and became Presbyterian minister in 1772.  He was ordained in Saintfield in 1776 - at the time one of the largest Presbyterian congregations in Ireland.  

During the era of the 1798 Rebellion, Rev Birch formed the Saintfield Society of United Irishmen - this was the first branch outside Dublin and Belfast.  Imprisoned for his part in the uprising, he later emigrated and died in Pennsylvania aged 74.