Becoming Shipshape
Reading Hello New Place! rather than just Hello! is one of the many complementary joys of travelling on 1st Class Eurostar. This French English magazine features Belfast Castle as the cover star of its edition 23. An eight page splash includes the city’s best known attractions. “Entre héritage Victorian, mémoire maritime, pubs historiques et marches animés, Belfast est une ville de contrastes, façonnée par des siècles d’histoire et résolument vivante.” Translated as, “With its Victorian heritage, maritime history, historic pubs and bustling markets, Belfast is a city of contrasts, shaped by centuries of history and brimming with life.”
Belfast City Hall is the first attraction to be featured inside the magazine. “Au coeur de Belfast, l’Hôtel de Ville donne immédiatement la mesure de la cité.” Translated as, “In the heart of Belfast, City Hall immediately sets the tone for the city.” And the opening line for Belfast Castle: “Sur les hauteurs du Cave Hill Country Park, Belfast Castle domine la ville dans une atmosphère presque aristocratique.” Translated as, “Perched on the heights of Cave Hill Country Park, Belfast Castle overlooks the city with an almost aristocratic air.”
Cities must have touristic defined quarters these days and Belfast is no exception. “Dans le Queen’s Quarter, l’Université Queen’s révèle un Belfast plus paisible, élégant et cultivé.” Translated as, “In the Queen’s Quarter, Queen’s University reveals a more peaceful, elegant and cultured side to Belfast.” Staying in the same locale, “Dans le Queen’s Quarter, juste à côté des Jardins Botaniques, l’Ulster Museum déploie une ambition rare: embrasser à fois l’histoire, l’art et les sciences naturelles.” Translated as, “In the Queen’s Quarter, right next to the Botanic Gardens, the Ulster Museum has a rare ambition: to encompass history, art and the natural sciences all at once.”
The only reference to the city’s shadowy past is the inclusion of Crumlin Road Gaol. “À Crumlin Road Gaol, Belfast dévoile une histoire plus sombre, mais essentielle.” Translated as, “At Crumlin Road Gaol, Belfast reveals a darker, yet essential, chapter of its history.” On a brighter note, “Sous sa grande halle Victorienne de brique et de metal, St George’s Market invite à découvrir la dimension populaire et gourmande de Belfast.” Translated as, “Beneath its Victorian hall of brick and metal, St George’s Market invites visitors to discover Belfast’s vibrant food loving side.”
The final two attractions celebrate the city’s nautical tradition. “Amarré dans le Titanic Quarter, le HMS Caroline ouvre un chapitre plus militaire de l’histoire maritime de Belfast.” Translated as, “Moored in the Titanic Quarter, HMS Caroline marks a more military chapter in Belfast’s maritime history.” Another ship gets a writeup opening with, “Amarré quelques pas de Titanic Belfast, musée consacré à l’histoire du RMS Titanic, le SS Nomadic, est le dernier navire de la White Star Line encore existent.” Translated as, “Moored just a stone’s throw from Titanic Belfast, the museum dedicated to the history of the RMS Titanic, the SS Nomadic, is the last surviving ship of the White Star Line.”
Belfast’s flourishing restaurant and bar scene isn’t mentioned in the article. Some of the best venues are owned by The Clover Group including The Bone Yard; Fountain Lane; McCracken’s; Post House and Sorting Room; Pug Ugly’s; Rudi; and White’s Beer Hall, Garden, Store and Tavern. Founded in 2017, The Clover Group has the honourable mission to restore and revive historic establishments in Belfast. Henry’s and The Jailhouse was the company’s first venture. This 19th century building off the historic Joy’s Entry sits on the site of an 18th century prison. It’s named in honour of Irish patriot Henry Joy McCracken.
As Hello New Place! notes, Belfast City Hall in the middle of Donegall Square is naturally at the heart of the Capital. City Hall is relatively recent: the 28 year old architect Sir Alfred Brumwell Thomas’s Baroque Revival masterpiece was completed in 1906. It replaced the 1780s White Linen Hall. Donegall Square was originally surrounded by grand Georgian houses. A recently discovered photograph in the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland shows four storey over basement terraced houses lining the northern part of Donegall Square East. In the 1930s, they were replaced by the Art Deco Imperial Wharf designed by Kendrick Edwards.
The Shipmaker’s House and its neighbour on the southern corner of Donegall Square East, numbers 18 and 19, are the last remnant of domestic architecture overlooking City Hall. These very late Georgian three storey over basement under dormered attic houses were built in the 1830s. Number 18 was the home of shipowner John Workhouse. Since the 1870s the buildings were changed from residential to commercial use. Two pane sash windows are replacements of original multipaned windows. Buff pink sandstone provides a rich exterior hue.
Numbers 18 and 19 Donegall Square East are now one of The Clover Group’s most prestigious destinations. Margot restaurant fills the raised ground floor; Rudi nightspot occupies the basement. Plans are afoot for a £6 million boutique hotel on the upper floors. Margot opened in 2019 and relaunched bigger and bolder at a cost of £2.5 million in 2025. Bigger: all six original reception rooms and two entrance halls along with a large return room are now lounges and bars and nooks and crannies filled with the beautiful people.
Bolder: architects Dickson FitzGerald and interior designers O’Donnell O’Neill have delivered a country house meets nightclub vibe. The original Georgian proportions are retained and the plasterwork painted vibrant colours. Hand painted politically neutral murals and dramatic fabrics are softly lit by Art Deco lamps. Listed Buildings have their own challenges. Mark Beirne, Jim Conlon and Paul Langsford are the founding Directors of The Clover Group. Mark says, “It was meeting after meeting with Historic Environment Division. You couldn’t just knock through walls or create big open spaces. At times it was frustrating but in the end those restrictions led us to a better outcome. It forced us to respect the buildings’ story and that gave us a stronger scheme.”
A Heritage Design and Access Statement prepared by Dickson FitzGerald summarises the development approach: “The design intention is to remove any unsympathetic additions and alterations in the Listed Buildings, retain the original plan form and conserve all extant historic features including the ornate cornices, ceiling roses and moulded timbers, all of which survive in fairly good condition throughout both buildings. A number of deliberately located new openings will allow the ground floor to flow more appropriately while retaining plan form and significant historic material. Any doorways widened in this manner will have the historic architraves and casings reused and replicated.”
Soon guests will be able to dance to DJs Kristine Lokokos and Paul O’Kane’s mixes in the basement; eat whipped feta, Irish whiskey hot honey and hazelnuts on toasted focaccia and drink Veuve Cliquot (bringing Biarritz sunshine to Belfast) on the ground floor; and sleep in historic grandeur in one of 20 bedrooms on the upper storeys of numbers 18 and 19 Donegall Square East.
