Belfast Poor House

The Belfast Charitable Society had been responsible for bringing water to Belfast from the 1790s. However, making water pipes from tree trunks, laying them and employing engineers to work out the most appropriate courses all came at a cost. On this day (17th January) 1807 it was recorded that the Water Rate Collectors had been sent out to those who have not paid their extra water money. It was stipulated that all arrears were to be paid and if this was not complied with, the offenders were to have their water supply cut off ‘without loss of time’ The collectors had [...]

In the mid-18th century gin was known as 'mothers ruin', and over a century later it was still frowned upon by the Belfast Charitable Society. #OnThisDay 1869 James Boyd, a resident, had brought gin into the Poor House for an old lady. When he was caught James argued it was for medical purposes. The Steward felt that the doctor had not "sanctioned this liberty" and having reported it to the Board, the Orderly was requested to admonish him and warn him against any further offences. In the previous century he would most likely have been put into the Black Hole for [...]

On this day 185 years ago (15th December 1833) James Irwin was buried in the ‘New Burying Ground’, today known as Clifton Street Cemetery. He died aged 68 of cancer. James was born c.1765 in Wellbrook, County Tyrone and moved to the town of Belfast where he resided with his family at Great Patrick Street. The burial register records his occupation as Inspector of the House of Correction. The House of Correction had been erected in 1817, on Howard Street, near the upper end of Chichester Street. The ominous inscription above the door warned “Within amend, without beware.” By 1822 the [...]

One of the first doctors in Belfast to offer their support to the Poor House by providing medical care to the poor for free was Dr Robert Stevenson. Dr Stevenson was called on to set broken legs and treat cancers in the Poor House. Dr Stevenson was kept busy with work in the Poor House in addition to his private patients. On 9th July 1776 he was called to the Poor House twice. First, to treat Timothy Gilvin, a native of Dublin and a tailor by trade, who had broken his leg. The Belfast Charitable Society purchased a yard of linen [...]

Today marks International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. The notion of slavery tends to bring us back to African slaves brought to America, however slavery continues as 21st Century problem.  The Belfast Charitable Society of the 18th and 19th centuries found themselves caught in the controversy surrounding this abhorrent trade. Much of the conflict regarding the differing views of slavery happened outside of the Poor House, however, when the freed slave Olaudah Equiano visited Belfast in the early 1790s, he was invited to speak at the Poor House and several other prominent locations in Belfast. Equiano lodged with Samuel Neilson, [...]

This week our Christmas decorations went up marking the start of the festive season in Belfast’s original Poor House. Our Archive & Heritage Development Officer dipped into our archive to see how the Poor House would have been decorated in the past. In the Georgian era the House was decorated throughout in what the Belfast Charitable Society termed ‘appropriate greenery’ featuring garlands and wreaths made of holly, pines, firs and ivy. The Poor House residents would also collect their own foliage from the grounds to decorate their rooms. The use of greenery indoors was typical of homes throughout Ireland in this [...]