Christmas in the Poorhouse (Clifton House Tour)
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BelfastUsing original research from our archives, our experienced tour guides will tell the story of those responsible for bringing some festive cheer into the house in the 1800s and how Christmas traditions developed throughout the centuries.
Clifton House Open Day
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BelfastClifton House Open Day The Clifton House Open Day is a unique opportunity to step inside and explore one of Belfast’s oldest and most beautiful buildings on its 250th anniversary year. This will be a drop-in style event where our experienced volunteer guides will be on hand to answer your questions and offer you some highlights of the building's vast history. You will also have an opportunity to view a brand new display of artefacts charting the early development of the House from 1774 – 1882. Please note that no booking is required for this event and no public tours of [...]
Clifton House and its Early Development 1774-1882, with Marcus Patton
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BelfastPresident’s Talks Series 2024 Clifton House is one of the oldest and most beautiful buildings in Belfast. 2024 is an important year as we celebrate 250 years since its doors first opened as a Poorhouse in 1774. Not only has this remarkable example of Irish Georgiana evolved and adapted through the years, but it has also had a tangible impact on its environs. Join Marcus Patton OBE for a lecture which will chart the early development and architecture of Clifton House and its surroundings from 1774-1880. Marcus Patton is a retired architect, historian, and former chairman of the Historic Buildings Council. [...]
The immediate and long-term impacts of cuts on North Belfast’s education sector
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BelfastThis panel discussion will centre around the current state of education in North Belfast, how schools are dealing with unprecedented levels of poverty, and the terrifying predictions recent cuts will have, longer-term, on an education system already under pressure. For centuries, The Belfast Charitable Society has been to the fore of educating the city’s impoverished, providing greater opportunities for them to build a better life. This session will take a very brief look back at what education was like in the Poor House in the 18th Century before concentrating on the outcomes of following two key reports* on the education system [...]
The Challenges Facing Refugees and Asylum-Seekers Today
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BelfastThe Challenges Facing Refugees & Asylum Seekers Today: A Discussion with Vicky Tennant, UNHCR Representative to the UK and the Rt. Hon Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Vicky Tennant, UNHCR Representative to the UK, and the Rt. Hon Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick, will outline the issues and obstacles facing female refugees and asylum seekers today. The event, which is part of Belfast Charitable Society’s 250thanniversary celebrations, will also highlight the work that both Belfast Charitable Society and the Mary Ann McCracken Foundation are doing to support refugees and asylum-seekers in Belfast. This year, as part of our 250th Anniversary celebrations, Belfast [...]
Medical History of the Belfast Poorhouse (House & Cemetery Tour)
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BelfastMedical History of the Belfast Poorhouse (House & Cemetery Tour) From the 1774 opening of the Poorhouse in Belfast, Belfast Charitable Society’s philanthropic aims helped foster an environment of pioneering medical work and cemented themselves as an essential part of Belfast’s history. Through a guided tour of Clifton House and Clifton Street Cemetery, learn how the Society took part in innovative inoculation campaigns through the guidance United Irishman, William Drennan. Explore the findings of the recently unearthed mysterious medical chest belonging to James McCleery, surgeon to the Poorhouse during the Famine. Discover how Belfast Charitable Society impacted Belfast as a [...]
Medical History of the Belfast Poorhouse (House & Cemetery Tour)
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BelfastMedical History of the Belfast Poorhouse (House & Cemetery Tour) From the 1774 opening of the Poorhouse in Belfast, Belfast Charitable Society’s philanthropic aims helped foster an environment of pioneering medical work and cemented themselves as an essential part of Belfast’s history. Through a guided tour of Clifton House and Clifton Street Cemetery, learn how the Society took part in innovative inoculation campaigns through the guidance United Irishman, William Drennan. Explore the findings of the recently unearthed mysterious medical chest belonging to James McCleery, surgeon to the Poorhouse during the Famine. Discover how Belfast Charitable Society impacted Belfast as a [...]
Clifton House Open Day – April 2024
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BelfastClifton House Open Day Clifton House will open its doors to the public on Saturday 6th April, 2024! Come along between 12pm-2pm for a unique opportunity to step inside and explore one of Belfast’s oldest and most beautiful buildings on its 250th anniversary year. This will be a drop-in style event where our experienced volunteer guides will be on hand to answer your questions and offer you some highlights of the building’s vast history. You will also have an opportunity to view a brand new display of artefacts including the 'Mysterious Medical Chest'. Please note that no booking is required for [...]
Paupers and Public Health: Belfast Charitable Society and the Sick Poor, with Dr Robyn Atcheson
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BelfastSince opening its doors 250 years ago, the Poorhouse was the first to offer free medical relief for the sick poor of Belfast. As the town grew, the role of the Belfast Charitable Society remained central to the expanding network of charities, institutions and hospitals providing different kinds of medical care. This talk explores how the Society treated the sick within its own walls and how it endeavoured to respond to various public health issues. The Society played a key role in the provision of maternity care and the establishment of a lunatic asylum as well as dealing with epidemics of [...]
Walking Tour of North Belfast Heritage Cluster
Walking Tour of North Belfast Heritage Cluster - 18th May, 12pm. This tour will showcase the unique heritage of inner north Belfast and tell the stories about the hidden history of the area. You will start at the doors of Redeemer Central at 101 Donegall Street, before passing some of the most historically important buildings in Northern Ireland, while also gaining an insight into the work of the Cluster. Cluster members include places of worship, work and education. In association North Belfast Heritage Cluster and its Re-create Great Place North Belfast Project. Meeting point: Redeemer Central at 101 Donegall Street
Heritage Day at Clifton House
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BelfastJoin us on Sunday 1st September 2024 for a free event celebrating 250 years of Clifton House. This event showcases and celebrates heritage skills, local crafts, live music, food and a chance to share your memories of north Belfast through our history harvest, part of the Great Place North Belfast project.
The Life and Times of Thomas McCabe: A Belfast Radical
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, Belfast‘May God wither the hand and consign the name to eternal infamy of the man who will sign that document!’. These are the words exclaimed by Thomas McCabe in 1786 in response to Waddell Cunningham’s proposal to set up a slave ship company here in Belfast. His outburst influenced those gathered in the Assembly Rooms as Cunningham’s venture to establish a slaving company here in Belfast failed. Join us at Clifton House, the home of Belfast’s oldest charity, where Gerry McNamee will discuss the life and times of Thomas McCabe who is best known as an abolitionist, a radical and a [...]