Lisburn Road is a main arterial route linking

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 ...

and

Lisburn Lisburn ( ; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with t ...

, Northern Ireland. The Lisburn Road is now an extension of the " Golden Mile" with many shops, boutiques, wine bars, restaurants and coffee houses. The road runs almost parallel to the Malone Road, the two being joined by many side roads. It is a busy traffic route without much strong architectural character. Most of the housing is made up of red-brick terraces, some with alterations. Some buildings along the road, however, are considered to be architecturally important and interesting.Larmour, P. 1991. "The Architectural Heritage of Malone and Stranmillis." Ulster Architectural Heritage Society. Lisburn Road itself begins at the nearby Bradbury Place and runs to Balmoral Avenue, beyond which it becomes Upper Lisburn Road. The Upper Lisburn Road extends south to reach Finaghy, at which point it becomes Kingsway and then in

Dunmurry Dunmurry (; ) is a suburb, suburban town and townland near Belfast, Northern Ireland. Dunmurry is in the Collin (District Electoral Area), Collin electoral ward for the Local government in Northern Ireland, local government district of Belfast C ...

it becomes Queensway, before finally becoming the Belfast Road in

History

The first record of the development of the Lisburn Road was when a property developer offered land for development 'West of the Lisburn Road' on 6 April 1813. His advert was placed in ''

The News Letter The ''News Letter'' is one of Northern Ireland's main daily newspapers, published from Monday to Saturday. It is the world's oldest English-language general daily newspaper still in publication, having first been printed in September 1737. The ...

'' on that date. The track that initially existed here developed and expanded, until pressure grew for a faster turnpike road to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, to avoid the Malone Road hills and valleys. During 1817–1819 this road improvement scheme was implemented. The post office and toll booth stood, conveniently, at Shaftesbury Square, and presumably served both turnpike roads. At the top of Tate's Avenue, on the Lisburn Road side of the junction a second booth was in existence in 1857. One year later the toll business was abandoned, as the trains had taken over. Shopping habits have changed and the shopping population has moved from Shaftesbury Square, along the Lisburn Road. Lisburn Road attracted shops and the nearby Malone Road was left residential.Weatherall. 2002. ''South Belfast Terrace and Villa.'' Cottage Publications. Queen's University is nearby, and there are a high number of expensive shops and restaurants, most of which are located at the upper end of the road. The Belfast City Hospital and the Queen's University Medical Biological Centre are also located on the road.

Racist attacks

In June 2009, having had their windows broken and deaths threats made against them, twenty Romanian Romani families were ejected from their homes in Lisburn Road. Up to 115 people, including women and children, were forced to seek refuge in a local church hall after being attacked. They were later moved by the authorities to a safer location. As a result of petty thefts gypsies were told to leave, they spent one night at QUB Elms Village at a cost of 40 pounds per room. Following the arrest of three local youths in relation to the attacks, the church where the Romani people had been given shelter was badly vandalised. Niall Colton and Kevin Briggs, who both attended QUB at the time of the attack, received police cautions after admitting vandalism of the Church. Police however stated that the vandalism was not racially motivated.

Landmarks

Notable landmarks along Lisburn Road include: * Drumglass Park * Belfast City Hospital * The Samaritan Hospital, Belfast *

Methodist College Belfast Methodist College Belfast (MCB), locally known as Methody, is a co-educational voluntary grammar school in Belfast, located at the foot of the Malone Road, Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1865 by the Methodist Church in Ireland and is one of e ...

(which also fronts the Malone Road) *Belfast Chinese Christian Church * Windsor Park football ground *

King's Hall, Belfast The King's Hall was a multi-purpose venue located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The King's Hall consisted of 6 event venues. The King's Hall is owned by the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society (RUAS) (previously the North East Agricultural Associ ...

(Former Exhibition and Concert Venue) *Belfast Hypnotherapy Centre

Churches

* Malone Presbyterian Church *Windsor Presbyterian Church *Saint Nicholas' Church of Ireland, built in 1901 * St Thomas' Church of Ireland *Lisburn Road Methodist Church, designed in 1906Lamour, P. 1987. ''Belfast An Illustrated Architectural Guide.'' Friar's Bush Press, . *Ulsterville Congregation Presbyterian *St. Brigids Church, Diocese of Down and Connor, Derryvolgie Avenue

Wildlife

A sparrowhawk ('' Accipiter nisus'') catching a sparrow (''

Passer domesticus The house sparrow (''Passer domesticus'') is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pale brown and grey, ...

'') has been recorded from the Lisburn Road.

Railway stations

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

* Balmoral * City Hospital

Deaf and Dumb Institute

The Deaf and Dumb Institute was built in 1845 and demolished in 1965, the site is now occupied by Queen's Medical Biology Centre. It was a well-designed and well built building.Nesbitt, N. 1982 ''The Changing Face of Belfast.'' Ulster Museum, Belfast. Publication No. 183

Toilets

There are public toilets in Drumglass Park. Belfast City Park – ''Belfast City Council'' Drumglass Park.

Library

Lisburn Road,440 Lisburn Road:- WWW.Librariesni.org.uk

References

External links

* {{coord, 54.57007, N, 5.96412, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Streets in Belfast Roads in Northern Ireland Shopping streets in the United Kingdom