The year 1818 was one of famine, fever and poverty. The conditions in the town drove many people to desperate actions in order to survive. Mr Mills, Church Warden, reported to the Belfast Charitable Society about an usual occurrence a few days before in October 1818. The minutes record:
“a rap came to his door and […]
The home of Belfast’s original Poor House, Clifton House, was the focus for further discussions in conjunction with the World Health Organisation (WHO) Healthy Cities Conference in Belfast on Wednesday 3rd October.
Attendees of the conference took the time to visit this historic building and to learn about the origins of health in the city of […]
Following on from our successful Spring Lecture Series, the Belfast Charitable Society are proud to announce that a second Autumn Series has been confirmed. The series is entitled ‘Shared History & Contested Events’ examining some of the key personalities and events in the centenary year of Armistice Day and the pivitol 1918 General Election. The […]
Belfast Charitable Society is set to give Belfast’s tourism industry a boost as it launches Northern Ireland’s first White Badge accredited tour guide training, which has been made possible through the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Raising the professional standards of tour guides in Belfast and beyond, Belfast Charitable Society has been named as the […]
The Belfast Charitable Society faced many hurdles in raising the money to build the Poor House, but by October 1768 they were in a position to start collecting material to begin construction. The Charitable Society were extremely grateful to the philanthropic individuals who continued to support the work of the Society after the initial lottery […]
Did you happen to watch the Antiques Roadshow last night? Paula Reynolds, Belfast Charitable Society CEO, brought along one of our original water pipes for the experts to look at. The Belfast Charitable Society was responsible for bringing water into Belfast from 1790-1840. The water pipe may not have much monetary value, but the history associated […]
By the outbreak of the First World War the old Poor House had been an old peoples home for some 32 years. However, this did not put off the older residents doing their part for the war effort.
One resident in particular, Walter F. Element, was keen to help out the military in whatever capacity he […]
When the Ladies Committee was set up, Mary Ann McCracken was one of the first to join. Mary Ann’s family had been involved in raising the money to construct the Poor House, and designing the building itself. However, Mary Ann was particularly interested in the welfare of the children.
Mary Ann had big dreams for these […]
The original ‘Bank Buildings’ were constructed by Waddell Cunningham in the 1780s at the top of High Street, known as Castle Place. Waddell is an infamous character in the history of Belfast. He served on the Board of the Belfast Charitable Society, helping to run the Poor House. Waddell was extremely generous with his money […]
Three years before, back in 1815 a volcano in modern Indonesia, Mount Tambora, erupted throwing plumes of ash and gas into the atmosphere which encircled the entire globe. The environmental impact of the eruption was so great that 1816 went down in history as the ‘Year of No Summer’. Back in Ireland crops failed and […]
