This church was established in 1868. It was damaged during Blitz in 1941 and later restored.
St Mary’s Parish Church, Crumlin Road, Belfast, celebrated the 150th anniversary of its consecration with a Service of Thanksgiving on November 25 not long before my visit in March 2019.
It is described as a gothic style high Victorian Church, with an enormous central tower, designed by London architect William Slater, It and was intended to accommodate 800 worshippers.
It is built of Mourne granite and sandstone and cost £6,500 to build.
The five stained glass windows in the Sanctuary were presented by Mrs Blakiston-Houston and her son, Mr J Blakiston-Houston.
The first housing in the area sprang up in the 1860s to accommodate the workforce and their families who were mainly employed in the thriving linen industry on the Crumlin Road. Unfortunately, the closure of the mills in the 1960s hastened the physical and social decline and of the area.
The Crumlin Road is a main road in north-west Belfast, Northern Ireland. The road runs from north of Belfast City Centre for about four miles to the outskirts of the city. It also forms part of the longer A52 road which leads out of Belfast to the town of Crumlin (from Irish: Cromghlinn, meaning ‘crooked glen’). The lower section of the road houses a number of historic buildings, including the city’s former law courts and prison, whilst the road encompasses several large housing areas, including Ardoyne, Ballysillan and Ligoniel.
This image demonstrates just how much the Harland and Wolff cranes Samson & Goliath dominate the Belfast skyline.
According to contacts in Belfast the Newtownards Road is generally safe and well lit at night. One potential flashpoint is the interface with the nationalist Short Strand neighbourhood. Though fairly well kept and safe during the day, it is best to avoid this area at night.
According to a local that I had a chat with this large Church of Ireland Parish Church was rebuilt after the War to the original plans, having been destroyed in the Blitz.
Here is an extract from the churche’s mission statement: Due to the extensive redevelopment and the ’Troubles’, the demography of the area has changed enormously in recent years and is still grappling with regeneration. This may explain why I found the area to be more than a little bit confusing.
Ballymacarrett or Ballymacarret (from Irish Baile Mhic Gearóid ‘MacGearóid’s settlement’) is the name of both a townland and electoral ward in Belfast. The townland is in County Down and the electoral ward is part of the Titanic district electoral area of Belfast City Council.
The ward was created in 1973 with most of the population coming from the former Pottinger ward. The ward was slightly enlarged in 1985, taking in part of the Island ward.
The ward consists of two distinct districts : Ballymacarrett itself, which is almost entirely Protestant, and the Short Strand which is almost entirely Catholic, with the two separated by a peaceline. Consequently, in the 2001 census, the Roman Catholic community background figure was 51%.
Set in the shadows of the Harland and Wolff cranes Samson & Goliath, large numbers of local men worked in the shipyard during its heyday. The area is also well known for ‘Ulster’s Freedom Corner’, a series of loyalist murals.
Ballymacarrett and the nearby Newtownards Road played a key part in what became known as the 2011 Northern Ireland riots. At first, the riots were only located in the area and were known as the 2011 East Belfast riots but by July, the riots had spread to other parts of the region.
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