Christmas in the Poorhouse (Clifton House Tour)
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BelfastChristmas in the Poorhouse (Clifton House Tour) Using 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. The tour will be interwoven with our augmented reality allowing you to step back in time and see how Clifton House looked in the 18th and 19th centuries. From festive foods to the fight for the children to have Christmas as a holiday, the tour will feature numerous stories from our past, before bringing you back to the present. [...]
Clifton House Tour: Experience The Belfast Poorhouse
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BelfastClifton House is one of the oldest and most beautiful buildings in Belfast. 2024 is an important year for us as we celebrate 250 years since its doors first opened as a Poorhouse in 1774. To mark this special anniversary, join us for a unique guided tour which will explore the early development of Clifton House and its evolution through the years, during which time it has survived rebellions and revolutions while continuing to look after the welfare of the people of the city. Visitors will also have an opportunity to view a new exhibition in the Heritage Centre which displays [...]
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. [...]
Clifton House Tour: Experience The Belfast Poorhouse
Clifton House 2 North Queen Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BelfastClifton House is one of the oldest and most beautiful buildings in Belfast. 2024 is an important year for us as we celebrate 250 years since its doors first opened as a Poorhouse in 1774. To mark this special anniversary, join us for a unique guided tour which will explore the early development of Clifton House and its evolution through the years, during which time it has survived rebellions and revolutions while continuing to look after the welfare of the people of the city. Visitors will also have an opportunity to view a new exhibition in the Heritage Centre which displays [...]
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 [...]
Clifton House Tour: Experience The Belfast Poorhouse
Clifton House Tour: Experience The Belfast Poorhouse The history of Belfast begins at Clifton House. From the moment you step through our door you will be transported back in time to the Belfast Poorhouse – opened in 1774 – which provided sanctuary to thousands of people, from the young and old, to local citizens and passing sailors, throughout the years. With our augmented reality, visitors can now fully immerse themselves in what life was like in the late eighteenth century. Staff and volunteers from Clifton House will share the history of this fantastic building and its people, while they come to [...]
Clifton Street Cemetery Tour
Clifton Street Cemetery Tour Step back in time as you enter through the gates of Clifton Street Cemetery, opened by the Belfast Charitable Society in 1797 which catered to all of the citizens of Belfast. Visit the graves of radicals and reformers from a time when Belfast was the Athens of the North as well as the final resting places of the industrial giants who help to shape Belfast into a global powerhouse. Wealthy merchants and professionals purchased the Walled Plots, with many showing off their wealth through elaborate memorials and mausoleums. Your tour guide will tell you tales of bodysnatching and the thousands of souls who lie [...]
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 [...]
Hero of Belfast: Mary Ann McCracken Walking Tour
Hero of Belfast: Mary Ann McCracken Walking Tour Experience Mary Ann McCracken’s Belfast, as you walk in the footsteps of this remarkable abolitionist, philanthropist and social reformer. Mary Ann McCracken, who was born over 250 years ago, is intrinsically linked to the city of Belfast. She lived her fearless life championing causes, moving from place to place, always on a mission to make life better for those less fortunate than herself. Hear too about her more radical nature. Her role in the work of the United Irishmen, the 1798 rebellion and beyond. How she was devoted to her older brother Henry Joy – [...]
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 [...]