Fear of British attack led these original proprietors to abandon the settlement during the American Revolution, but they returned in the s to build a vibrant, prosperous outpost that would become the market center for the outlying area. Abundant timber, a gently sloping waterfront, and proximity to varied agriculture gave rise to shipbuilding and maritime commerce.
Prosperous shipbuilders and merchants constructed the architecturally significant houses that dominate our residential neighborhoods today. Two disastrous fires consumed much of the downtown area in and , but merchants rebuilt with brick, creating a pleasing and long-lasting commercial district. A four-story shoe factory dominated the industrial area, and Belfast became a blue-collar town. By the s poultry, sardine, and potato companies had set up processing plants along the waterfront.
Belfast called itself the Broiler Capital of the World, and each July, thousands came to eat barbecued chicken on Broiler Day. In , Route 1 was rerouted around the City and across a new bridge. The rerouting was seen by some as the death knell for a once-vibrant shire town. The arts flourished, and the stately houses and commercial buildings were restored.
The White Linen Hall was built in Cotton spinning was introduced into Belfast in However, it never had the same importance as linen. In a Harbour Board was formed with responsibility for the upkeep of the harbour. Shipbuilding in Belfast began in Belfast continued to grow rapidly in the 19th century. Belfast was made a borough in and it was made a city in The first hospital in Belfast was built in in Frederick Street.
A lunatic asylum was built in Belfast in Queens Bridge was built in and Queens University was formed in The Harbour Commissioners Office was built in The Custom House was built in Ulster Hall was built in Albert Memorial Clock was erected in Belfast Castle was built by the Marquis of Donegal in Belfast Public Library was built in The Grand Opera House was built in St Georges Market was built in Ulster Museum dates from Meanwhile, a Botanic and Horticultural Society was formed in Belfast in They created a private botanic garden and the Palm House was built in The Botanic Garden became a public park in From Belfast had gaslight and a railway was built from Belfast to Lisburn in From horse-drawn trams ran in the streets of Belfast.
However, as in all early 19th century cities conditions in Belfast in the years, were appalling. The streets were dirty and houses were overcrowded. The Lagan was used as a sewer. Not surprisingly in , there was an outbreak of typhus a disease spread by lice. In cholera struck Belfast. In the late 19th century conditions improved. A royal charter, issued in the name of James I, transformed what had been a collection of dwellings by a river crossing into a legal entity governed by a corporation of 13 men, headed by a sovereign, writes SJ Connolly.
A t the time the change was not seen as particularly significant. The new charter, in fact, was one of forty issued at around this time, partly to promote the economic development of Ireland by extending its urban network and partly, since the new towns each sent two members to the Irish parliament, to ensure a safe government majority in the forthcoming parliamentary session.
The land on which the new borough stood was part of a large estate just granted to Sir Arthur Chichester, in return for his services in the recent conquest of Gaelic Ulster.
It was not until the s that the family realised their mistake, and transferred their residence to a rebuilt or much-expanded mansion in what was now emerging as the more important centre at Belfast. The reason why Belfast blossomed in this unexpected way lay in its geographical position. Already in the Middle Ages it had been recognised as a strategic site, marked by a castle, because of the sandbar that created a shallow crossing point on the broad, meandering River Lagan.
In addition the Lagan Valley provided a natural corridor stretching into a fertile agricultural region which also, from the late 17th Century, became a centre of linen spinning and weaving. As the Irish economy expanded, Belfast thus became both a communications hub and an increasingly busy port. In , Belfast became the first Ulster port to open a direct two-way trade across the Atlantic, exporting linen, beef, pork, and butter to the. French and British colonies in North America and the Caribbean, and importing flaxseed, timber, sugar and tobacco.
At this stage Belfast was still a relatively small centre. It had just two main streets, Waring Street, the site of the original settlement, and High Street, initially a quay on either side of the River Farset, with the street emerging as the water was gradually culverted over.
The population in was about 8, From the s, however, the first marquis of Donegall, now head of the Chichester family and still the sole owner of the land on which the town stood, promoted a major programme of rebuilding, extending the town centre by the construction of North Street, Donegall Street, Castle Place and Donegall Place. By , the population of the town had risen to around 20, Today two fine buildings, the former poor house on Clifton Street, and Rosemary Street Presbyterian church, stand as memorials of this age of prosperity and urban improvement.
Eighteenth-century Belfast was still primarily a port and commercial centre. The linen on which much of its prosperity depended was spun and woven in households across rural Ulster, before being collected at fairs and markets for export through Belfast.
In the late s, however, the first factories appeared using the new technology of water or steam powered machinery to spin thread. Initially the fabric produced was cotton, where Irish firms faced stiff competition from Scottish and English producers. Factory based industry now spread rapidly, with migrants flocking from the countryside in search of employment.
Over the next few decades the. Something was owed to the design skills of Edward Harland, and to the close personal links with major shipping lines developed by Gustav Wolff and by a later director, William Pirrie. Harland and Wolff also benefited from entering shipbuilding late, and hence with the latest technology.
At a time when the existing shipbuilding centres on the Mersey and Clyde were becoming increasingly congested, Belfast offered a new site, with excellent port facilities and a short sea crossing that facilitated the easy circulation of raw materials and technical expertise.
For much of this period its inhabitants continued to see themselves as residents of an Irish city. Later, in response to the rise in other provinces of an increasingly aggressive Catholic nationalism, this sense of an Irish identity became more problematic.
Nationalists, on the other hand, continued to insist that Belfast was just another Irish city, oblivious to how little their vision of a rural Ireland cut off from the rest of the world by economic and cultural protectionism had to offer to a city whose past and future were so bound up with the international economy.
Instead we can recognise that the fascination of Belfast lies precisely in its dual character — as a British industrial city located on the island of Ireland, and as an Irish city that played a significant part in the process by which the United Kingdom became for a time the workshop of the world. The plants within the garden are white, green, blue and silver to reflect the colours of the water and ice in which the ship sank.
In recent years, Belfast City Hall has undergone two major developments. One is the Belfast Big Screen, launched in June It also serves to highlight important council issues throughout the city, and advertises events and the latest news for visitors.
The second major development, notably in the last year, has been the introduction of the Illuminate Project. This year alone, the City Hall has been lit in green to celebrate St. Intriguing in its past, Belfast City Hall stands as a powerful monument to the history and culture of the city of Belfast.
Free tours of the City Hall, which run three times a day, are highly recommended: nothing can beat seeing its grandeur in person. We and our partners use cookies to better understand your needs, improve performance and provide you with personalised content and advertisements.
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