Clifton House Belfast

02/06/2026

Volunteers are vital for the delivery of our many tours and talks throughout the year.
We can't thank our volunteer team enough for giving up their precious time and energy for us. Their passion, enthusiasm and knowledge shines through in all that they do, and there is no doubt they are the reason our tours get 5* reviews from our visitors every single time.

If you would like to join our lovely volunteer team at Clifton House, please visit CliftonBelfast.com/volunteer for more information and to contact us.

01/06/2026

Thank you Irish News.

Read more in today's issue about the Belfast Charitable Society and its work in creating infrastructure for a safer, cleaner Belfast.

Thanks again to the Irish News for the fantastic feature in today's paper, which charts the developments in Belfast.

"The poor of Belfast were always at the forefront of the Society’s endeavours. It believed they had the same right to live in a clean environment, to work and be educated, to access medical care and fresh water; an ethos it still follows today. The impact of the changes it made to everyday life in Belfast in the late 18th and early 19th centuries cannot be overestimated. From piped water to clean, well-lit streets, the town became a better place to live for all its inhabitants, regardless of their social standing. The various projects created jobs and introduced the first real sense of civic pride in the burgeoning town."

Pick up your copy today or read online with your Irish News subscription here: www.irishnews.com/entertainment/how-belfast-charitable-society-brought-piped-water-and-street-lighting-to-belfast-YM7JU36CUNBNDF2PEL2DPO7FOU/

Clifton House Belfast Northern Ireland Water

01/06/2026

We’ve got a fantastic line-up of events this month at Clifton House!

Join us on 25 June at 7pm when GreatPlace North Belfast ’s James Cromey explores the fascinating history of hospitals, philanthropy, and medical care in North Belfast.

We also have plenty of guided and self-guided tours throughout the month, including this weekend’s Hero of Belfast: Mary Ann McCracken walking tour.

For more information and tickets, visit: https://cliftonbelfast.com/events/

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31/05/2026

**Self-guided opening times**

This week Clifton House will open for self-guided tours on:

- Monday 1 June, 9.30am - 3pm
- Thursday 4 June, 9.30am - 3pm
- Friday 5 June, 9.30am - 12noon
- Sunday 7 June, 10.30am - 12.30pm

This is a 30 minute experience where you will hear tales of the characters of the Belfast Poor House, and learn more about the formidable Mary Ann McCracken.
Tickets: £5pp

Mary Ann's Poor House Tales - Book online via https://cliftonbelfast.com/events/mary-anns-poor-house-tales-self-guided-tour/ or pop in and pay on the door.

29/05/2026

By 1830, a new site for the Lying-In Hospital was required and Belfast Charitable Society gave the hospital a site on the opposite side of Clifton Street. Dr William Burden, who had been Professor of Midwifery at Inst and later Queen’s College, fought a running battle for students to attend the Lying-In Hospital for study, finally succeeding in 1852.

The Clifton Street Maternity Hospital was ultimately replaced by one in Townsend Street in 1904, and then finally by the present Royal Maternity Hospital in 1933.

29/05/2026

In late 1793 a meeting of Belfast ladies was held to establish a new charity called the Humane Society for the Relief of Lying-In Women where Martha McTier was voted in as the first Honorary Secretary of the Committee. She wrote at once to her brother, Dr William Drennan, in Dublin for advice, as he was an obstetrician by profession. In his careful response he informers her:

‘…the great advice is cleanliness and frequent washing. Simple water is the sovereign remedy… when used frequently and properly… WASH AND BE CLEAN should be the motto over the door of every hospital.’

At the meeting where Martha was appointed, the ladies wrote to the Belfast Charitable Society to consider letting them have the use of some rooms in the Poor House for the maternity hospital. It was an unkind turn of fate that Martha’s husband was the chairman at the Belfast Charitable Society meeting that refused their request due to the number of aged and infirm inmates in the sections of the building they had requested the use of.

By January 1794 they had rented a house at the lower end of Donegall Street, now a bakery. The Poor House agreed to provide the Lying-In Hospital with water, coffins and a place to bury those who sadly passed away in Clifton Street Cemetery when it opened in 1797.

28/05/2026

Many thanks to Dr Robyn Atcheson for her excellent talk last night at Clifton House on famine diseases in 19th Century Belfast!

Join us for our next talk on Thursday 25th June at 7pm, when GreatPlace North Belfast 's James Cromey will be telling us how North Belfast was at the forefront of keeping Belfast’s citizens healthy during the 19th & 20th Centuries.

For more info & tickets visit: https://visitbelfast.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873685361

28/05/2026

Born in Belfast in 1754, Dr William Drennan played a major role in shaping medicine and healthcare in the town. Drennan not only gave his time to the Poor House when he was resident in Belfast, but he was also included in the list of original subscribers the year the Poor House opened.

In March 1782 Dr Drennan, following in Dr Stevenson’s footsteps, ‘produced & read before the Board (of the BCS) a paper’ setting forth a form of public inoculation scheme against smallpox which he was willing to introduce into the Poor House. Belfast Charitable Society agreed to his request and the scheme was duly carried out - minute books from June 1782 have recorded thanks to Drennan for undertaking this work.

Drennan’s efforts appear all the more remarkable when you realise that it was not until 1798 that Edward Jenner published his cow pox vaccine as an effective method of preventing smallpox.

If you want to learn more about William Drennan why not come on our Clifton St Cemetery tours this weekend and see his grave. For info and tickets visit: https://cliftonhousebelfast.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873643966

26/05/2026

We have a few remaining in-person tickets available for tomorrow night’s fascinating talk at Clifton House.

Hunger, Cholera & Plague-breath: Dealing with Famine Diseases in Belfast by Dr Robyn Atcheson - Historian explores how Belfast faced the devastating outbreaks of famine disease in the 1840s, from cholera to typhus, and the lasting impact they left on the city.

Where: Clifton House, 2 North Queen Street, Belfast OR Online via Zoom
When: Wednesday 27 May at 7pm - 8pm

Booking link will close tomorrow at 12noon. Visit www.CliftonBelfast.com.

25/05/2026

View from above!

Clifton Street Cemetery reveals centuries of Belfast history, relatively hidden within the streets of North Belfast. So it was so lovely to be sent this drone photograph which really shows what a beautiful space it is too!

Opened in 1797, the cemetery is the resting place of radicals, reformers, industrial giants and thousands of ordinary Belfast citizens. All human life rests in Clifton Street Cemetery. Join us for a guided tour and uncover the history behind the walls.

Tickets still available for our next tour on Friday 29 May and Saturday 30 May.
Book now via https://cliftonbelfast.com/events/clifton-street-cemetery-tours/