A history of the First Presbyterian Church Belfast, 1644-1983

The first Presbyterian congregation in Belfast was founded about 1644. A meeting house was built on Rosemary Lane. By 1708 the congregation was large enough to divide, the original group becoming the First or Old Congregation. The Second congregation built a meeting house behined the original church. In 1720 a schism arose when Samuel Haliday became minister of the First Congregation, resulting in the formation of a third congregation, the Rosemary Street Presbyterian Church. The First Presbyterian Church became known for a time as the First Unitarian Church of Belfast.