NEW IN CQ | A HISTORY OF POETRY IN THE QUARTER | 18TH CENTURY CQ | PRIDE PHOTOS | WHAT’S ON
QUARTER BEAT Monthly News & Listings for Belfast’s Cultural Quarter
www.thecathedralquarter.com
#7 ISSUE
AUG 2013
RENEWED IN CQ Hilary Copeland reports on a summer of change as new cafés restaurants and bars rejuvenate older buildings in the quarter.
The local papers hailed it ‘an end of an era’ when one of the founding fathers of the Cathedral Quarter, Nick Price, announced he was closing his popular restaurant, Nick’s Warehouse, at the end of June this year. Located on Hill Street since 1989, Nick Price took a chance on an old whiskey warehouse in an area of the city that at the time was mostly frequented by pigeons. In the late 1980s the Troubles were still widespread, people were reluctant to go out and the words ‘night-time economy’ mere wishful thinking for City Hall. Understandably, many people at the time questioned Price’s decision to open Belfast’s first wine bar and brasserie in the midst of derelict stores and warehouses. “It was a desolate sort of place, with falling down warehouses and badly lit at night. It was very uninviting. Night-time was very lonely for a long time – no one wanted to go out there.” But the risk paid off and Nick’s Warehouse revolutionised dining in Belfast. Meals out became more casual, more off the cuff, and more relaxed. “There had never been a proper wine bar in Belfast, because you needed a pub licence. It was a concept I had seen when I worked in Manchester and I could see it would work in a similar sort of environment back home. “We were really a bar with wine and food – it made the difference that you were not obliged to eat. It brought a different attitude to going out.” The decision to close Nick’s Warehouse last month, after 24 years in business, was a tough one, but Price is pragmatic about his
move out of the area at a time when many new projects are moving in. The Victorian-era warehouse building has been bought by Duke of York owner Willie Jack, who plans to open a live music venue in the space. “I’m delighted Willie has bought it, for a more enthusiastic and vibrant supporter of the area couldn’t be found. He runs a good ship.” Jack is not the only Cathedral Quarter entrepreneur who is expanding further in the area, with Beannchor hotel and bar mogul Bill Wolsey announcing a £700,000 investment in a new café in the former National Bank building on High Street, with a patisserie next door. Wolsey appreciates the unique offerings of the Cathedral Quarter. “I think that Cathedral Quarter is a very special area in terms of both culture and history. It is vital that it is retained as a conservation area and that the city planners appreciate the importance of this and do not allow the architectural heritage within the quarter to be eroded.” It’s clear the architecture of the locale is a big factor in Wolsey’s choice of location. Former home to the Bank of Ireland, the five-storey listed building was built in 1890 and its terracotta and red-brick exterior has remained intact to this day. With its wealthy historical lineage and ornate architecture, the National Bank building bears the hallmarks of a project to entice the man who transformed the former Ulster Bank headquarters on Waring Street into the five-star Merchant Hotel. “The look and feel of the bar is one of both pared down industrial (with the original ceiling left exposed, for example) with light and airy comfort. The building is grade b listed, allowing for a complete overhaul of the ground floor façade.” Styled as a continental café bar and beer garden, the National Grande Café Bar is due to open in September 2013, with a club to follow in 2014. It was Wolsey’s purchase of the Ulster Bank building in 2006 that is credited as a turning point in the fortunes of the Cathedral Quarter. As Nick Price puts it, “it’s taken 23 years for us to get to where we are, and it only gathered momentum when something really momentous happened. Bill Wolsey buying the bank was a major change, it really gave the Cathedral Quarter an anchor tenant. Wolsey’s investment is further proof that the old industrial and commercial heritage of the area is worth
Quarter Beat August 2013, Issue 7 Published by Cathedral Quarter Trust 3-5 Commercial Court, Belfast BT1 2NB 028 9031 4011 | info@cqtrust.org Design by Rinky | rinky.org Illustration by David McMillan | davidjmcmillan.co.uk
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preserving in an age when the new commerces of tourism and hospitality are emerging. Today, in a lingering recession and with businesses closing across Belfast on a near-daily basis, the promise of new jobs coming to the city centre is a vital boost. The current economic climate has not deterred established restauranteurs Niall and Joanne McKenna from expanding their successful James St South operation. After considering a number of potential locations, including the Titanic Quarter, the team have recently announced news of a new project opening in the premises previously occupied by Printers in Commercial Court. “A move here has been on the cards for years, we’ve been looking at a number of sites for a long time”, says Niall McKenna. “It’s important we fit in; the feel and look of the place will mirror the Cathedral Quarter. We’re looking at names at the moment and feel it has to be named after a connection to the building or the local area”. A move away from the upscale and more formal dining of the flagship James St South restaurant, the McKennas are planning a more casual, relaxed venue, open seven days a week but still adhering to the high standards they have become renowned for. Continued on page 2.
Continued from page 1 “We’re going to utilise the long narrow style of the original building, with restaurant seating inside, at the bar, and outside along Commercial Court” says Niall McKenna. The mix of an appealing historical area coupled with a dynamic, creative energy of the Cathedral Quarter seems to be key in attracting investment from the hospitality industry. Hot on the heels of the McKenna’s announcement comes news that Love & Death Inc co-founders Anthony Farrell and Brian McGeown are to take over The Deer’s Head pub on Lower Garfield Street. The traditional pub grub beloved of regulars to the ‘imbibing emporium’ will be replaced by a tribute to the 19th century Belle Époque movement. Built in 1885, heritage of the building was a direct influence on the
duo’s decision to create a period concept bar. “The more time we spent in it, the more we fell in love with the features of the building. The history of the pub has basically dictated the brand and our future plans for the place”, explained Anthony Farrell. With the full rebrand due to be launched in August 2013, we can exclusively reveal that the new venue will be named Aether & Echo, offering an antique cocktail and bar menu alongside a contemporary club space. “We’re providing a European Commercial destination based on influences from Paris, Barcelona, a bit of New York – but all with Irish service. Staff will be dressed in keeping with the theme and we’ve been researching the culinary history of Belfast and Northern Ireland. It’s a fully loaded offering – food, drink and entertainment.”
PRIDE 2013
Prospects for success for the range of new businesses opening over the next few months is hopeful but uncertain. The forthcoming relocation of the University of Ulster’s Jordanstown campus into the city centre brings with it the expectation of a flood of younger customers to these cobbled streets, the perfect market for the likes of Farrell and McGeown’s vibrant night time attractions and more disposable income to augment the casual daytime spend necessary to support the McKennas’ and Wolsey’s new endeavours. But with the relocation project due not due for completion until 2018, there are still a few years of recession left to survive before anyone can be confident of boom times again. The man who kick-started investment in the dusty warehouses of the Half Bap will be putting the restaurant business behind
As previewed in last month’s Quarter Beat, over 30,000 people hit the streets to show their support for the 23rd annual Belfast Pride Parade. The highlight of the 10-day festival, the parade left from Custom House Square, returning in the afternoon for the ‘Party in the Square’. Thousands enjoyed the free event headlined by X Factor finalist Ruth Lorenzo and including local acts, DJs and the first ever ‘Pride Village’ community area and market.
him to pursue cheese mongering back home in Killinchy. Nick Price is happy to leave it to the new influx of passionate entrepreneurs to deal with the daily uncertainties of running a hospitality business. “I’m pessimistic about us getting out of this recession in the next three years. If I had been a few years younger and more enthusiastic maybe I would have started out again. It could be a slow start for these new businesses. There’s not a lot out there. “But the Cathedral Quarter has evolved, and keeps evolving, in a nice way. The students will change the dynamic so there will be more people about. It will change the market and that’s huge. But it’s constantly changing. Restaurants have a life cycle, you have to keep reinventing and keep up to the mark.” If Nick Price’s legacy is the Cathedral Quarter, he’s happy to hand over the mantle.
CQ UNCOVERED
THE ROISTERING 18TH CENTURY QUARTER Peter Morgan Barnes The Belfast News Letter celebrated its 275th anniversary last year. Founded in 1737 by Henry Joy McCracken’s grandfather, it’s the oldest newspaper still running in either island. It offers a unique window on mid 18thcentury Belfast, but the advertisements are often more significant than the columns in revealing what our city was like in that wig wearing, horse smelling, harpsichord tinkling age. It’s the adverts that tell us of Dr Edward Storey’s Purging Cakes for Destroying Worms (for people not dogs) and Doctor Matthew Ward of Killyslavan’s appalling recipe for toothpaste: “Take tartar of vitriol (essentially sulphuric acid), two drachms, Dragon’s blood and Myrrh (presumably not real dragons), each half a drachm, gum lac, (gum Arabic), one drachm. Of Ambergreese (taken from whales and formerly used in making perfume) four grains, and those who like it may use two grains of musk. Mix it well to make a powder to be kept in a phial and stopped.” He advised wetting a clean linen cloth in water, dipping it in the powder and rubbing one’s teeth with it once a day, but if one wished to preserve their beauty, once a week was sufficient. Presumably because the vitriol dissolved all the enamel and blackened them. Not all educated people of the time were quacks however, with many running book shops in the quarter’s Bridge Street. Advertisements appear for booksellers James Blow, John Pett and Robert Joy, printer of the News Letter, all within what appears to have been a particularly well-read area of Belfast. Booksellers specialised in different genres and usually also sold stationary and newspapers. People congregated in bookshops to read the wares – sometimes for as much as half an hour – and to discuss and socialise with their fellow literates. The remainder of Bridge Street was populated seed sellers and general grocers such as Mr Margetson Saunders. After Bridge St the next step for a successful grocer was the High Street and Mr Saunders notified his customers via the newspaper that he was moving there in 1740. Grocering was a cut throat business in Belfast. Robert Wills, a Latin Schoolmaster, used the adverts in the News Letter to inform people in March 1739 that he had now set himself up as a grocer “opposite the stone bridge, next door to the post office”. As well as new luxuries such as tea and coffee he sold Dutch parsnip and onion seeds, London carrot seeds and new flax and hops. His rival Henry Agnew felt obliged to up his game, advertising on the 27th March that now he also sold garden seeds. The city was composed of very independent people. They preferred buying seeds to buying vegetables; they bought hops to make their own ale rather than a barrel of the ready made product. The rural and the urban were inextricably mixed in Belfast. Animals were as common as cars are today, with the streets clogged at certain times by streams of cattle or sheep coming in to slaughter, sometimes even flocks of geese. Leaving cats and dogs aside most households had a few chickens and everyone who could possibly afford to own a horse did so. Continued on back page.
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THE WICKERMAN EMBRACES THE ARTS Emma Blee talks to The Wickerman owner, Laurence Burrell about her work supporting local artists and tourism in the quarter. When jewellers Laurence Burrell and Peter Todd met at a business conference in the late 80s they decided to take a huge leap into the unknown and open an arts shop, setting themselves the ambitious target of showcasing local artists and changing the concept of the arts in Northern Ireland. “We started off as two jewellers who were looking for an outlet for our own work in Northern Ireland but found it didn’t really exist so we decided we would create it,” explains Laurence. The pair opened their first shop, The Wicker Man, in Saintfield, then moved to Donegall Arcade in Belfast and finally to their current location at High Street in Belfast. Stocking a vast number of artist and producers’ work from all over Ireland, the Wicker Man offers original paintings by Jim Fitzpatrick, Mitch McDade and Hugh Clawson, perfumes by Fragrances of Ireland, pottery by Castle Arch, goblets and flasks by Mullingar Pewter and Aran sweaters by Aran Crafts. Laurence says that their move to High Street has been a very positive step forward: “We are a very unique shop and we have always wanted to be part of the Old Belfast so that’s why we chose High Street. We love having all the stories that we know about Cathedral Quarter and we talk to our customers about these.” Another draw to High Street was bigger premises, Laurence comments: “We
always wanted bigger premises so that we could open a gallery area within the shop to change the concept people have of the arts. People don’t always feel comfortable going to a gallery; it can be intimidating to some people so we wanted to actually bring the arts to the people by exposing them to art and culture by coming into a shop. It’s a very different angle.” Laurence has now created a unique exhibition space within the shop, which hosts twelve exhibitions a year showcasing artists from all over Ireland, north and south. The space is proving to be hugely popular. “We are booked a year in advance. In fact at the moment I already have four bookings for next year, I could have the book full already but I’m holding back on some things. We don’t even advertise we are doing this, people find out by word of mouth and I have somebody in every single week with a proposal for the space,” she says. When a number of customers, who had come into the shop to buy wool, asked Laurence where they could learn to knit she decided to set up workshops using the exhibition space. She explains: “We tend to look at trends in the shop and the biggest part of our job is probably to listen to people. As soon as I heard people ask about learning to knit I decided to find someone who could teach it and we set up the classes. Everything with us has been a very natural progression. It isn’t in our interest to open lots of shops, what we want to do is create something that is unique.” Laurence says so far the class has attracted a diverse group, including beginners: “We have had our first man in the last class! It is quite interesting, there
are a couple of older people but quite a few who are in the 25-30 age group. The reason seems to be that their generation missed out big time on mothers and grandmothers looking after them when they were little after school and they didn’t learn to knit.” With the workshop space now available, Laurence is keen to use it to its full advantage. The shop is hosting a night of music, poetry, arts and crafts for Culture Night on 20th September and Laurence is hoping to host a series of St Brigid’s cross workshops in January ahead of the feast day in February. After moving to the Cathedral Quarter, Laurence was keen to raise awareness of what the area has to offer. She was chosen as a champion for Belfast City Council’s “Destination Belfast” programme, which is aimed at promoting the City through all sectors of the tourist industry. As part of her project Laurence is planning to produce 100,000 free handdrawn 3D maps of Cathedral Quarter. She comments: “We are working within the community and getting into the little pockets of Belfast that are underused at the moment. The Cathedral Quarter is working so hard, it is emerging and coming out as this amazing place. The map is purely to make people aware of the Cathedral Quarter and how special it is but it is not just for tourists, it is also for locals.” As well as promoting the history of the area, another priority for Laurence is working with upcoming local artists. She mentors through Belfast City Council’s Market Start-Up programme but has also offered additional help to some artists. She explains: “One girl that I am helping has a shop in Ballyhackamore and
MY CQ: THE HISTORIC QUARTER
Local artists’ work on display at The Wicker Man
we now stock her products in the Wicker Man. I’m helping her with her own shop as well and that’s because I have good knowledge to pass on. What I want is to bring someone from being a talented person to being a successful person.” While many shop owners are focused solely on their own business, Laurence believes it is important to be passionate about what you do and to learn something new every day. “It’s all about the stories, the magic, and inspiring people to come in and not to expect branded Irish but proper made in Ireland products. The Wickerman is at 44-46 High St. Knitting classes begin on 5 August and run for five weeks. Contact 028 9024 3550 or email admin@thewickerman.co.uk for more information.
Cathedral Quarter is the heart of the old city of Belfast. Its streets and buildings tell the story of the origins of the city and mark out the early stages of its development. We explore some of these spots in the first of our series of guides to the historic quarter.
News Letter Building 55-59 Donegall St. Founded in 1737 (see page 2.) the News Letter moved to these ornate new premises in 1872. Built by William Hastings in sandstone and Victorian Gothic style, the building stood proud in the hub of Belfast’s newspaper industry with roundels of literary men and women.
The Sinclair Building 89-11 Royal Ave. This magnificent 1935 Art Deco building was once the prestigious Sinclair Department Store. Its strong vertical lines and modernist clock are echoed opposite on the listed Bank of Ireland building.
The Assembly Rooms Waring St. Belfast’s oldest public building which started life in 1769 as a market house, before serving as a function room, courtroom (for the trial of Henry Joy McCracken) and bank through the 18th and 19th century. The building is now put to imaginative use by the quarter’s many festivals but its future remains uncertain.
The National Bank 62-68 High St. This five-storey painted terracotta and red-brick building was designed by William Batt in 1893 and was one of the few buildings on High St. to survive the 1941 Blitz. The building is set to become the National Grande Café Bar in September 2013 (see page 1.)
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WHAT’S ON AUGUST EXHIBITIONS
THURSDAY 1 AUGUST
SUNDAY 11 AUGUST
SATURDAY 24 AUGUST
‘The Goblin Market’ - Madeline Graham, Christopher Whiteside 22 July - 10 August PS2, 18 Donegall St, BT1 2GP pssquared.org
MUSIC Alan Kelly Gang with Eddi Reader & John Douglas Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £10, 8pm, blackboxbelfast.com
SUNDAY TREATS Mr. H 2pm Saint Anne’s Square, 4pm Cotton Court Free, foolsfestival.com
‘The Jangly Dusk’ Cian Donnelly 12 August - 7 September PS2, 18 Donegall St, BT1 2GP pssquared.org
VISUAL ART Real Sketchy Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 9pm, blackboxbelfast.com
Afrikan Warriors 3pm Cotton Court Free, foolsfestival.com
WORKSHOPS Focus On: Pinhole Photography Belfast Exposed, 23 Donegall Street BT1 2FF £110 (includes a free Ilford Obscura pinhole camera worth £69), 10am 4pm, belfastexposed.org
‘Firmament’ Works by EimearJean McCormack 1 − 31 August Belfast Print Workshop Gallery Cotton Court BT1 2ED, bpw.org.uk Karl Burke & Maud Cotter: The Air They Capture Is Different 19 July - 13 October The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, themaclive.com Lothar Götz: Double-take 19 July - 18 August The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, themaclive.com Ursula Burke: Hope for a Better Past 30 August - 13 October The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, themaclive.com Russian Dolls 27 June − 3 August Golden Thread Gallery, 84-94 Great Patrick Street BT1 2LU goldenthreadgallery.co.uk Artist Talk: 7pm, 17 June Resolution - Group Exhibition 19 July - 9 August Belfast Exposed, 23 Donegall Street BT1 2FF, belfastexposed.org
WEEKLY EVENTS MONDAYS Live Jazz @ Bert’s Jazz Bar Free, 9pm, themerchanthotel.com Open Mic at The John Hewitt Free, 9.30pm, thejohnhewitt.com Monopollie @ Ollie’s Nightclub £3, 10pm, olliesclub.com TUESDAYS Brogue at The John Hewitt Free, 8pm, thejohnhewitt.com Live Jazz @ Bert’s Jazz Bar Free, 9pm, themerchanthotel.com WEDNESDAYS Traditional Session @ McHughs Free, 7pm, mchughsbar.com Live Jazz @ Bert’s Jazz Bar Free, 9pm, themerchanthotel.com THURSDAYS Ollie’s Rocks @ Ollie’s Nightclub £5, 9pm, olliesclub.com Live Jazz @ Bert’s Jazz Bar Free, 9pm, themerchanthotel.com Sweet Trev & The Blue Notes @ The John Hewitt Free, 9.30pm, thejohnhewitt.com Traditional Session @ The Duke of York Free, 9.30pm, thedukeofyorkbelfast.com FRIDAYS Das Vibic @ Black Box Free, 8pm, blackboxbelfast.com Feelgood Fridays @ 21 Social Free, 4pm, 21social.co.uk Traditional Session @ Whites Tavern Free, 7pm, whitestavern.co.uk Panama Jazz Band @ The John Hewitt Free, 8.30pm, thejohnhewitt.com Live Jazz @ Bert’s Jazz Bar Free, 9pm, themerchanthotel.com The Golden Years @ The Duke of York, £5, 9pm Lipstick @ Ollie’s Nightclub £5, 10pm, olliesclub.com Famous Fridays Free/£5, 10pm, myntbelfast.com SATURDAYS The BIG John Hewitt Early Session Free, 5.30pm, thejohnhewitt.com Dana Masters Jazz Sextet @ McHughs Free, 5.30 − 7.30pm, mchughsbar.com Trad Session @ Whites Tavern Free, 8pm, whitestavern.co.uk Bert’s After Hours @ Bert’s Jazz Bar Free, 9pm, themerchanthotel.com Secret Society @ Ollie’s Nightclub £10, 9pm, olliesclub.com Club Eclectic @ The Duke of York £5, 9pm Radio K @ McHughs £5, 10pm, mchughsbar.com Rewind Saturdays Free/£5, 10pm, myntbelfast.com SUNDAYS Social Sundays @ 21 Social Free, 5pm, 21social.co.uk Live Jazz @ Bert’s Jazz Bar Free, 12pm & 9pm themerchanthotel.com Traditional Session @ The Duke of York Free, 5.30pm, thedukeofyorkbelfast.com
FRIDAY 2 AUGUST
MUSIC Summer Sundays: Scorpion Jack Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 2pm, blackboxbelfast.com
MUSIC Vibic Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 9pm, blackboxbelfast.com
COMEDY My Favourite Waste of Time Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £5, 7pm, blackboxbelfast.com
SATURDAY 3 AUGUST
FILM, MUSIC Bad Film Club- ‘Can’t Stop the Music’ Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £7, 8pm, belfastfilmfestival.org
WORKSHOPS Stage Three – Landscape Photography Belfast Exposed, 23 Donegall Street BT1 2FF £150, 11am - 2pm, Tuesday 3, 10 & 17 August, belfastexposed.org FAMILIES, WORKSHOPS Dancing Sculptures The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ £5, 2pm, themaclive.com
TUESDAY 13 AUGUST WORKSHOPS Focus On Young People: Using Your Digital Camera Belfast Exposed, 23 Donegall Street BT1 2FF £100/ £90, 13-15 August, 2pm 4.30pm, belfastexposed.org
MUSIC Chris Woods with Justin Dowling Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 8pm, blackboxbelfast.com
MUSIC Bonnie Bishop Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £10, 8pm, blackboxbelfast.com
Celtic Soul Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £11, 8.30pm, blackboxbelfast.com
THURSDAY 15 AUGUST
SUNDAY 4 AUGUST SUNDAY TREATS The Boxer presented by Fraser Hooper 2pm Saint Anne’s Square, 4pm Cotton Court Free, foolsfestival.com My Castle presented by Peter Sweet 3pm Cotton Court Free, foolsfestival.com MUSIC Summer Sundays: 68 Zeros Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 2pm, blackboxbelfast.com WORDS & IDEAS BFF Police and Fire Quiz Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £3, 7.45pm, belfastfilmfestival.org
TUESDAY 6 AUGUST WORKSHOPS Stage One: Using Your Digital Camera Belfast Exposed, 23 Donegall Street BT1 2FF £125, 6 − 9pm, Tuesday 6, 13 & 20 August, belfastexposed.org
WEDNESDAY 7 AUGUST VISUAL ART Curator & Artist Tour: The Air They Capture is Different The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ £3.50, 1pm, themaclive.com MUSIC Idiot Songs & Amidships Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £5, 8.15pm, blackboxbelfast.com
THURSDAY 8 AUGUST MUSIC Chris Farlowe Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £17.50, 8pm, blackboxbelfast.com
FRIDAY 9 AUGUST FILM, MUSIC Police Squad! & Naked Gun Night Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £6, 8pm, belfastfilmfestival.org
VISUAL ART Jamie Harper Live Art Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 6pm, blackboxbelfast.com
FRIDAY 16 AUGUST FAMILIES & WORKSHOPS Sculpture Fun Day The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ £10, 10am, themaclive.com MUSIC Vibic Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 9pm, blackboxbelfast.com
SATURDAY 17 AUGUST MUSIC, FAMILIES Baby Bugs Disco Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £5/£16 Family, 12-4pm, blackboxbelfast.com
SUNDAY 18 AUGUST SUNDAY TREATS Fat Matt 3pm Cotton Court Free, foolsfestival.com Squash presented by Barren Carrousel 2pm Saint Anne’s Square, 4pm Cotton Court Free, foolsfestival.com MUSIC Summer Sundays: Jessica Eldin Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 2pm, blackboxbelfast.com
MONDAY 19 AUGUST MUSIC, FAMILIES, WORKSHOPS Rock School The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ £120, 9.30am - 4.30pm, 19 − 23 August, themaclive.com
WEDNESDAY 21 AUGUST COMEDY Wonder Frog Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £5, 7.30pm, blackboxbelfast.com
THURSDAY 22 AUGUST
MUSIC Vibic Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 9pm, blackboxbelfast.com
MUSIC Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ £15, 8pm, themaclive.com
SATURDAY 10 AUGUST
FRIDAY 23 AUGUST
MUSIC Creedance Clearwater Revisited Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £11, 8.30pm, blackboxbelfast.com
MUSIC Vibic Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 9pm, blackboxbelfast.com
MUSIC Rock Kids The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ £5, 11am, themaclive.com David Paul & The People Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £4.50, 8pm, blackboxbelfast.com Manouche - Gyspy Jazz Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 9pm, blackboxbelfast.com
SUNDAY 25 AUGUST SUNDAY TREATS Horseplay 3pm Cotton Court Free, foolsfestival.com Magilligans 2pm Saint Anne’s Square, 4pm Cotton Court Free, foolsfestival.com MAGIC Summer Sundays: Midsummer Magic Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 2pm, blackboxbelfast.com
WEDNESDAY 28 AUGUST THEATRE, MUSIC Les Misérables: School Edition The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ £17, 19.45pm, themaclive.com MUSIC Mo & The Tiger Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £5, 7.30pm, blackboxbelfast.com
THURSDAY 29 AUGUST THEATRE, MUSIC Les Misérables: School Edition The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ £17, 19.45pm, themaclive.com
FRIDAY 30 AUGUST THEATRE, MUSIC Les Misérables: School Edition The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ £17, 19.45pm, themaclive.com MUSIC Vibic Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 9pm, blackboxbelfast.com
SATURDAY 31 AUGUST THEATRE, MUSIC Les Misérables: School Edition The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ £17, 14.30pm, themaclive.com THEATRE, MUSIC Les Misérables: School Edition The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ £17, 19.45pm, themaclive.com MUSIC An Evening with Danny and Ben from Thunder Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £18.50, 7.30pm, blackboxbelfast.com FILM, MUSIC Odd Man Out at the Albert Clock Custom House Square £10, 9pm, belfastfilmfestival.org
CQ Uncovered, continued from page 2. Consequently the houses around what would become the Cathedral Quarter had to accommodate straw and hay lofts as well as stables, a safe coup for the poultry as urban foxes were a menace then too, and where possible gardens in which the new vegetable seeds could be planted. Some town houses even had orchards in the grand generous Georgian style. But Belfast in the Age of Reason was still tempered by genial chaos. In 1749 the Sovereign of Belfast, Robert Byrtt intervened when unruly horses disrupted the market. They were ‘stone horses’, stallions available to be put to mares, which were being lead and ridden wildly through the market by boys who could scarcely control them. “by which practise many children were in imminent danger of being hurt”. Byrtt announced that he was henceforth impounding any such stallions and, from April onwards, the owners would be fined half a crown to get them back. Belfast’s tradition of adolescent hoods throwing stones at coaches turns out to have a longer antecedence than one might have supposed: a guinea was offered for turning in the person who broke a pane of glass in Lord Massareene’s carriage in 1749. But by far the strangest kind of advertisement to modern eyes was where a husband was obliged to notify the public of the break up of his marriage. Women were, financially speaking, the chattels of their husbands in 18th century law. A wife was not considered to have any finances independently from her husband’s control. This piece of dogma often backfired on husbands. A wife who left home or went into hiding could rack up huge debts for which her husband was legally liable. To protect themselves from this, husbands advertised that they would not pay any debts incurred by their estranged wives. “Whereas Margaret, the wife of Ralph Charly, late of Belfast but now of Finaghy in the parish of Drumbeg, hath damnified her said husband and hath not behaved herself as a wife ought to do: This is therefore to give notice that no person may trust the said Margaret with an intent or expectation of being paid by me the said Ralph Charly; for I will not pay any debt she may hereafter contract. Dated this 2nd July 1759.” Such advertisements hint at complex marital situations: “That Margaret Gibson alias Mawhery, being a little disordered in her wits did, on the 24th December last, elope from her husband and went to some person who conceals her with an intent to bring a charge against her husband for her keeping, and run him into debt. Now this is to caution the publick not to harbour her on any pretence whatsoever, or to credit her anything on my account….” However humiliating it was for a husband to have to wash his dirty linen in public, wives seldom had the opportunity to put their side of the story. Yet in an amazingly rare example, we do get one such glimpse of the woman’s point of view. In March 1750 Mary Watson’s husband had posted: “Whereas Mary Watson, the wife of John Watson of Drumanamo in the parish of Shankill in the County of Armagh doth refuse to live peaceably with me and watches all opportunities to waste and embezzle my substance and will carry on a separate Trade against my will and control, I therefore give this notice that no person henceforward give her any credit on my account for I will not pay for anything she contracts….” To which she responded: “Whereas I, Mary Watson, wife to John Watson of Drumanamoe near Lurgan do think it proper in my own vindication to certify that my false husband has at sundry times abused and turned me out of his house, having four fatherless children, and will not allow me nor them maintenance, so that I am obliged to follow Trade on my own Credit for their support. And further that I never have, nor will, make any use of his credit. Neither have I embezzled any of his goods, but that he, on the contrary, has drawn part of my substance out of my hands and has ruin’d my trade, and very lately forcibly picked my pocket of a very considerable sum of money. This is therefore to give notice to all persons that I will pay my own debts punctually for all goods I have bought, or will hereafter buy. Given under my hand this 24th day of March 1750. Mary Watson.” Her four children are presumably from an earlier marriage, and if she was a well to do widow, that may be how she came to have her own capital (and perhaps came to be of interest to John Watson in the first place). Her independent spirit would resurface in many Belfast women in various contexts over the years. But wouldn’t it be worth researching further to find out more about this woman’s trading career and her life?
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