Belfast Street Names Then And Now
By Joe Graham
Royal Avenue was once called Hercules Street after Hercules Langford,
Hercules Street was first called Herison’s Lean.
Squeeze Gut Entry was a lane between Bank Lane and Castle Street
Royal Avenue, Belfast, (top end) was once called John Street.
Fountain Lane, Belfast , was called Water Lane, once the site of natural springs .
Castle Street , Belfast, (upper part) was once called Mill Street.
Corn Market Belfast was once called The Shambles.
Sandy Row Belfast was originally called“Carr’s Row ”.
Neeson’s Court , changed it’s name to Burns Court it was a
little Entry running from King Street to Hamill Street.
Marquis Street was formerly called Ferguson’s Lane.
Antrim Road, Belfast, (lower part) was once called Duncairn Street.
Library Street, was originally known as “Casper Curry’s Meadow”
and was the site for “Pepper Hill Steps”.
North Street. Belfast, was once called Goose Lane,
Victoria Street (lower end) was Cow Lane, along which cattle were drove to Points Fields
at the end of Corporation Street, the drovers were known as “Cow Wallopers”
The famous Belfast Hardman, Silver McKee” was a Cow Wallopher.
Gresham Street, Old Belfast, was originally Hudson’s Entry .. and Lane
Kent Street ,Belfast, was originally called Margaret Street and houses there
rented for two shillings a week, also the first “Ragged School” opened there.
Chapel Lane (Old Belfast) was earlier called Crooked lane.
Eliza Street , Emelia , Charlotte, and Arthur Streets thought to be named
after the children of The first Marquis Of Donegall.
Donegall Pass, Belfast, is said to be so named as it was a permitted “pass”, through wooded land owned by the Marquis, streets there, Elm, Pine, etc, named after the types of trees to be found in this once heavily wooded area.
Garfield Street,(Old Belfast), was originally Bell’s Lane (named after the brewery)
Whiterock Road, , was formerly known as Sinclairs Loanan. (lane)
Ardoyne Road once housed “Ardoyne Village”, Ardoyne Road was then “Lane”.
Exchange Street was originally called Green Street ( after Robert Green)
Robert Street in old Half Bap was changed to Exchange Street West.
(A brutal murder took place at 38 Robert Street in 1888 , Arthur McKeown murdered his common - law wife.)
Manor Street, Belfast, was originally Cabul Street . (Kabul?)
Howard Street was originally Henrietta Street
“Ardoyne” area, from the Gaelic, built on ancient Ardoyne townland.
Raphael Street was in the old Market area, it is said a strange ghostly events happened here, debris would blow violently about the street yet it could be on the calmest day, no hint of a wind.
Grosvenor Road Belfast,was once known as Grosvenor Street.
Spamount Street New Lodge Belfast was named after a house that sat on the Old Carrick Road ( which later became known as North Queen street).
Farrington Gardens was originally called Ardglen Gardens.
Holmdene Gardens was firstly called Glenard Drive.
Northwick Drive was first called Ardglen Drive.
Highbury Gardens was formerly Glenard Gardens.
Etna Drive (Ardoyne Belfast) was Ardglen Crescent
Stratford Gardens Ardoyne Belfast was originally Ardglen Park
Ladbrook Drive Ardoyne Belfast was earlier called Glenard Gardens.
Strathroy Park. Ardoyne Belfast. was first called Glenard Parade.
Velsheda Park was originally Ardglen Park. Fort Street (Springfield Avenue ) was originally Fortune Street and in recent years nicknamed“Sooty Street”. the street was infamous in earlier years as being prone to flooding. Berwick Road (Ardoyne) was earlier Ardglen Parade.
Seaforde Street was originally called Chapel Lane
Dunedin Park was earlier called Glenard Drive.
Brompton Park , part of, called Glenard Park, other , Ardoyne Avenue
Winetavern Street was known as Pipe Lane, Clay Pipe manufacturing.
Other streets long gone by Winetavern Street were Winetavern Street Place, Duffin’s Court, Laws Entry and more recently Samuel Street.
“Gooseberry Corner” was in Ballymacarret.
Springfield Avenue was once Elliott’s Row, was earlier called Goats Row.
Louisa Street (Oldpark) was formerly called Brooklyn Street.
Caddell’s Entry, Belfast, shown on 1791Belfast map as running between Castle Place and Rosemary Street Belfast
Legg’s Lane tore down to make way for Lombard Street.
Bullers Field for long well known as a grazing area, was built up on to make houses for what
Albert Street was Brogan Lane, Brogan Row, Albert Crescent, then Albert Street. The lower end of this street was meadowland and pasture.
Malcomson Street was built on site of Malcomson’s Mill.
Falls Road Belfast, named after the district it led to, and later extraordinarily led from,
Lettuce Hill, was in old“Falls” Area , when redeveloped renamed John Street.
Richard Turley, a resident of 12 Lettuce Hill, was fireman on the fateful “Titantic“, and lost his life in that tragedy.
Paradise Row, was in old “Falls” area close to Barracks Street.
“The Falls”, was the area around junction of Millfield and Hamill Street .
Townsend street. named as the then end of urban town.
Glenwood Street, School. Etc derive their names from John Cunningham’s “Glenwood Corn Mill”, Upper Shankill.
John Street named after John Hamill, family buried at Hannastown .
Sorrella Street named after the“Sorella Trust“ set up to maintain Dunville Park.
Distillery Street, named through proximity to Dunvilles Whiskey Distillery site.
Leopold Street. (Crumlin Road) at one time was called“Quality Row”
Stanfield Street was formerly known as River street
New Lodge Road built roughly on old site of“Pinkerton Row”
Skipper Street, sea faring link to this, the earliest“Sailortown”, of Belfast.
Ballymurphy Estate, built part on the ancient“Townland of Murphy”
Pound Street, Divis Street, built on site of lane that led to town’s old animal pound.
“TEETOTAL HALL”, was a Smithfield charity establishment in ‘mid 1800’s where homeless men and women could drop in for affordable meals.
Little stream that flowed through the area at Durham Street was called ,“The Pound Burn” , was covered in in early 1970’s
Snugville Street, Shankill, got its name from the site of the home“Snugville” of Edward Walkington, Druggist.
Oman, Sevastopol, Balaclava Streets named after Crimean battles mid 1800’s.
“The Hammer” district, an old Shankill area at Agnes Street, now redeveloped. The district got its name from "The Sledge Hammer Park, home for a local football team.
“The Nick”, Belfast, an old Shankill area named through a local street , Nixon Street, redeveloped mid 1960’s,
“The Fenian Gut”, old district near Gallagher’s factory, now gone.
“The Alley”, very loyalist old York Street district, 20’s troubles, Buck Alec Robinson's domain. Buck Alec, was an infamous loyalist gunman during the 1920's, also a "Special", he is recorded in 'official' documents at having murdered many people, yet never faced a court on a murder charge, in fact was given a commendation by the Governor, for "his good police work". huh??, he was also involved in the 1930's troubles. Buck Alex Robinson also kept greyhounds, and boxed and wrestled at fair ground booths. and I am sure you are tired off hearing 'historians' write of his later escapades, as they protray this ruthless gunman and bomber as some sort of quaint little character. when he walked a toothless lion around Belfast.
“Sailortown” Belfast, dockland area settled around Corporation Street now redeveloped
Short Strand, the east strand between the Queens and Albert Bridges.
“The Market”, very old district centred around Belfast abattoir and farm markets.
Lancaster street, named after Quaker School/ educational system founded there.
“Iveagh,” area built at old Broadway Village, named after the Iveagh Trust.
Iveagh Crescent, Falls Road, was originally called Celtic Parade.
Hector Street (Half Bap) originally called Caxton Street.
“McCances’ Glen” named from the land owner John McCance.
Suffolk area, West Belfast, built on site of Suffolk House and land, home of the McCance’s family, John McCance had been Mayor of Belfast.
“Springhill“, modern area named after an a once nearby ancient “Clachan” , which was close to “Molly‘s Well“ at the top of the Mountain Loney, now called Upper Whiterock Road..
Kane Street (Clonard) was firstly known as Aboo Street.
“Turf Lodge” named after “Turf Lodge Farm” on which land the estate is built.
NewBarnsley, named after a local Clachan sadly burned down in recent troubles. This little row of cottages were at the corner of Springfield park, and in the early years of Ballymurphy, it was also the end of the line for the local bus service, The Terminus". The fields behind the row of cottages were "Brown's Fields", Brown was a local bleaching Green owner and Farmer. His fields in latter years were let to John Gordon for grazing his dairy cattle.
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