Architecture

The architecture of Belfast City Cemetery can be split into four areas.

These are:

Victorian

Image: An example of the Victorian style of architecture in Belfast City Cemetery Victorian, or neo-classical, architecture reflected an individual's wealth and status in society.

This was demonstrated in the ornate monuments wealthy people used to mark their gravestones, many of which are located in the lower end of the cemetery.

Key items included headstones, monuments, urns, obelisks, broken columns and angels, influenced by Greek and Roman ideas of symmetry and proportion.

Smaller headstones were marked with motifs and symbolic references such as doves, wreaths and a pair of hands
clasped together.

Other signs of Victorian architecture included wrought iron surrounds and cast iron grave shields, all made by local
foundries.

This style of architecture remained popular until the end of the 19th century.

Gothic revival

Image: An example of the Gothic Revival style of architecture in Belfast City Cemetery Closely linked to the Victorian period, examples of the Gothic Revival style can be found throughout Belfast City Cemetery.

Examples include pointed arches, elaborate carved decorations and stained glass windows.

Edwardian

After the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, a new style of funerary architecture emerged.

Edwardian gravestones were smaller and less lavish than before and can be found mainly in the middle sections of the cemetery.

Late 20th century

By the late 1990s, the size of headstones became fixed, in comparison to some of the more ornate styles seen in the past.

Stone surrounds were also removed to make way for the new lawn sections needed in the cemetery to provide more burial space.

Examples of these headstones can be found in the upper slopes of the Glenalina section.


* Images reproduced by kind permission of Tom Hartley. All intellectual property rights reserved.
The reproduction of the images is forbidden without the owner's written permission.