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By 1603, Belfast Castle, which was probably a Gaelic towerhouse by this time, was in ruins, largely as a result of the Nine Years' War. In July 1603, 
Sir Arthur Chichester was also 'granted' a vast estate in 
Sir Arthur Chichester, one of the main architects of the 
On the 24 April 1708, the 'Plantation-era' Belfast Castle, which had been built for Lord Chichester, accidentally burnt down, killing three sisters and one servant of The 4th Earl of Donegall (1695-1757). This castle was never rebuilt.Raymond Gillespie and Stephen A. Royle, ''Irish Historic Towns Atlas Number 12: Belfast - Part I, to 1840'', p. 4. Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, 2003. Following this fire, the senior line of the Donegall family (also known as the Chichester family) left Belfast. The head of the Donegall family would not live in Belfast again for almost a century, until The 2nd Marquess of Donegall (1769-1844) settled in Belfast in 1802, establishing his main residence there.W.A. Maguire, 'Lords and landlords - the Donegall Family' in J.C. Beckett '' et al.'', ''Belfast: The Making of the City'', p. 27. Lagan Books,
Lord Donegall thus had to find an alternative residence for himself and his family. He settled at what became known as Donegall House, a large
It was The 3rd Marquess of Donegall who finally sold off almost all of his family's Belfast estate in the 1850s.Stephen A. Royle, ''Irish Historic Towns Atlas Number 17: Belfast - Part II, 1840 to 1900'', p. 2. Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, 2007. This left, of the 'Belfast estate', only the Ormeau 
Construction cost well over the £11,000 set aside to pay for the project, forcing Lord Donegall to seek financial assistance from Baron Ashley (1831-1886), his son-in-law, in order to complete the new castle. Lord Ashley (who later became The 8th Earl of Shaftesbury) had married Lady Harriet Chichester (1836-1898), the only surviving child of Lord Donegall, in August 1857. Of Lord Donegall's three children, all by his first wife - two sons and one daughter - Lady Harriet was the only one to have had children of her own and to have outlived her father. Thus, she and her husband eventually inherited the castle and the rest of the Donegall family's vast estates in October 1883, upon the death of her father, the 3rd Marquess, while the marquessate was inherited by her elderly uncle, the former Church of Ireland 
The 8th Earl of Shaftesbury died in April 1886, only two and a half years after he and his wife had inherited Belfast Castle. He had only succeeded his famous father in the earldom in October 1885. Upon his death, the 8th Earl was succeeded by his then sixteen-year-old son, who now became The 9th Earl of Shaftesbury (1869-1961). Of all the private owners of the new Belfast Castle, the 9th Earl was to own it the longest, presiding over the castle until January 1934. A prominent Unionist, the 9th Earl was to involve himself very much in local affairs, going on to become 
The vast
The Chapel of the Resurrection was also built for The 3rd Marquess of Donegall in the late 1860s, at the same time as the new Belfast Castle.The Mausolea and Monuments Trust: Belfast Castle Mortuary Chapel. http://www.mmtrust.org.uk/mausolea/view/486/Belfast_Castle_Mortuary_Chapel The 
The Chapel of the Resurrection, like Belfast Castle and the rest of its surrounding demesne, was inherited by the Shaftesbury family in October 1883. The chapel ceased to be privately owned in 1938, when The 9th Earl of Shaftesbury handed the chapel over to the Church of Ireland Diocese of Down, Connor and Dromore, after which the building was used for public worship. In January 1945, the Church of Ireland Diocese of Connor replaced the Diocese of Down, Connor and Dromore in this part of
Belfast Castle (
The medieval Belfast Castle was eventually seized by a branch of the powerful ''Uí Néill'' ( O'Neill) dynasty of the '' Cénel nEógain'', probably at the end of the fourteenth-century or the beginning of the fifteenth century.Rachel Tracey and Audrey Horning, ' Ulster plantation towns: an archaeology of rhetoric and reality' in Brendan Scott (Editor), ''Society and Administration in Ulster's Plantation Towns'', p. 17.
forces in 1552, when the castle was possibly rebuilt on the orders of Sir James Croft, who was the Lord Deputy of Ireland at the time. Another occasion when Belfast Castle was briefly seized from the ''Uí Néill'' of Clandeboye was in the 1570s, when English forces, initially under the command of The 1st Earl of Essex, occupied the castle for a few years during the short-lived Enterprise of Ulster.
The Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
: ''Caisleán Bhéal Feirste''Ireland Highlights: Belfast Castle. https://www.irelandhighlights.com/info/belfast-castle/ ) is a mansion located in Cave Hill Country Park in Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, Northern Ireland, in a prominent position above sea level. Its location provides unobstructed views over the City of Belfast and Belfast Lough
Belfast Lough is a large, intertidal sea inlet on the east coast of Northern Ireland. At its head is the city and port of Belfast, which sits at the mouth of the River Lagan. The lough opens into the North Channel and connects Belfast to th ...
.Discover Northern Ireland: Belfast Castle Estate. https://discovernorthernireland.com/things-to-do/belfast-castle-estate-p676051 There have been several different structures called 'Belfast Castle' over the centuries, located on different sites. 'Belfast: The hidden castles under the city's shops' (BBC Northern Ireland
BBC Northern Ireland ( ga, BBC Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ''BBC Norlin Airlan'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ire ...
, 28 August 2022). https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-62167256 The current 'castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
' is a Victorian structure, built between 1867 and 1870 on the slopes of Cave Hill, and is listed
Listed may refer to:
* Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm
* Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic
* Endangered species in biology
* Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
as being Grade B+. C.E.B. Brett, ''Buildings of Belfast, 1700-1914'', p. 46. Friar's Bush Press, Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, 1985 (paperback, revised edition; originally published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson
Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd (established 1949), often shortened to W&N or Weidenfeld, is a British publisher of fiction and reference books. It has been a division of the French-owned Orion Publishing Group since 1991.
History
George Weidenfeld ...
, London, 1967).W.A. Maguire, 'Lords and landlords - the Donegall Family' in J.C. Beckett '' et al.'', ''Belfast: The Making of the City'', pp. 37-38. Lagan Books, Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, 2003 (originally published by The Appletree Press, Belfast, 1983). The main entrance into the Belfast Castle Demesne
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept ori ...
is now where Innisfayle Park meets Downview Park West, just off the Antrim Road
The Antrim Road is a major arterial route and area of housing and commerce that runs from inner city north Belfast to Dunadry, passing through Newtownabbey and Templepatrick. It forms part of the A6 road, a traffic route which links Belfast to De ...
(part of the A6). The original main entrance into the current demesne was formerly on the Antrim Road itself, where Strathmore Park now meets the Antrim Road.Culture Northern Ireland: The Buildings of the Belfast Castle Estate - ''The Chapel of the Resurrection'' and ''The Gate Lodges''. https://www.culturenorthernireland.org/features/heritage/buildings-belfast-castle-estate
History
Medieval and Early Modern Castle
Acastle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
had been erected at ''Béal Feirste'' (Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
) by the 1220s, probably to guard the important ford across the River Lagan
The River Lagan (; Ulster Scots: ''Lagan Wattèr'') is a major river in Northern Ireland which runs 53.5 miles (86 km) from the Slieve Croob mountain in County Down to Belfast where it enters Belfast Lough, an inlet of the Irish Sea. T ...
.Raymond Gillespie and Stephen A. Royle, ''Irish Historic Towns Atlas Number 12: Belfast - Part I, to 1840'', p. 1. Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, 2003. This medieval castle may have been built by the Normans, who invaded East Ulster in the late twelfth century. These Norman invaders carved out a territory for themselves which was centred on Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,998 at the 2011 Census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...
, this territory later becoming known as the Earldom of Ulster. By 1333, a small settlement is thought to have developed around the castle at Belfast. This original 'Belfast Castle', located on what later became the County Antrim
County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population of ...
side of the River Lagan, was probably in the area now bounded by Donegall Place, Castle Place, Cornmarket, and Castle Lane in the centre of what is now Belfast City Centre.Stephen A. Royle, ''Irish Historic Towns Atlas Number 17: Belfast - Part II, 1840 to 1900'', Map 5: 'Belfast to '. Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, 2007. Although originally built in either the late twelfth-century or the early thirteenth-century, this castle was 'rebuilt' on several occasions between the 1220s and the 1550s, possibly being 'rebuilt' on the same site or on an adjacent site. This original, medieval castle was almost certainly on, or very near, the same site as the much later ' Plantation-era' castle developed for Lord Chichester.
This original High Medieval
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...
, Late Medieval and Early Modern castle site was on the southern bank of the River Farset
The River Farset (''An Fhearsaid'' or ''Abhainn na Feirste'' in Irish) is a river in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a late tributary of the River Lagan.
Course
Rising on Squire's Hill on the north-western edge of Belfast, the River Farset i ...
(which now flows beneath High Street), being located on a sliver of land that was bounded by the Farset to the north and the River Owenvara (Blackstaff River
The Blackstaff River is a watercourse in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It rises on the eastern slope of the Black Mountain before flowing down into the Bog Meadows and passing under the city of Belfast, where it enters the River Lagan. Much ...
) to the south.Raymond Gillespie and Stephen A. Royle, ''Irish Historic Towns Atlas Number 12: Belfast - Part I, to 1840'', p. 2 (Fig. 1: 'Site of Belfast') and p. 3 (Fig. 2: 'Late medieval Belfast'). Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, 2003. Both the River Farset and the River Owenvara (Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
: ''Abhainn Bheara'', meaning 'River of the Staff', usually known nowadays in English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
as the Blackstaff River
The Blackstaff River is a watercourse in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It rises on the eastern slope of the Black Mountain before flowing down into the Bog Meadows and passing under the city of Belfast, where it enters the River Lagan. Much ...
) emptied into the River Lagan just to the east of this castle site.
The medieval Belfast Castle was eventually seized by a branch of the powerful ''Uí Néill'' ( O'Neill) dynasty of the '' Cénel nEógain'', probably at the end of the fourteenth-century or the beginning of the fifteenth century.Rachel Tracey and Audrey Horning, ' Ulster plantation towns: an archaeology of rhetoric and reality' in Brendan Scott (Editor), ''Society and Administration in Ulster's Plantation Towns'', p. 17. Four Courts Press
Four Courts Press is an independent Irish academic publishing house, with its office at Malpas Street, Dublin 8, Ireland.
Founded in 1970 by Michael Adams, who died in February 2009, its early publications were primarily theological, notably t ...
, Dublin, 2019. The ''Uí Néill'' almost certainly had Belfast Castle rebuilt at some stage, probably as a Gaelic towerhouse, either building on the same site as the Norman castle or else building their towerhouse very near to that site. This branch of the ''Uí Néill'' carved out a '' túath'' or Gaelic territory for themselves in South Antrim and North Down which became known as ''Clann Aedha Buídhe'' (Clandeboye
Clandeboye or Clannaboy (from Irish ''Clann Aodha Buí'', "family of Hugh the Blond") was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, comprising what is now south County Antrim, north County Down, and the barony of Loughinsholin, Northern Ireland. The entity w ...
).Philip Robinson, ''Irish Historic Towns Atlas Number 2: Carrickfergus'', p. 2. Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, 1986. The ''Uí Néill'' of Clandeboye maintained Belfast Castle as one of their main residences, with the castle and its surrounding ''túath'' largely remaining in their hands throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, with a few brief exceptions.
The castle was briefly taken in 1476 by Éinri mac Eoghain Ó Néill (known in English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
as Henry O'Neill), '' Rí na Tír Eoghain'' ( King of Tyrone), usually known during his lifetime as 'the Great O'Neill', when he 'attacked the castle of Belfast which he took and demolished'.Jonathan Bardon
Jonathan Eric Bardon (born in Dublin, 1941 – died in Belfast, 21 April 2020), was an Irish historian and author.
Early life
Bardon was born in Dublin in 1941 and graduated from Trinity College, Dublin (TCD), in 1963. Shortly thereafter, ...
, ''Belfast: An Illustrated History'', p. 5. The Blackstaff Press
The Blackstaff Press is a publishing company in Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1971, it publishes printed books on a range of subjects (mainly, but not exclusively, of Irish interest) and, since 2011, has also published e- ...
, Dundonald, Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, 1983 (reprint with corrections; originally published in 1982). The rebuilt castle was again briefly seized from the ''Uí Néill'' of Clandeboye in 1489, this time by Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill
Hugh Roe O'Donnell (Irish: ''Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill''), also known as Red Hugh O'Donnell (30 October 1572 – 10 September 1602), was a sixteenth-century leader of the Gaelic nobility of Ireland. He became Chief of the Name of Clan O'Donnel ...
(Red Hugh O'Donnell), '' Rí na Tír Chonaill'' (King of Tír Chonaill
Tyrconnell (), also spelled Tirconnell, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Donegal, which has sometimes been called ''County Tyrconnell''. At times it also included parts of County Fermanagh, Cou ...
), an immensely powerful Gaelic ruler from the west of Ulster. Ó Domhnaill, whose chief residence was Donegal Castle
Donegal Castle ( ga, Caisleán Dhún na nGall) is a castle situated in the centre of Donegal Town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland. For most of the last two centuries, the majority of the buildings lay in ruins but the castle was almost ...
in Donegal Town
Donegal ( ; , "fort of the foreigners") is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. The name was also historically spelt 'Dunnagall'. Although Donegal gave its name to the county, now Lifford is the county town. From the 15th until the early 17th ce ...
, had invaded Clandeboye with his army and 'took and demolished the Castle of Belfast, and then returned safe to his house loaded with immense spoils'.
In the early sixteenth-century, Belfast Castle was seized on three different occasions by two senior-ranking members of the House of Kildare, part of the wider Geraldine dynasty. The castle was briefly occupied twice by the forces of The 8th Earl of Kildare, the Lord Deputy of Ireland and the leading Geraldine at the time. Lord Kildare seized the castle and sacked Belfast in 1503 and again in 1512. His son and heir, The 9th Earl of Kildare (often known as ''Gearóid Óg''), also seized the castle in 1523. Gearóid Óg, Lord Kildare, had succeeded his father as Lord Deputy of Ireland in September 1513, also succeeding his father as the Geraldine leader at the same time. After briefly taking Belfast Castle from Aodh Ó Néill (Hugh O'Neill), Lord of Clandeboye, in 1523, this Lord Kildare reported to King Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagr ...
: 'I brake a castell of his, called Belfast, and burned 24 myle of his country 'sic''.html"_;"title="sic.html"_;"title="'sic">'sic''">sic.html"_;"title="'sic">'sic''.English Crown
This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself King of the Anglo-Sax ...
finally seized Belfast Castle from the ''Uí Néill'' of Clandeboye during the Nine Years' War in the 1590s, when the castle was occupied by English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
troops. In June 1597, the forces of Shane McBrian O'Neill, Lord of Lower Clandeboye and son and successor of Sir Brian mac Feidhlimidh Ó Néill, forcibly took the castle back from English control, apparently putting to the sword most of the English garrison there.Jonathan Bardon
Jonathan Eric Bardon (born in Dublin, 1941 – died in Belfast, 21 April 2020), was an Irish historian and author.
Early life
Bardon was born in Dublin in 1941 and graduated from Trinity College, Dublin (TCD), in 1963. Shortly thereafter, ...
, ''Belfast: An Illustrated History'', p. 8. The Blackstaff Press
The Blackstaff Press is a publishing company in Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1971, it publishes printed books on a range of subjects (mainly, but not exclusively, of Irish interest) and, since 2011, has also published e- ...
, Dundonald, Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, 1983 (reprint with corrections; originally published in 1982). English forces, under the command of Sir John Chichester, soon marched north to retake Belfast Castle from the ''Uí Néill'' of Clandeboye, which they did in July 1597. Chichester reported back to his superiors that his forces had retaken the castle 'without anie loss to us, and put those wee found in yt to the sworde 'sic''.html"_;"title="sic.html"_;"title="'sic">'sic''">sic.html"_;"title="'sic">'sic''.Roanoke Colony
The establishment of the Roanoke Colony ( ) was an attempt by Sir Walter Raleigh to found the first permanent English settlement in North America. The English, led by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, had briefly claimed St. John's, Newfoundland, in 15 ...
in what is now North Carolina.
Sir John Chichester, who had been appointed as Governor of Carrickfergus Castle
Carrickfergus Castle (from the Irish ''Carraig Ḟergus'' or "cairn of Fergus", the name "Fergus" meaning "strong man") is a Norman castle in Northern Ireland, situated in the town of Carrickfergus in County Antrim, on the northern shore of ...
, soon fell out with the previously neutral MacDonnells of the Glens. In a battle fought later in 1597 against the MacDonnells at Altfrackyn (also known as Aldfreck), a townland just north of Ballycarry
Ballycarry () is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is midway between Larne and Carrickfergus, overlooking Islandmagee, and is part of the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council area. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 981.
Ar ...
, the English were defeated, with 180 of their soldiers being killed.Culture Northern Ireland: A History of Carrickfergus - ''Plantation''. https://www.culturenorthernireland.org/features/heritage/history-carrickfergus Chichester was killed by the MacDonnells during or immediately after this battle, possibly by being beheaded
Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the au ...
.Culture Northern Ireland: The Chichester Family. https://www.culturenorthernireland.org/features/heritage/chichester-family Sir John Chichester was the fifth son of Sir John Chichester of North Devon, and he was the younger brother of The 1st Baron Chichester.Jonathan Bardon
Jonathan Eric Bardon (born in Dublin, 1941 – died in Belfast, 21 April 2020), was an Irish historian and author.
Early life
Bardon was born in Dublin in 1941 and graduated from Trinity College, Dublin (TCD), in 1963. Shortly thereafter, ...
, ''Belfast: An Illustrated History'', p. 10. The Blackstaff Press
The Blackstaff Press is a publishing company in Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1971, it publishes printed books on a range of subjects (mainly, but not exclusively, of Irish interest) and, since 2011, has also published e- ...
, Dundonald, Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, 1983 (reprint with corrections; originally published in 1982).
Clandeboye Massacre
In October 1574, during the Enterprise of Ulster, The 1st Earl of Essex and his retinue were invited to a feast at Belfast Castle by Sir Brian mac Feidhlimidh Ó Néill (Sir Brian McPhelim O'Neill), Lord of Lower Clandeboye.Jonathan Bardon
Jonathan Eric Bardon (born in Dublin, 1941 – died in Belfast, 21 April 2020), was an Irish historian and author.
Early life
Bardon was born in Dublin in 1941 and graduated from Trinity College, Dublin (TCD), in 1963. Shortly thereafter, ...
, ''The Plantation of Ulster'', p. 3. Gill Books, Dublin, 2012 (paperback edition).Jonathan Bardon
Jonathan Eric Bardon (born in Dublin, 1941 – died in Belfast, 21 April 2020), was an Irish historian and author.
Early life
Bardon was born in Dublin in 1941 and graduated from Trinity College, Dublin (TCD), in 1963. Shortly thereafter, ...
, ''Belfast: An Illustrated History'', p. 7. The Blackstaff Press
The Blackstaff Press is a publishing company in Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1971, it publishes printed books on a range of subjects (mainly, but not exclusively, of Irish interest) and, since 2011, has also published e- ...
, Dundonald, Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, 1983 (reprint with corrections; originally published in 1982). The feast was to celebrate a newly signed peace agreement between the English Crown
This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself King of the Anglo-Sax ...
and Sir
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
Brian. After three days and nights of feasting and celebrations inside Belfast Castle, the English soldiers accompanying Lord Essex suddenly set upon and murdered most of the family and retainers of Sir Brian inside the castle. It seems this massacre was ordered by Essex himself. This event is usually known as the Clandeboye Massacre
The Clandeboye massacre in 1574 was a massacre of the O'Neills of Lower Clandeboye by the English forces of Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex. It took place during an attempted English colonisation of Ulster as part of the Tudor conquest of Ir ...
. The castle was then seized by Essex and his English forces. Sir Brian mac Feidhlimidh Ó Néill was not killed during this massacre. Instead, Sir Brian, along with his wife and his brother, were arrested by Lord Essex and, later in 1574, all three were executed in Dublin.
Plantation Castle
By 1603, Belfast Castle, which was probably a Gaelic towerhouse by this time, was in ruins, largely as a result of the Nine Years' War. In July 1603, Sir Arthur Chichester
Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Chichester (May 1563 – 19 February 1625; known between 1596 and 1613 as Sir Arthur Chichester), of Carrickfergus in Ireland, was an English administrator and soldier who served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 160 ...
(1563-1625; later created, in 1613, The 1st Baron Chichester), then Governor of Carrickfergus Castle
Carrickfergus Castle (from the Irish ''Carraig Ḟergus'' or "cairn of Fergus", the name "Fergus" meaning "strong man") is a Norman castle in Northern Ireland, situated in the town of Carrickfergus in County Antrim, on the northern shore of ...
, offered to rebuild Belfast Castle if he was 'granted' Belfast and its surrounding lands by the Crown. Chichester, who had been one of the most ruthless English commanders in Ireland during the Nine Years' War, received a King's letter in August 1603, which officially put him in charge of Belfast Castle and its surrounding lands. In a patent dated 5 November 1603, the Crown granted to Sir Arthur Chichester 'The Castle of Bealfaste or Belfast, with the Appurtenants and Hereditaments, Spiritual and Temporal, situate in the Lower Clandeboye, late in the possession or custody of Sir Ralph Lane Knt., deceased'. A new grant of the castle and its surrounding lands was made by the Crown the following year, in May 1604, again to Chichester, who would serve as Lord Deputy of Ireland between 1605 and 1616.
Sir Arthur Chichester was also 'granted' a vast estate in Inishowen
Inishowen () is a peninsula in the north of County Donegal in Ireland. Inishowen is the largest peninsula on the island of Ireland.
The Inishowen peninsula includes Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head. The Grianan of Aileach, a ringfort ...
in County Donegal, over in the north-west of Ulster, in 1608 or 1609. This huge estate covered almost all of Inishowen, and had been seized by the Crown from the '' Ó Dochartaigh'' (O'Doherty) clan in the aftermath of the rebellion of Sir Cathaoir Ruadh Ó Dochartaigh (Sir Cahir Rua O'Doherty), Lord of Inishowen, in 1608. Chichester, as Lord Deputy of Ireland, ensured that the huge ''Ó Dochartaigh'' lands in Inishowen were granted to himself.Martina O'Donnell, 'Settlement and Society in the Barony of East Inishowen, 1850' in William Nolan, Liam Ronayne and Mairead Dunlevy (Editors), ''Donegal: History and Society'', p. 514. Geography Publications, Dublin, 1995 (reprinted 2002). However, very little of this Inishowen estate was ever run directly by the head of the Chichester family; from the early seventeenth century onwards, almost all of this vast estate was sublet by the Chichesters to several lesser landlords, often described as 'middlemen', on very long-term leases. Most of this huge Inishowen estate was eventually sold off by the Chichester family via the Encumbered Estates Court in the 1850s and later in the nineteenth century.W.A. Maguire, 'Lords and landlords - the Donegall Family' in J.C. Beckett '' et al.'', ''Belfast: The Making of the City'', p. 36. Lagan Books, Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, 2003 (originally published by The Appletree Press, Belfast, 1983).
When the head of the Chichester family was advanced in the Peerage of Ireland to being an earl in 1647, they took the title Earl of Donegall due to the family's ownership of this vast estate in Inishowen
Inishowen () is a peninsula in the north of County Donegal in Ireland. Inishowen is the largest peninsula on the island of Ireland.
The Inishowen peninsula includes Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head. The Grianan of Aileach, a ringfort ...
. The head of the family was further advanced in the Peerage of Ireland to being Marquess of Donegall
Marquess of Donegall is a title in the Peerage of Ireland held by the head of the Chichester family, originally from Devon, England. Sir John Chichester sat as a Member of Parliament and was High Sheriff of Devon in 1557. One of his sons, Sir ...
in July 1791.
Sir Arthur Chichester, one of the main architects of the Plantation of Ulster
The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation (''plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the sett ...
, had Belfast Castle largely rebuilt in the early 1610s, mainly in brick.Raymond Gillespie and Stephen A. Royle, ''Irish Historic Towns Atlas Number 12: Belfast - Part I, to 1840'', p. 2. Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, 2003. It is almost certain that Chichester had his 'Plantation' castle built on the site of the Gaelic ''Uí Néill'' towerhouse. Chichester may even have incorporated parts of the ''Uí Néill'' structure into his new castle. However, when in Ulster, Lord Chichester, as he later became, usually resided at Joymount House in nearby Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,998 at the 2011 Census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...
rather than at the 'Plantation-era' Belfast Castle. Lord Chichester had only one child with his wife, a son, who died in infancy. Thus, upon his own death in February 1625, Arthur, Lord Chichester, was succeeded in his estates and properties (but not in the peerage) by his younger brother Edward (1568-1648), who was created The 1st Viscount Chichester later in that same year. The Chichester family (later also known as the Donegall family) were to own the town of Belfast from around 1603 up until the early 1850s, when their Belfast estate was largely broken up and sold off.W.A. Maguire, 'Lords and landlords - the Donegall Family' in J.C. Beckett '' et al.'', ''Belfast: The Making of the City'', pp. 36-37. Lagan Books, Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, 2003 (originally published by The Appletree Press, Belfast, 1983).
On the 24 April 1708, the 'Plantation-era' Belfast Castle, which had been built for Lord Chichester, accidentally burnt down, killing three sisters and one servant of The 4th Earl of Donegall (1695-1757). This castle was never rebuilt.Raymond Gillespie and Stephen A. Royle, ''Irish Historic Towns Atlas Number 12: Belfast - Part I, to 1840'', p. 4. Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, 2003. Following this fire, the senior line of the Donegall family (also known as the Chichester family) left Belfast. The head of the Donegall family would not live in Belfast again for almost a century, until The 2nd Marquess of Donegall (1769-1844) settled in Belfast in 1802, establishing his main residence there.W.A. Maguire, 'Lords and landlords - the Donegall Family' in J.C. Beckett '' et al.'', ''Belfast: The Making of the City'', p. 27. Lagan Books, Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, 2003 (originally published by The Appletree Press, Belfast, 1983).
Donegall House and Ormeau House
When The 2nd Marquess of Donegall settled inBelfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
in 1802, what remained of the 'Plantation-era' Belfast Castle had long been a ruin, having been destroyed by a fire almost a century before, in April 1708. This ' Plantation' castle had almost certainly been built on, or very near, the site of the 'Norman' Belfast Castle, which was the original medieval castle. It certainly seems that the 'Plantation' castle was, at the very least, built on the site of the ''Uí Néill'' towerhouse, which had probably replaced the Norman castle. By 1802, these original castle sites had partially been built upon with other buildings.
Lord Donegall thus had to find an alternative residence for himself and his family. He settled at what became known as Donegall House, a large terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United Stat ...
on the corner of what is now Donegall Place and Donegall Square
Donegall Square is a square in the centre of Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. In the centre is Belfast City Hall, the headquarters of Belfast City Council. Each side of the square is named according to its geographical location, i.e. D ...
North, only a few hundred yards from the original site of Belfast Castle, right in the centre of the town of BelfastRaymond Gillespie and Stephen A. Royle, ''Irish Historic Towns Atlas Number 12: Belfast - Part I, to 1840'', p. 7. Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, 2003. (it did not officially become a city until November 1888). The 2nd Marquess
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
of Donegall became the first head of his family in almost a century to actually live in Belfast. Since 1708, the Earls and, later, Marquesses of Donegall had mainly lived over in Great Britain, usually living in London.
The 2nd Marquess of Donegall also maintained a country residence called Ormeau Cottage on the Ormeau Demesne
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept ori ...
(which later became Ormeau Park
Ormeau Park is the oldest municipal park in Belfast, Northern Ireland, having been officially opened to the public in 1871. It is owned and run by Belfast City Council and is one of the largest and busiest parks in the city and contains a variet ...
). At that time, the Ormeau Demesne was on the south-eastern edge of Belfast, being in Ballynafeigh
Laganbank was one of the nine district electoral areas in Belfast, Northern Ireland which existed from 1985 to 2014. Located in the south of the city, the district elected five members to Belfast City Council and contained the wards of Ballynaf ...
on the County Down
County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to th ...
side of the River Lagan
The River Lagan (; Ulster Scots: ''Lagan Wattèr'') is a major river in Northern Ireland which runs 53.5 miles (86 km) from the Slieve Croob mountain in County Down to Belfast where it enters Belfast Lough, an inlet of the Irish Sea. T ...
. In the 1820s, Lord Donegall had Ormeau Cottage greatly extended in size, turning it into a mansion called Ormeau House.W.A. Maguire, ''Living like a Lord: The Second Marquis of Donegall, 1769-1844'', pp. 74-75. The Ulster Historical Foundation, Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, 2002 (originally published by The Appletree Press and The Ulster Society for Irish Historical Studies, Belfast, 1984). This country house
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
was built in the Tudor Revival
Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...
architectural style and was designed by William Vitruvius Morrison
William Vitruvius Morrison (1794 – 16 October 1838) was an Irish architect, son and collaborator of Sir Richard Morrison.
Life
He was born at Clonmel, County Tipperary, second son of Sir Richard Morrison (1767–1849) and Elizabeth Ould, a gra ...
.
Lord Donegall sold off Donegall House in the centre of Belfast in the early 1820s, establishing his main residence at Ormeau House thereafter. Donegall House was converted into being The Royal Hotel in 1824. Ormeau House, where The 2nd Marquess of Donegall died in October 1844, was eventually demolished in the late 1860s.W.A. Maguire, 'Lords and landlords - the Donegall Family' in J.C. Beckett '' et al.'', ''Belfast: The Making of the City'', p. 38. Lagan Books, Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, 2003 (originally published by The Appletree Press, Belfast, 1983).
Victorian Castle
The 3rd Marquess of Donegall (1797-1883), in stark contrast to his father, did not spend much of his adult life living inBelfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
or anywhere else in Ireland. The 3rd Marquess
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
joined the British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...
as an officer when he was a young man. After his military service was over, he mainly lived in Great Britain, where he was very involved in politics at Westminster. He was known as the Earl of Belfast, a courtesy title
A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title).
In some con ...
, between January 1799 and October 1844, when he succeeded his father in the marquessate. The 3rd Marquess would serve at Westminster as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard
The Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard is a UK Government post usually held by the Government Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords. The present Captain is The 9th Earl of Courtown, who was appointed to the position i ...
from February 1848 until February 1852 in the first government of Lord John Russell, while the Great Famine was still ravaging Ireland.
It was The 3rd Marquess of Donegall who finally sold off almost all of his family's Belfast estate in the 1850s.Stephen A. Royle, ''Irish Historic Towns Atlas Number 17: Belfast - Part II, 1840 to 1900'', p. 2. Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, 2007. This left, of the 'Belfast estate', only the Ormeau Demesne
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept ori ...
and most of Cave Hill in the ownership of Lord Donegall. Curiously, it was only when he no longer owned Belfast that Lord Donegall became interested in actually living there.W.A. Maguire, 'Lords and landlords - the Donegall Family' in J.C. Beckett '' et al.'', ''Belfast: The Making of the City'', p. 37. Lagan Books, Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, 2003 (originally published by The Appletree Press, Belfast, 1983). He decided to build what has been described as a new 'princely mansion' for himself in the 1860s on what was then the northern edge of Belfast, just over a decade after the Great Famine had ended. This new residence was called Belfast Castle, in a nod to family history, even though it was built on a completely different site from the original castle site, which had been located right in the centre of Belfast. By the 1860s, nothing remained above ground of the earlier 'Belfast Castles'.
The new, Victorian castle was built in the Scots Baronial
Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th century Gothic Revival which revived the forms and ornaments of historical architecture of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Reminiscent of Sco ...
architectural style and was designed by the Belfast firm of Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon
Lanyon, Lynn & Lanyon, Civil Engineers and Architects was a 19th-century firm working mainly in Dublin and Belfast, and the leading architectural firm in Belfast during the 1860s. Its partners were Charles Lanyon, William Henry Lynn, and Charles' ...
. However, there is some debate over who in the firm actually designed the new Belfast Castle. Although popularly attributed to Sir Charles Lanyon, some architectural historians believe that the castle was actually designed by either his business partner, and former apprentice, W.H. Lynn, or by Sir Charles's other business partner, his son John Lanyon.Natural Stone Database: Buildings - Belfast Castle, Antrim Road, Belfast. http://www.stonedatabase.com/buildings.cfm?bk=2616 ''Grace's Guide To British Industrial History'': John Lanyon (1900 obituary). https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/John_Lanyon
The new Belfast Castle was built on what had been the Donegall family's deerpark on the slopes of Cave Hill, a location which was, at that time, on the northern outskirts of Belfast, just off the Antrim Road
The Antrim Road is a major arterial route and area of housing and commerce that runs from inner city north Belfast to Dunadry, passing through Newtownabbey and Templepatrick. It forms part of the A6 road, a traffic route which links Belfast to De ...
. The 'castle' (in reality a Victorian country house
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
) was mainly constructed between 1867 and 1870, and was built using pink Scrabo sandstone from the north of County Down
County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to th ...
, along with Giffnock
Giffnock (; sco, Giffnock; gd, Giofnag, ) is a town and the administrative centre of East Renfrewshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland.
It lies east of Barrhead, east-southeast of Paisley and northwest of East Kilbride, at the sout ...
sandstone dressings imported from Renfrewshire, all on a rock-faced basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...
plinth. This Victorian castle, which has been described by Sir Charles Brett as 'a rugged and determined exercise in the fullness of the Scottish Baronial style, perched on a highly romantic site with a superb view', remains standing and in use to the present day.
Construction cost well over the £11,000 set aside to pay for the project, forcing Lord Donegall to seek financial assistance from Baron Ashley (1831-1886), his son-in-law, in order to complete the new castle. Lord Ashley (who later became The 8th Earl of Shaftesbury) had married Lady Harriet Chichester (1836-1898), the only surviving child of Lord Donegall, in August 1857. Of Lord Donegall's three children, all by his first wife - two sons and one daughter - Lady Harriet was the only one to have had children of her own and to have outlived her father. Thus, she and her husband eventually inherited the castle and the rest of the Donegall family's vast estates in October 1883, upon the death of her father, the 3rd Marquess, while the marquessate was inherited by her elderly uncle, the former Church of Ireland Dean of Raphoe
The Dean of Raphoe is based at the Cathedral Church of St Eunan, Raphoe, County Donegal, Ulster in the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe within the Church of Ireland. The Deanery is currently vacant since January 2021.
List of deans
*1603 John Alb ...
, who became The 4th Marquess of Donegall. Lord Shaftesbury, his wife Harriet, Countess
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...
of Shaftesbury, and her Chichester ancestors are commemorated in the form of Belfast street names, much like how the original castles are remembered.
The 8th Earl of Shaftesbury died in April 1886, only two and a half years after he and his wife had inherited Belfast Castle. He had only succeeded his famous father in the earldom in October 1885. Upon his death, the 8th Earl was succeeded by his then sixteen-year-old son, who now became The 9th Earl of Shaftesbury (1869-1961). Of all the private owners of the new Belfast Castle, the 9th Earl was to own it the longest, presiding over the castle until January 1934. A prominent Unionist, the 9th Earl was to involve himself very much in local affairs, going on to become Lord Mayor of Belfast
The Lord Mayor of Belfast is the leader and chairperson of Belfast City Council, elected annually from and by the City's 60 councillors. The Lord Mayor also serves as the representative of the city of Belfast, welcoming guests from across the U ...
in 1907.W.A. Maguire, 'Lords and landlords - the Donegall Family' in J.C. Beckett '' et al.'', ''Belfast: The Making of the City'', p. 39. Lagan Books, Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, 2003 (originally published by The Appletree Press, Belfast, 1983).David Cannadine
Sir David Nicholas Cannadine (born 7 September 1950) is a British author and historian who specialises in modern history, Britain and the history of business and philanthropy. He is currently the Dodge Professor of History at Princeton Unive ...
, ''The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy'', p. 563. Penguin Books, London, 2005 (originally published by Yale University Press, London, 1990). He also served as: Lord Lieutenant of Belfast
The Lord Lieutenant of Belfast is the official representative of The King for the 'County Borough of Belfast', Northern Ireland. The current Lord Lieutenant is Dame Fionnuala Mary Jay-O'Boyle, DBE, who was appointed in July 2014. The position ...
from 1904 to 1911; Lord Lieutenant of Antrim
A list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Antrim, located in Northern Ireland.
There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II, when they were renamed governors. G. E. C., ed. Vicary Gibbs, ''The Complete ...
from 1911 to 1916; and Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of The Queen's University of Belfast from 1909 to 1923.
As a young man, Lord Shaftesbury spent much of his time at Belfast Castle, often living there when he was not in London. He and his wife, Constance, Countess of Shaftesbury (1875-1957), were also very involved with charitable causes in Belfast, often holding events in the grounds of Belfast Castle in order to raise money for local charities. It was Lord Shaftesbury who had the Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including th ...
stone staircase added to the garden façade of the castle in 1894. C.E.B. Brett, ''Buildings of Belfast, 1700-1914'', pp. 46-47. Friar's Bush Press, Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, 1985 (paperback, revised edition; originally published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson
Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd (established 1949), often shortened to W&N or Weidenfeld, is a British publisher of fiction and reference books. It has been a division of the French-owned Orion Publishing Group since 1991.
History
George Weidenfeld ...
, London, 1967). The architect of this elaborate, serpentine outdoor staircase is unknown.
The vast country estate
An estate is a large parcel of land under single ownership, which would historically generate income for its owner.
British context
In the UK, historically an estate comprises the houses, outbuildings, supporting farmland, and woods that s ...
s of the Donegall family, which had been inherited by the Shaftesbury family in October 1883, were largely broken up and sold off under The 9th Earl of Shaftesbury during the 1890s and during the first decade of the twentieth century. While the town of Belfast had been sold off by The 3rd Marquess of Donegall back in the 1850s, the Donegall family continued to own a large estate in County Antrim
County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population of ...
and large parts of Inishowen
Inishowen () is a peninsula in the north of County Donegal in Ireland. Inishowen is the largest peninsula on the island of Ireland.
The Inishowen peninsula includes Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head. The Grianan of Aileach, a ringfort ...
until these passed to the Shaftesburys in October 1883. Under the various Land Acts passed by the British Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...
during the 1880s, 1890s and early twentieth century (especially under the Wyndham Land Act of 1903), the huge country estates in Ireland, including those of the Shaftesbury family in Ulster, were broken up and sold off, mainly being sold to the tenant farmers who actually lived on and farmed the land.
In his later years, Lord Shaftesbury spent less and less time at Belfast Castle, particularly after the outbreak of the First World War.''A Pictorial and Descriptive Guide to Belfast and Northern Ireland'' (Seventh Edition - Revised), p. 90. Ward, Lock and Company, London, 1938. Running the castle became ever more of a financial burden to the Shaftesbury family, especially after what remained of their County Antrim estate was sold off, under the terms of the Land Acts, in the 1890s and the years immediately before 1914. The castle and its surrounding demesne
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept ori ...
was eventually gifted to the City of Belfast by Lord Shaftesbury in January 1934.
Belfast Castle and Demesne since 1934
In the years after it was given to the city, there was some debate about what Belfast Castle should be used for. The publicity manager at the time felt that the castle should either be re-purposed into a tea and dance room, or perhaps a museum and art gallery with refreshment rooms. The castle was just the beginning. The publicity manager also made plans for the grounds anddemesne
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept ori ...
to include an open-air theatre, clay pigeon shooting, archery, tennis courts, bowling greens, squash courts, and mini golf. With such an ambitious project, a sub-committee estimated that the minimum possible cost would be £160,000 before considering the cost of employing grounds keepers and the cost of restoring the building.
After the Second World War, a large amount of housing was built on the lands of the Belfast Castle Demesne that bordered the Antrim Road
The Antrim Road is a major arterial route and area of housing and commerce that runs from inner city north Belfast to Dunadry, passing through Newtownabbey and Templepatrick. It forms part of the A6 road, a traffic route which links Belfast to De ...
. These housing estates
A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country.
Popular throughout the United States ...
, all built in the 1950s and 1960s, included Innisfayle Park, Downview Park West and Strathmore Park. The building of these housing estates greatly reduced the castle's demesne in size. To facilitate the building of this housing, almost all of the castle's demesne wall along the Antrim Road was demolished. This construction in the mid-twentieth-century left both the Chapel of the Resurrection and the former Main Gate Lodge marooned in the middle of housing estates, no longer being part of the castle's demesne.
Since 1945, the castle has been a popular venue for weddings, afternoon teas, and other such events.
Chapel of the Resurrection
The Chapel of the Resurrection was also built for The 3rd Marquess of Donegall in the late 1860s, at the same time as the new Belfast Castle.The Mausolea and Monuments Trust: Belfast Castle Mortuary Chapel. http://www.mmtrust.org.uk/mausolea/view/486/Belfast_Castle_Mortuary_Chapel The chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...
was built in the Decorated Gothic
English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...
Natural Stone Database: Buildings - Chapel of the Resurrection, Innisfayle Park, Antrim Road, Belfast. http://www.stonedatabase.com/buildings.cfm?bk=2617 version of the Gothic Revival style and was constructed in the demesne
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept ori ...
of the new castle, just off the Antrim Road
The Antrim Road is a major arterial route and area of housing and commerce that runs from inner city north Belfast to Dunadry, passing through Newtownabbey and Templepatrick. It forms part of the A6 road, a traffic route which links Belfast to De ...
. This Church of Ireland chapel was originally designed and built as a mortuary chapel and new mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consi ...
for the Donegall family, specifically being built as a memorial to Frederick Richard, Earl of Belfast (1827-1853), the son and heir apparent
An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...
of The 3rd Marquess of Donegall. Lord Belfast had died in Naples, aged 25, from scarlatina
Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...
in February 1853. It seems that this small chapel was converted in 1891 into being a family chapel for regular worship, while also remaining as a family mausoleum.
As with Belfast Castle itself, there is some debate over who actually designed the Chapel of the Resurrection. The designs for the chapel came out of the office of Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon
Lanyon, Lynn & Lanyon, Civil Engineers and Architects was a 19th-century firm working mainly in Dublin and Belfast, and the leading architectural firm in Belfast during the 1860s. Its partners were Charles Lanyon, William Henry Lynn, and Charles' ...
. Some architectural historians believe that the chapel, like the castle, was designed by either W.H. Lynn or John Lanyon. C.E.B. Brett, ''Buildings of Belfast, 1700-1914'', p. 47 and p. 47n. Friar's Bush Press, Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, 1985 (paperback, revised edition; originally published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson
Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd (established 1949), often shortened to W&N or Weidenfeld, is a British publisher of fiction and reference books. It has been a division of the French-owned Orion Publishing Group since 1991.
History
George Weidenfeld ...
, London, 1967).
Harriet, Countess
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...
of Shaftesbury (1836-1898), the wife of The 8th Earl of Shaftesbury, later commissioned a sculpture to commemorate her brother, Lord Belfast, and her mother, Harriet, Marchioness
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman w ...
of Donegall (1822-1860), the daughter of The 1st Earl of Glengall and the first wife of The 3rd Marquess of Donegall. The sculpture, which was originally located in the Chapel of the Resurrection, was carved in white marble, and it depicts the young Lord Belfast lying on a sofa, dying from scarlatina, being mourned by his lace-capped mother, Lady Donegall. The sculpture was carved by Patrick McDowell, R.A., the well-known Belfast artist. Following the closure of the chapel in 1972, the sculpture was moved to the foyer of Belfast City Hall
Belfast City Hall ( ga, Halla na Cathrach Bhéal Feirste; Ulster-Scots: ''Bilfawst Citie Haw'') is the civic building of Belfast City Council located in Donegall Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It faces North and effectively divides the com ...
, where it remains ''in situ
''In situ'' (; often not italicized in English) is a Latin phrase that translates literally to "on site" or "in position." It can mean "locally", "on site", "on the premises", or "in place" to describe where an event takes place and is used in ...
''.
The Chapel of the Resurrection, like Belfast Castle and the rest of its surrounding demesne, was inherited by the Shaftesbury family in October 1883. The chapel ceased to be privately owned in 1938, when The 9th Earl of Shaftesbury handed the chapel over to the Church of Ireland Diocese of Down, Connor and Dromore, after which the building was used for public worship. In January 1945, the Church of Ireland Diocese of Connor replaced the Diocese of Down, Connor and Dromore in this part of Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
.
In the aftermath of the Second World War, the chapel and the lands surrounding it were detached from the Belfast Castle Demesne. These lands were redeveloped as housing estates
A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country.
Popular throughout the United States ...
, mainly in the 1950s and 1960s, leaving the chapel marooned in the middle of these new estates. The last service in the chapel was held in 1972, after which the building was closed. Following its closure, the chapel suffered extensive vandalism throughout the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and first two decades of the twenty-first-century, with all of the glass in the building's windows either being removed or destroyed. The graves of the deceased in the chapel were also desecrated by vandals during these years.
Having been derelict for almost fifty years, the chapel was eventually converted into luxury flats, with work being completed in 2020. Now called The Chapel, the building is part of a new housing development called Donegall Park Gardens, just off Innisfayle Park.
Main Gate Lodge
The Gate Lodge at what was formerly the main entrance into the Belfast CastleDemesne
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept ori ...
still stands. Designed by John Lanyon, the son and business partner of Sir Charles Lanyon, the Gate Lodge is located on the Antrim Road
The Antrim Road is a major arterial route and area of housing and commerce that runs from inner city north Belfast to Dunadry, passing through Newtownabbey and Templepatrick. It forms part of the A6 road, a traffic route which links Belfast to De ...
.J.A.K. Dean, ''The Gate Lodges of Ulster: A Gazetteer'', frontispiece and title page and p. 4. Ulster Architectural Heritage Society
Ulster Architectural Heritage Society was founded "to promote appreciation and enjoyment of good architecture of all periods and encourage the conservation, restoration and re-use of Ulster's built heritage to regenerate and sustain our communitie ...
(U.A.H.S.), Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, 1994. It has been described by the architectural historian Dixie Dean as a 'High Victorian Picturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin (clergyman), William Gilpin in ''Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made ...
essay'. The lodge was principally designed and built in the Scots Baronial
Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th century Gothic Revival which revived the forms and ornaments of historical architecture of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Reminiscent of Sco ...
style, just like Belfast Castle itself, and was constructed for The 3rd Marquess of Donegall in the late 1860s, at the same time as both the castle and the Chapel of the Resurrection.
The lodge was built in uncoursed squared quarry-faced sandstone, honey coloured with pink ashlar
Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
dressings.J.A.K. Dean, ''The Gate Lodges of Ulster: A Gazetteer'', p. 5. Ulster Architectural Heritage Society
Ulster Architectural Heritage Society was founded "to promote appreciation and enjoyment of good architecture of all periods and encourage the conservation, restoration and re-use of Ulster's built heritage to regenerate and sustain our communitie ...
(U.A.H.S.), Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, 1994. The grand, octagonal
In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon.
A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t ...
stone carriageway piers that once stood to one side of the Gate Lodge were demolished in the mid-twentieth century, as was the attached wall surrounding the demesne. The Gate Lodge is now occupied by a dental practice, and is located where Strathmore Park meets the Antrim Road. Like the former Chapel of the Resurrection, the Gate Lodge is now surrounded by modern housing and is no longer part of the present-day Belfast Castle Demesne.
Location
Belfast Castle is located 400 feet (121.92 metres) above sea level on Cave Hill, overlookingBelfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
in County Antrim
County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population of ...
in the east of Ulster.
Facilities
Belfast Castle is open to the public daily with a visitor centre, antique shop, Millennium Herb Garden, restaurant, and a playground. Visitors can see a bedroom, set up in the style of the 1920s, so visitors can see a 'snapshot in time' of what the castle looked like at the end of its life as a private residence. TheCavehill
Cave Hill or Cavehill is a rocky hill overlooking the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland, with a height of . It is marked by basalt cliffs and caves, and its distinguishing feature is 'Napoleon's Nose', a tall cliff which resembles the profile ...
Visitor Centre is located inside the castle.
While it is open to the public daily, reservations can be made for a private room to host weddings, business meetings, and parties.
Structure
Since the construction of the current Belfast Castle in the late 1860s, its sandstone walls and towers have been restored. The castle was designed and built in the Victorian version of the Scots Baronial style, which was an architectural style that originally developed out of French-inspiredGothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
styles during the Renaissance in Scotland in the sixteenth century. Scots Baronial style castles were typically built on asymmetrical plans and included high roofs, towers, and turrets to display the owner's status. The new Belfast Castle was constructed in the late 1860s using pink Scrabo sandstone from near Newtownards in the north of County Down
County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to th ...
, along with Giffnock
Giffnock (; sco, Giffnock; gd, Giofnag, ) is a town and the administrative centre of East Renfrewshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland.
It lies east of Barrhead, east-southeast of Paisley and northwest of East Kilbride, at the sout ...
sandstone dressings from Renfrewshire and a rock-faced basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...
plinth.
One of the castle's most iconic features is the winding stone staircase on the garden façade, whose greyish-brown colour stands out against the burnt sienna sandstone and brick red detail. This serpentine outdoor staircase was installed for The 9th Earl of Shaftesbury in 1894.
As in the twentieth-century, many of the rooms have been turned into public tea rooms or are available to be reserved for private functions.
Restoration
Belfast Castle was closed in 1978 for a restoration and refurbishing effort. The architecture partnership of Hewitt and Haslam oversaw and carried out the over £2 million project, with the castle anddemesne
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept ori ...
reopening on Armistice Day
Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, Fr ...
, 11 November 1988. Since then, it has once again become a popular spot for weddings and other celebrations as well as for business meetings.
Another example of events held at the castle was the 2015 Belfast Castle Hospice Walk, held by the Northern Ireland Hospice to benefit local charities and those living with terminal illnesses.
The castle underwent another round of refurbishment in May 2003.
References
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Belfast Parks in Belfast Gardens in Belfast Castles in County Antrim Scottish baronial architecture Gothic Revival architecture in Northern Ireland Tourist attractions in Belfast Grade B+ listed buildings Register of Parks, Gardens and Demesnes of Special Historic Interest