#Great Place North Belfast

Any study of North Belfast’s prominent art and artists would be incomplete without mentioning Sir John Lavery! Although his time in Belfast was brief, he maintained a strong connection with the area, and in particular, with his boyhood church on Donegall Street. Lavery was born in Belfast in 1856, and was baptised in St Patrick’s […]

Belfast has a long legacy of abolitionism and anti-slavery efforts. From its rejection of the prospect of becoming a slave port, to the long list of prominent abolitionists such as Thomas McCabe and Mary Ann McCracken. The city had a number of abolitionist groups and advocates, which helped raise awareness of the atrocities of slavery […]

The journey of the Donegall Presbyterian Church, though relatively short lived, tells us so much about the many mysteries that emerge once a historic building is gone. Gaps in collective memory leave much to be discovered, much to be questioned, much that may be forever lost. Many may not even know that what is now […]

In February 2025, staff at Redeemer Central church made a remarkable discovery in the old Donegall Street Congregational Church. As items were cleared from a stairwell, they discovered a small safe containing minute books, historical documents and some correspondence, recessed into the side of the stairs. There is a rather substantial free-standing safe nearby which […]

Donegall Street, one of Belfast’s most popular streets, was beaming with business grandeur. Between the linen industry and big names in news reporting, Donegall Street had a lot to brag about in the 1930s. One of those Belfast’s linen manufacturers that sat on Donegall Street, the Brookfield Linen Company Limited, had just lost their main […]

Donegall Street was once one of the most notable streets in Belfast’s history. Imagine!— a street brimming with people, heading to work, heading to church, or heading to find some entertainment— and Donegall Street had it all. Beautiful buildings situated tightly amongst bustling crowds. A picturesque building with a grand entrance and detailed lion relief […]

During the month of remembrance, we return to the names on the War Memorial in the old Donegal Street Congregational Church. In the time since we last looked at soldiers memorialised on the War Organ Plaque, we have had the pleasure of welcoming family members of James Alexander Graham to the church, and we have […]

Last year we covered the lives of a number of soldiers who fought and died in the First World War. This research helped tell the stories of the families behind the names on various war memorials within our Cluster. During this research, a number of other soldiers were earmarked as potential candidates for future research. […]

History is full of surprises. The more you research somebody, the more you get a sense of their life, their character and their personality. That is, however, until a new piece of information comes from left field and somewhat rocks the perception that you have built up over the hours looking through records and newspaper […]

As you walk through the gates of Clifton Street Cemetery, you are overtaken by a sense of quiet. The old walls and leafy trees seem to deaden the din from the Westlink and the cacophony of traffic on the Antrim Road. It is a place where the weight of the history contained within the remaining […]

Come along to Clifton House to share your memories, stories, photograph’s and artifacts of North Belfast across the ages. On Sunday 1st September, the North Belfast Heritage Cluster will be hosting its first ever History Harvest as part of Heritage Day at Clifton House. We are looking forward to welcoming you to this unique, free, festival […]

Our recent focus on Medical History has raised a number of familiar names that are repeated in the annals of Belfast history: early experts and great philanthropists who really put Belfast on the map with their medical prowess and progressive scientific thinking. The likes of William Drennan, who was an early supporter of inoculation, as […]

On Friday 21st June, the North Belfast Heritage Cluster celebrated the launch of a place making project: Re-Creating a Great Place North Belfast. In preparation for this event, the team put together an introductory video of the cluster sites, featuring drone footage captured by Paul Carlin. You can see this video below:

North Belfast, with its vast, rich and diverse historic sites and buildings, is the jewel in the city’s heritage crown. Today, 14 of these historically significant buildings, and a cemetery, who represent the North Belfast Heritage Cluster, came together with invited guests and stakeholders to celebrate the launch of a place making project, Re-Creating a […]

Part 3: Murders, Media and Medicine This is the third and final piece of research looking at bodysnatching in the 19th century. So far we have examined why bodysnatching occurred and ways people tried to prevent it, and used Clifton Street Cemetery as a Case Study. In this final piece, we will look at the […]

Part 2: A Case Study: The prevention of body snatching In the New Burying Ground, Belfast. Whilst Belfast did not see bodysnatching on the same scale as places such as Edinburgh or London, it was still a constant concern throughout the early 1800’s. Many of Belfast’s largest cemeteries such as Milltown and City had not […]

Part 1: Belfast’s Grisliest Export. In this three part extended series where we tell the story of one of Britain’s most macabre illicit practices: Bodysnatching. Individuals would creep in to graveyards and cemeteries at night and dig up the recently deceased and sell them to medical professionals. This was due to a high demand for […]

While researching the work of Forster Green and his impact on healthcare in Belfast, there was mention of a hospital that I had not heard about in my time working with the North Belfast Heritage Cluster. Historic hospitals such as the General Hospital on Frederick Street and the Forster Green Hospital on Saintfield Road have […]

We begin this theme focusing on Medical History by looking at a man whose name may be familiar to many of you. Forster Green was a local tea merchant who, motivated by personal loss, donated generously to help ease the suffering of others. Many may recognise him from the hospital that still bears his name […]

Throughout this topic we have discussed the rivalry between Barre and Lanyon, the industrial specialist that was William Gilliland and the influential Thomas Jackson. Now, as we bring this research to a close, we turn to an architect who may be familiar to you due to events that occurred in the summer of 2018: William […]