This was my first to explore Stranmillis area of Belfast in detail. I visited again in 2021 and 2022.
I photographed this attractive church in June 2016 and I was in as really bad humour as it rained all day and when I tried to gat a bus from Stranmillis I had to stand at the bus stop for more than an hour and on arriving in the city centre I realised that I could have walked in less time than I waited for the bus.
There is an amazing number of churches in Belfast but in many cases it is difficult to discover their history. All that I can find out about this church is that it may have been built in 1931 or 1932 and that it is Church Of Ireland [Note: 1926 Tenders invited for New Church Builidngs, St Bartholomew’s Parish]. The Church of Ireland is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion which has 70 million members in 164 countries. The Diocese of Connor, in the Province of Armagh, is one of 12 dioceses on the island of Ireland.
I visited their website and on selecting the History Tab found no information relating to the past.
Stranmillis (from Irish an Sruthán Milis) is an area in south Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is also an electoral ward for Belfast City Council, part of the Laganbank district electoral area. As part of the Queen’s Quarter, it is the location for prominent attractions such as the Ulster Museum and Botanic Gardens. The area is located on Stranmillis Road, with Malone Road to the west and the River Lagan to the east. Its name, meaning “the sweet stream” in Irish, refers to the Lagan, whose waters are still fresh at this point, before becoming brackish as the river flows onward toward its mouth in Belfast Lough.
Stranmillis Road begins at the junction of University Road, Malone Road and College Gardens, heading uphill and southwards past Friar’s Bush Graveyard and a small shopping district, before descending towards the River Lagan. The route then swings to the west around the outside of Stranmillis College and uphill again, before rejoining the Malone Road. The north end of Stranmillis Road contains many shops and restaurants, while the south end of the road is mainly housing.
The Malone and Stranmillis Historic Urban Landscape featured on the 2010 tentative list of sites proposed for addition to the List of World Heritage Sites of the United Kingdom, as an area of architectural interest featuring examples of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
Belfast City Hall was commissioned to replace the Old Town Hall in Victoria Street. The catalyst for change came in 1888 when Belfast was awarded city status by Queen Victoria. This was in recognition of Belfast’s rapid expansion and thriving linen, rope-making, shipbuilding and engineering industries. During this period Belfast briefly overtook Dublin as the most populous city in Ireland.
It was in this context that in the late 19th century the new city leaders formed the view that the Victoria Street building was not imposing enough and decided to commission a new building: the site they selected was once the home of the White Linen Hall, an important international Linen Exchange. The street that runs from the back door of Belfast City Hall through the middle of Linen Quarter is Linen Hall Street.
Belfast Corporation used their profits from the gas industry to pay for the construction of the Belfast City Hall. The building, which was designed by Sir Alfred Brumwell Thomas in the Baroque Revival style, was built in Portland Stone at a cost of £369,000 and opened on 1 August 1906. Local firms H&J Martin and WH Stephens were among the companies involved in the design and construction. James G. Gamble, principal city architect with Belfast Corporation, was clerk of works for the erection of the City Hall circa 1896-1906.
The city hall in Durban, South Africa is almost an exact replica of Belfast’s City Hall. It was built in 1910 and designed by Stanley G. Hudson, who was inspired by the Belfast design. The Port of Liverpool Building, designed by Sir Arnold Thornely and completed in 1913, is another very close relative.
On 1 August 2006 the City Hall celebrated its centenary with a “Century of Memories” exhibition and family picnic day. On 3 December 2012, the City Council voted to limit the days that the Union Flag flies from City Hall to no more than 18 designated days. Since 1906, the flag had been flown every day of the year. The move was backed by the Council’s Irish nationalist Councillors and by its Alliance Party Councillors. It was opposed by the unionist Councillors, who had enjoyed a majority on the council until the Northern Ireland local elections of 2011. On the night of the vote, unionist and loyalist protesters tried to storm the City Hall. They held protests throughout Northern Ireland, some of which became violent.
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