Annadale Grammar School for Boys was an all-boys school located on the Annadale Embankment skirting the River Lagan in south

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. In 1990, Annadale Grammar School (all boys) amalgamated with Carolan Grammar School (all girls) and became known as Wellington College Belfast.

Name

The name "Annadale" originated from Anne Hill (later, briefly, Anne Hill-Trevor), mother of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

The 1st Duke of Wellington. Wellington's maternal grandfather, Arthur Hill (later created, in 1766, the 1st Viscount Dungannon), lived at Belvoir House on the Belvoir Estate near Knockbreda and had married Anne Stafford in 1737. They bore three children, a boy and two girls. In 1759, their eldest daughter, Anne, married the then 2nd Baron Mornington (who, in 1760, was created the 1st Earl of Mornington) and herself bore two sons and a daughter – Penelope Prudence,

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

and Arthur, the future

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

. The site on which the school was built was originally known as Anna's Dale, a name referred to in letters from the Duke to his mother which are now held by the school. The school also possesses an oil painting of the area as it was at the time of Wellington and reputedly shows the famous Molly Ward's Tavern, an important meeting place during the time of the

United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association, formed in the wake of the French Revolution, to secure Representative democracy, representative government in Ireland. Despairing of constitutional reform, and in defiance both of British ...

Badge

Annadale Grammar School colours were red, black and white. The school badge, worn on the breast pocket of the black school blazer, was the "

cockatrice A cockatrice is a mythical beast, essentially a two-legged dragon, wyvern, or snake, serpent-like creature with a rooster's head. Described by Laurence Breiner as "an ornament in the drama and poetry of the Elizabethans", it was featured promine ...

" which is associated with the Duke of Wellington's coats of arms. Until its amalgamation in 2006 the cockatrice provided the Regimental capbadge of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment. It remains on the capbadge of the contemporary

Yorkshire Regiment The Royal Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) (abbreviated R YORKS) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, created by the amalgamation of three historic regiments in 2006. It lost one battalion as part of the Future of ...

. The school motto was "Virtus Fortunae Comes" meaning " Fortune favours the brave" – Wellington's motto. The school song was "De Brevitate Vitae (On the Shortness of Life)", perhaps more commonly known by its first words " Gaudeamus Igitur (Let Us Therefore Rejoice)". This is a very old and popular academic song in many European countries. The four school houses were named after Irish generals in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(all of them Ulstermen or of

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

origin):

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

; Alanbrooke;

Dill Dill (''Anethum graveolens'') is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is native to North Africa, Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula; it is grown widely in Eurasia, where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring ...

; Montgomery.

External links

Wellington College Belfast website
{{Authority control Grammar schools in Belfast Educational institutions disestablished in 1990 Boys' schools in Northern Ireland Wellington College Belfast 1990 disestablishments in Northern Ireland