Plots & Plotters: Belfast Charitable Society & the 1798 Rebellion (Clifton Street Cemetery Tour)
Plots & Plotters: Belfast Charitable Society & the 1798 Rebellion (Clifton Street Cemetery Tour) Come and explore the stories of the reformers & rebels who made the Belfast Charitable Society a “hotbed of radical activity” in the 1790s and those who spearhead the 1798 Rebellion. This unique tour charts the story of radical Belfast and the 1798 Rebellion through those who lie buried in Clifton Street Cemetery. Visit the final resting place of Dr William Drennan, the originator of the Society of United Irishmen, those like the McCrackens and McCabes who supported the Rebellion alongside others including the Joys who opposed it. Find out how the Charitable [...]
‘Doing the Needful’ Belfast Charitable Society and its Founding Fathers
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BelfastThe evening of Friday 28th August 1752 was cool in Belfast. After closing their businesses and homes, a group of nineteen merchants, burgesses (councillors) and a vicar, made their way to the George Inn at the corner of North Street and John Street (now Royal Avenue). It was there in the George Inn that these gentlemen formed the Belfast Charitable Society, to tackle poverty and help the poor. Join us at Clifton House, the home of Belfast’s oldest charity, where Aaron McIntyre will discuss the formation of the Belfast Charitable Society and the men who established it. This year, as part [...]
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.
EDOD Open Day
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BelfastClifton House Open for European Heritage Open Day Clifton House will open its doors to the public on Saturday 14th September, 12noon - 2pm for EHOD. Come along 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. Please note that no booking is required for this event and no public tours of the house will take place on [...]
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 [...]
Death, Tragedy & Betrayal: The Darker Side of Clifton Street Cemetery
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BelfastExplore Clifton Street Cemetery this Halloween weekend and discover its darker side! Opened in 1797 as the ‘New Burying Ground’ there are many tales to be told here. Death, Tragedy & Betrayal focuses on the ‘darker side’ of the cemetery’s history. From the infamous body snatchers which plagued the cemetery in its opening decades and the drastic actions taken to curb this lucrative trade, to the burial of murder victims, hangings and other tragic deaths! Due to the nature of the content parental discretion is advised. Booking in advance is essential. Please use the button below to book via Visit Belfast [...]
Death, Tragedy and Betrayal: The Darker Side of Clifton Street Cemetery
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BelfastExplore Clifton Street Cemetery this Halloween weekend and discover its darker side! Opened in 1797 as the ‘New Burying Ground’ there are many tales to be told here. Death, Tragedy & Betrayal focuses on the ‘darker side’ of the cemetery’s history. From the infamous body snatchers which plagued the cemetery in its opening decades and the drastic actions taken to curb this lucrative trade, to the burial of murder victims, hangings and other tragic deaths! Due to the nature of the content parental discretion is advised. Booking in advance is essential. Please use the button below to book via Visit Belfast: [...]
‘Dearly, Departed’: Bodysnatching and Clifton Street Cemetery in 19th Century Belfast
There was a time in Belfast when the bodies of the deceased rose from their graves…but not without some help! In the 19th century body-snatchers were at large in the local cemeteries, stealing the bodies of the recently deceased for dissection by local doctors. But why did people go to such lengths? Why were these bodies needed? And how were they stopped? Join us at Clifton House, where James Cromey, Archive Coordinator of the North Belfast Heritage Cluster will discuss why body-snatchers were such a concern during the early 1800’s, with a specific look at how they impacted the decisions surrounding Clifton [...]
Belfast’s Deaf Communit(ies): Language, Education, Poverty and the Law, 1850-1920
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BelfastThis talk will look at one of Ireland's indigenous language communities: the Deaf community, and the history of this emerging linguistic and cultural group as it formed and grew in Ireland (and in particular Belfast) during the nineteenth century. Dr Cormac Leonard has been a professional Irish Sign Language / English interpreter since 2005, as well as a trainer of interpreters, and also a keen genealogist and family history tutor. He has a long-standing fascination with the history of Deaf people and the historical development of Irish Sign Language, and submitted his PhD thesis, "Deaf People in Ireland: Education, Poverty, and [...]
A Very Victorian Crafty Christmas at the Poorhouse
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BelfastJoin us on Sunday 8 December for a very special seasonal Christmas event at the Poorhouse. This event is exclusively designed for adults, offering a peaceful and sophisticated atmosphere within a gorgeous Georgian setting. Hear more about the Christmas traditions in the house, make a traditional Victorian Christmas bauble to take home; and enjoy some festive refreshments too! While you bathe in the twinkly lights of our tree in the grand entrance of Clifton House, our expert guides will tell a yarn or two about what Victorian life was like for the residents at Christmas. It is not the Dicken’s tale [...]
Christmas in the Poorhouse Tour
Join us this December on our special seasonal Christmas tour of Clifton House. See inside this beautiful Georgian building and while surrounded by our gorgeous traditional decorations, hear from our expert guides what life within the Poor House over the festive season. ‘Christmas in the Poorhouse’ will often stir scenes of Scrooge and other Dicken’s classics. However original research from our archives tells a very different tale. One of traditions, festive foods, holidays and cheer. Our experienced tour guides will tell the story of those from Belfast Charitable Society who were responsible for bringing some festive merriment into the house in [...]
Plots and Plotters: Clifton Street Cemetery and the 1798 Irish Rebellion
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BelfastCome and learn about the origins and of the United Irishmen and the 1798 Irish rebellion, told from the perspectives of their leaders and opponents who lie in peace in Clifton Street Cemetery. This talk will be taken by Colin Shaw, one of Clifton House’s very own volunteers. Colin is a fantastic tour guide and very knowledgeable on Belfast’s early history including the 1798 Irish Rebellion in Belfast. This talk is kindly funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs Reconciliation Fund. Please click on the button below to book your in-person [...]