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Yearly Archives: 2022

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Belfast Charitable Society continuing to support new communities

2022-12-20T10:35:27+00:00

Belfast Charitable Society continuing to support new communities There is no doubt that the cost-of-living crisis is affecting a huge number of individuals and families this winter. However for marginalised groups, including asylum seekers and refugees, this crisis is often overlooked. The challenges they face are just as tough, as many have arrived in the UK with just the clothes on their backs, ill equipped for the cold winter months ahead. Many of these individuals will be provided with temporary accommodation and food, however little to no allowances are made to provide material items like winter coats or shoes. David Watters, [...]

Belfast Charitable Society continuing to support new communities2022-12-20T10:35:27+00:00

140 years of bringing Christmas cheer to Clifton House

2022-12-13T22:04:04+00:00

Benn Dinner 2022 George Benn, who was born on New Year’s Day 1801, was a renowned local philanthropist, historian and benefactor of Belfast Charitable Society. In his lifetime he opened three hospitals in the town, the Benn Skin Hospital, the Benn Ears Nose and Throat hospital and the Samaritans Hospital. Not long before he died George also oversaw the change of use from the Poor House to an Old People’s Home when the last child left in 1882. His legacy continues at Clifton House, as ninety percent of the building is still used for the care of the elderly, and the [...]

140 years of bringing Christmas cheer to Clifton House2022-12-13T22:04:04+00:00

Christmas Gift Bundle

2022-12-07T14:39:18+00:00

Christmas Gift Bundle This year we are offering a Christmas Gift Bundle of our new book 'The First Great Charity of this Town' (normally £24.99) and one year's 'Friends of' membership package (normally £30) for just £50 (postage and packaging inc to UK only). Friends of the Belfast Charitable Society, Mary Ann McCracken Foundation or Clifton House Centre receive 20% off all our events, including tours and lectures, archive services and merchandise AND priority booking for all public events. Also by buying this Christmas Gift Bundle, you are supporting the ongoing philanthropic work of the oldest charity in Ireland. To purchase [...]

Christmas Gift Bundle2022-12-07T14:39:18+00:00

New Northern Ireland wide school funding will be a ‘lifeline’ for families

2022-11-24T20:55:51+00:00

New Northern Ireland wide school funding will be a ‘lifeline’ for families The number of people living in poverty across Northern Ireland is rising dramatically as the costs of basic essentials like food and fuel skyrocket. Many are struggling to feed and clothe their families and are at a financial breaking point. David Watters, Chair of the Belfast Charitable Society commented “There is no doubt that the cost-of-living crisis will mean more and more children will be growing up in poverty in Northern Ireland. The evidence of this is already being seen in schools, as increasingly children are arriving hungry and [...]

New Northern Ireland wide school funding will be a ‘lifeline’ for families2022-11-24T20:55:51+00:00

Celebrating being ‘The First Great Charity of this Town’ with new publication

2022-11-10T16:53:28+00:00

Today, Wednesday 9th November, Belfast Charitable Society celebrated being ‘the first great charity of this town’, with the launch of a new book charting its history in developing Belfast. Professor Mary McAleese, former President of Ireland, was in attendance giving invited guests an opportunity to hear her speak of the important role the Society played in ‘her North Belfast’. Edited by Professor Olwen Purdue of Queen's University Belfast, and published by Irish Academic Press, this new collection of essays explores the social history of Belfast from the foundation of Belfast Charitable Society in 1752 through to the point at which Belfast [...]

Celebrating being ‘The First Great Charity of this Town’ with new publication2022-11-10T16:53:28+00:00

A Tale Fit For Halloween: The Murder of Robert Morrison

2022-11-03T16:33:59+00:00

A brutal stabbing in 1810, which led to a Portuguese sailor being hanged near Carrickfergus, became a sensation of the time. His name was Antonio de Silva, a sailor on board an American ship in Belfast harbour. He allegedly stabbed to death a ship’s carpenter called Robert Morrison, near Prince’s Street, and was subsequently tried and convicted of the crime. The place of execution was a mile outside Carrickfergus, and the apparatus used for the execution consisted of three tall columns, with a cross-beam, to which the rope was attached. They were familiarly known as the ‘Three Sisters’, and stood directly [...]

A Tale Fit For Halloween: The Murder of Robert Morrison2022-11-03T16:33:59+00:00

Belfast Charitable Society & the Belfast Blitz: Return From Garron Tower

2022-10-25T22:00:52+00:00

Following air strikes in April 1941  those in charge of Clifton House set about making arrangements to get the residents and the staff out of Belfast. They ultimately settled on Garron Tower on the North Coast as a safe refuge. Garron Tower was a quiet, isolated spot compared with life in the city of Belfast. Rationing also had an impact. In Belfast the relatives of the residents could have easily walked there for visits, however with petrol rationed, even those with cars did not have enough fuel to get to Garron Tower. The Matron requested additional games, gramophone records and a [...]

Belfast Charitable Society & the Belfast Blitz: Return From Garron Tower2022-10-25T22:00:52+00:00

Exploring the unmarked graves in Clifton Street Cemetery: Mary Gunning

2022-10-25T22:19:48+00:00

Burial registers for Clifton Street Cemetery were kept from 1831, recording a wealth of information on people at the time of their death. Of particular interest is 'Black '47' the worst year of famine related deaths in Ireland. Belfast did not escape the affects of the Great Hunger. On this day, 17th October 1847 the body of Mary Gunning was interred in the 'New Burying Ground', to give the cemetery it's original name. Mary had died of fever at her home on Mays Lane, off Queen Street in Belfast. It would appear from the burial register that Mary was an enterprising [...]

Exploring the unmarked graves in Clifton Street Cemetery: Mary Gunning2022-10-25T22:19:48+00:00

The Case of Mary West- an abandoned child

2022-10-25T22:21:13+00:00

Children were admitted for a variety of reasons to the Poor House, but we have records of a number that were abandoned by their families. Two years prior to Mary West’s admission to the Poor House a volcanic eruption had caused what was known as the ‘Year of No Summer’, which decimated crops and led to the spread of disease. Even in 1818 the effects of famine, fever and poverty were still rife in Belfast. The Poor House was under pressure to cope with demand, and the conditions in the town drove many people to desperate actions in order to survive. [...]

The Case of Mary West- an abandoned child2022-10-25T22:21:13+00:00

Black History Month: Philanthropy, Slavery and Abolition

2022-10-03T14:04:41+00:00

Today marks the start of Black History Month, an annual observance recognising the important contribution of black people and events in our history and today. The Belfast Charitable Society has not shied away from the fact that its members, back in the late eighteenth century, were a mismatch of those who benefited significantly from the slave trade – either through the ownership of plantations or related business activity – and another group of people who were part of the abolitionist movement and anti-slavery voice of the day. However by focusing too much on these individuals, we too are covering up the [...]

Black History Month: Philanthropy, Slavery and Abolition2022-10-03T14:04:41+00:00

Clifton House

  • Address
    2 North Queen Street, Belfast,
    Antrim BT15 1ES

  • 028 9099 7022
  • info@cliftonbelfast.org.uk
  • Monday - Friday: 9.00 AM - 4.30 PM

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