Heritage

Belfast boasts a superb architectural heritage with beautiful Victorian and Edwardian buildings including:

Belfast City Hall
Belfast Castle (pictured right)
Ulster Hall
St George's Market
Linen Hall Library (the oldest subscribing library in Ireland)
Ulster Museum and adjoining Botanic Gardens.

Belfast also has strong links to the legendary ship, Titanic, which was designed, built and launched in Belfast’s world famous Harland and Wolff shipyard.

Cathedral Quarter

The Cathedral Quarter was the birthplace of the city and has some of the oldest streets in Belfast such as Waring Street, Skipper Street and High Street.

In 1990, Cathedral Quarter was designated as a Conservation Area and has a number of listed structures and beautiful buildings.

A large number of arts and heritage organisations are based in the Cathedral Quarter as well as new hotels, bars and restaurants.

We produced a guide in May 2008 in association with the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society. This guide covers some of the more interesting buildings and streets in the Cathedral Quarter, as well as the architects who designed them.

It can be downloaded as a PDF:

Download Cathedral Quarter - A Visitor Guide to its Historic Buildings (PDF - 3.73MB)

If you would like a copy of the Cathedral Quarter booklet posted to you, please telephone the Culture and Arts Unit on 028 9027 0461 or email culture@belfastcity.gov.uk

Heritage Policy

We have adopted a Heritage Policy which will help us to contribute to the regeneration of Belfast. We will do this by looking at opportunities to develop and promote the heritage sector and therefore improve the quality of life and experiences of people who live in, work in and visit Belfast.

We deliver a range of heritage-based projects, drawing upon the experiences and insights of local communities.

We are a member of the European Association of Heritage Towns and Regions along with Gdansk, Gothenburg, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Ubeda and Verona. We are currently working with these cities and researchers based at Queen`s University to examine how heritage preservation can help to regenerate cities.

We are also:

researching and developing interpretation of Titanic Quarter's industrial and social heritage
working with local communities to develop 'local lists' of historic buildings that they want to see preserved
developing heritage skills for young people, to help them understand and analyse their historic and current environment
producing publications and exhibitions on various aspects of Belfast's history.

Contact us

Culture and Arts
Development Department
Cecil Ward Building
4-10 Linenhall Street
Belfast
BT2 8BP
Tel : 028 9027 0461
Fax : 028 9027 0325
Email: culture@belfastcity.gov.uk