| Ten Square | |
|---|---|
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| General information | |
| Location | 10 Donegall Square South, Belfast, BT1 5JD |
| Coordinates | 54°35′45″N5°55′49″W / 54.59576°N 5.93017°W |
| Opening | 2000 |
| Owner | John Miskelly |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 23 |
| Website | |
| tensquare.co.uk | |
Ten Square is a four-star hotel in Donegall Square South, Belfast, Northern Ireland, and is located a few metres away from the City Hall.
The hotel building itself occupies a notable Grade B1 listed building, once called Yorkshire House. [1] It is the oldest extant commercial building in Donegall Square, built originally in 1862–63 as a linen warehouse for the Jaffe brothers. Its age makes it the same vintage as the Ulster Hall in nearby Bedford Street. The floral pedimented windows to the upper floors and the eccentric range of famous heads between the ground floor windows. There are 16 faces in total with North elevation - from left, Michelangelo, Columbus, Washington, Mercury, Minerva, Shakespeare, Schiller and Homer; and East elevation - from left, Newton, Humboldt, Jacquard, Peace, Flora, Stevenson, Moore and Watt.
Sir Otto Moses Jaffe was Belfast’s first and so far only Jewish Lord Mayor. Born in Hamburg on August 13, 1846, his father, Daniel Joseph Jaffe, was a merchant, who came to Belfast to set up a linen export business in 1850. The Jaffe linen memorial fountain is located on Victoria Street outside new Victoria Square. Jaffe erected the Jaffe Memorial fountain in 1874 to commemorate his father, who had funded the building of Belfast’s first synagogue at Great Victoria Street.
As well as having a successful career in business, Jaffe was a prominent public figure, active in Belfast civic life. His public positions included membership of the Harbour Commission, the Senate of Queen’s College, which later became Queen's University and the board of Governors of the Royal Hospital. Elected to the town council in 1894, he was Lord Mayor in 1899 and 1904.
He set up Jaffe Public Elementary School at the corner of both the Cliftonville and Antrim Roads in 1907. However, Jaffe’s philanthropy was poorly rewarded during the first world war when a group of Belfast ladies refused to support the Children’s Hospital if ‘the Germans’, Jaffe and his wife, remained on the board.
Previous to the current building, it is said the ground was once a row of Georgian houses where the famous physician, poet, educationalist, and radical democrat Dr William Drennan lived in the early 1800s (whose sister had already founded the Maternity Hospital on the city square several years before, and which was the forerunner of the current Royal Maternity Hospital).
The hotel was officially opened in 2000. In 2008, the hotel was purchased by millionaire property developer John Miskelly (famous for his £250 million takeover attempt of Liverpool Football Club [2] ) for an undisclosed sum [3] [4] [5] from the County Antrim-based Hill family, owners of the Galgorm Manor Hotel. [6]
The hotel has also hosted several notable events such as The Miss Belfast final in 2010, [7] film and cinema events [8] and city council dinners and other local government functions. [9]
The hotel consists of 135 rooms across seven floors. These comprise boutique guest bedrooms across two floors in the landmark Grade B1 Listed Yorkshire House building, plus offering a further 48 ‘Signature rooms’ in the recent contemporary extension, completed in December 2016. It also has a selection of events and conferencing facilities, most notably the Linen Suite. The hotel venue is registered for civil partnership ceremonies and markets itself as "the most LGBT friendly of all Belfast's hotels". [10]
The hotel has won a number of awards, most recently winning 'Best City Hotel' from the Belfast Business Awards. The hotel has been voted 'Sexiest Hotel in Belfast' by Cosmopolitan and 'Belfast's Coolest Hotel' by The Sunday Times . [11] [12] [13]
Belfast is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel. It is second to Dublin as the largest city on the island of Ireland with a population in 2021 of 345,418 and a metro area population of 671,559.
Marquess of Donegall is a title in the Peerage of Ireland held by the head of the Chichester family, originally from Devon, England. Sir John Chichester sat as a Member of Parliament and was High Sheriff of Devon in 1557. One of his sons, Sir Arthur Chichester, was Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1605 to 1616. In 1613, he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Chichester, of Belfast in County Antrim. When he died childless in 1625 the barony became extinct.
The Linen Hall Library is located at 17 Donegall Square North, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the oldest library in Belfast and the last subscribing library in Northern Ireland. The Library is physically in the centre of Belfast, and more generally at the centre of the cultural and creative life of the wider community. It is an independent and charitable body.
Belfast City Centre is the central business district of Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Belfast Castle is a mansion located in Cave Hill Country Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in a prominent position 400 feet (120 m) above sea level. Its location provides unobstructed views over the City of Belfast and Belfast Lough. There have been several different structures called "Belfast Castle" over the centuries, located on different sites. The current "castle" is a Victorian structure, built between 1867 and 1870 on the slopes of Cave Hill, and is Grade A listed. The main entrance into the Belfast Castle Demesne is now where Innisfayle Park meets Downview Park West, just off the Antrim Road. The original main entrance into the current demesne was formerly on the Antrim Road itself, where Strathmore Park now meets the Antrim Road.
Belfast City Hall is the civic building of Belfast City Council located in Donegall Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It faces North and effectively divides the commercial and business areas of the city centre. It is a Grade A listed building.
Donegall Square is a square in the centre of Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. In the centre is Belfast City Hall, the headquarters of Belfast City Council. Each side of the square is named according to its geographical location, i.e. Donegall Square North, South, East and West. It is named after the Donegall family. Other streets to bear their name in Belfast are Donegall Road, Donegall Pass and Donegall Street. Donegall Place, the city's main shopping street, runs from the north side of the square.
Sir Otto Moses Jaffe, JP, also spelt Jaffé, was a German-born British businessman, who was twice elected Lord Mayor of Belfast and was a leader of the Jewish community in the city.
The Cathedral Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a developing area of the city, roughly situated between Royal Avenue near where the Belfast Central Library building is, and the Dunbar Link in the city centre. From one of its corners, the junction of Royal Avenue, Donegall Street and York Street, the Cathedral Quarter lies south and east. Part of the area, centred on Talbot Street behind the cathedral, was formerly called the Half Bap. The "Little Italy" area was on the opposite side of Great Patrick Street centred on Little Patrick Street and Nelson Street.
The buildings and structures of Belfast, Northern Ireland comprise many styles of architecture ranging from Edwardian through to state-of-the-art modern buildings like the Waterfront Hall. The city's beautiful Edwardian buildings are notable for their display of a large number of sculptures. Many of Belfast's Victorian landmarks, including the main Lanyon Building at Queens University in 1849, were designed by Sir Charles Lanyon.
Victoria Square is a shopping complex located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The area includes over 62 shops, 16 restaurants and an Odeon cinema. Opened on 6 March 2008, Victoria Square is a commercial, residential and leisure development that took 6 years to build. Its anchor tenant is the largest House of Fraser that the retailer has opened in the UK, at nearly 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2).
The Linen Quarter is an area of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The name is derived from the great many linen warehouses that are still present in the area. The Linen Quarter is host to some of the major cultural venues of Belfast, including the Ulster Hall and Grand Opera House, alongside a large number of hotels, bars, restaurants and cafes. The district also includes the main transport hub of Belfast.
The architecture of Belfast comprises architectural styles ranging from Georgian through to modernist buildings such as the Waterfront Hall and Titanic Belfast. The city's Victorian and Edwardian buildings are notable for their display of a large number of sculptures. Many of Belfast's Victorian era landmarks, including the main Lanyon Building at Queens University, were designed by Sir Charles Lanyon.
The North Street Arcade is a 1930s Art Deco shopping arcade in the Cathedral Quarter of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the only example of a shopping arcade from this decade in Northern Ireland, and is one of only a handful left in the whole of Ireland or the UK. A Grade B1 listed building, it has been derelict since a fire in 2004.
Ballymoney Town Hall is a municipal structure in the High Street, Ballymoney, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The structure, which incorporates a local history museum, is a Grade B1 listed building.
Ballyclare Town Hall is a municipal structure in The Square, Ballyclare, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The structure, which is primarily used as an events venue, is a Grade B2 listed building.
The Old Town Hall is a municipal structure in Victoria Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland. The structure, which has most recently been used as courthouse, is a Grade B1 listed building.
The Assembly Rooms is a Grade B1 listed building in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was built, as the single-storey Exchange, in 1769 by Arthur Chichester, 1st Marquess of Donegall. The Marquess expanded to a second floor in 1776 and the building came to be known by its current name. It housed the Belfast Harp Festival of 1792, public meetings and, following the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the court martial of rebel leaders. The building was converted into a branch of the Belfast Banking Company in 1845. It was extended several times and received listed building protection in 1975. The bank, now part of Northern Bank, vacated the building in 2000. Since then the structure has only been occasionally used and has been subject to vandalism. It is on the Northern Ireland Buildings at Risk Register.