Stranmillis

the university college

Stranmillis is an area in south Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is also an electoral ward for Belfast City Council, part of the Laganbank district electoral area. As part of the Queen's Quarter, it is the location for prominent attractions such as the Ulster Museum and Botanic Gardens. Stranmillis Road begins at the junction of University Road, Malone Road and College Gardens, heading uphill and southwards past Friar's Bush Graveyard and a small shopping district, before descending towards the River Lagan. The route then swings to the west around the outside of Stranmillis College and uphill again, before rejoining the Malone Road. The north end of Stranmillis Road contains many shops and restaurants, while the south end of the road is mainly housing. The Malone and Stranmillis Historic Urban Landscape featured on the 2010 tentative list of sites proposed for addition to the List of World Heritage Sites of the United Kingdom, as an area of architectural interest featuring examples of the Arts and Crafts Movement. In 1603 Sir Arthur Chichester was granted expansive lands in Ulster, including all of the land west of the Lagan from Carrickfergus to Dunmurry, and the site of the future City of Belfast. In 1606 he leased his Stranmillis lands for 61 years to Moses Hill, who built a plantation castle. This was described in the Report of the Plantation Commissioner around 1611 as being located at a place called "Stranmellis". The castle guarded a crossing point of the Lagan, close to today's King's Bridge. The site of the castle has been traced to some Victorian farm buildings in the centre of the current estate, and historian George Benn stated during the 19th century that the ruins of the building existed "almost within living memory". The Ulster Museum is situated adjacent to the park and has been located in Stranmillis since 1929. The Lyric Theatre moved to its current location on the bank of the Lagan in 1968. The theatre was fully redeveloped between 2007 and 2011.

Stranmillis University College is located at the midway point of the road. Established as a teaching college in 1922, it is now a constituent college of Queen's University. Several prominent Queen's University buildings are located on Stranmillis Road, including the David Keir Building and the multi storey Ashby Building, while the University's Physical Education Centre is located close to the river and adjacent to the Botanic Gardens.

Friar's Bush Graveyard is one of the oldest Christian sites in Belfast, with some graves dating to the early mediaeval period. The site is marked on a map of 1570. In the 18th century when Catholics were forbidden to build a church in Belfast they met at Friar's Bush which was then outside the town boundary, for Holy Communion. Mass ceased in 1769.

The Stranmillis Embankment along the Lagan marks the eastern edge of the Stranmillis area. A towpath runs from here along the river, south to the city of Lisburn and north as far as Jordanstown. On Lockview Road where Stranmillis meets the river, a number of boating organisations including Queen's University Belfast Boat Club have access to the water.

In 2010 the Malone and Stranmillis Historic Urban Landscape was added to the tentative list of sites proposed for addition to the List of World Heritage Sites of the United Kingdom as an area of architectural interest featuring examples of the Arts and Crafts Movement. The site was not put forward for the UK shortlist in 2011.