Ulster Hall

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Ulster Hall
Ulster Hall logo.jpg
Ulster Hall, Belfast - geograph.org.uk - 1593924.jpg
Ulster Hall
LocationBedford Street
Belfast
Northern Ireland
Coordinates 54°35′40.780″N5°55′49.732″W / 54.59466111°N 5.93048111°W / 54.59466111; -5.93048111 Coordinates: 54°35′40.780″N5°55′49.732″W / 54.59466111°N 5.93048111°W / 54.59466111; -5.93048111
Owner Belfast City Council
Type Concert hall
Capacity 1,000 seated, or 1,850 standing
Construction
Built1859
Opened1862
Renovated2009
Website
www.ulsterhall.co.uk

The Ulster Hall is a concert hall and grade A listed building in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated on Bedford Street in Belfast city centre, the hall hosts concerts, classical recitals, craft fairs and political party conferences.

Contents

History

The Ulster Hall in an empty Bedford Street, c. 1890 Ghostly Tram on Bedford Street (6817696126).jpg
The Ulster Hall in an empty Bedford Street, c. 1890

Built in 1859 and opened in 1862, [1] the hall's purpose was to provide the expanding city of Belfast with a multi-purpose venue of sufficient size. It was designed by William J. Barre (also responsible for the Albert Clock) for the Ulster Hall Company.

On its opening night on 12 May 1862, the hall was described by the local press as:

stand[ing] unexcelled, and all but unrivalled, as an edifice for the production of musical works. ... the hall is a great and unmingled success, and the public, no less than the proprietors, may feel the utmost gratification at a result at once so pleasant and so rare.( The Belfast News Letter , 1862) [2]

a music hall fit for the production of any composition, and for the reception of any artist, however eminent ( The Northern Whig , 14 May 1862) [3]

In 1902 the hall was purchased by Belfast City Council (then named the Belfast Corporation) for £13,500 and it has been used as a public hall ever since. [4] During World War II it was used as a dance hall to entertain American troops stationed in Northern Ireland. [1]

Mulholland Grand Organ

The Ulster Hall features one of the oldest examples of a functioning classic English pipe organ. The Mulholland Grand Organ is named in honour of former Mayor of Belfast, Andrew Mulholland, who donated £3000 to the hall toward its cost in the 1860s. [5] It was built by William Hill & Son and donated after the hall was officially opened. In the late 1970s, the organ was extensively restored to Hill's own original design. Mullholland's great-great-grandson, Henry Mulholland, 4th Baron Dunleath, oversaw the restoration. [6]

Joseph Carey's Belfast scenes

In 1902, Belfast City Council commissioned the local artist Joseph W. Carey to produce thirteen scenes from Belfast history on canvas, to be mounted within the Ulster Hall. The scenes depict the city and the surrounding area, incorporating historical and mythological influences. [3] [7]

The paintings were restored in 1989 and again, by Kiffy Stainer-Hutchins & Co., King's Lynn, in 2009 (see 2007–2009 refurbishment, below).

Notable performances

The hall has hosted a massive variety of acts during its history, including readings by Charles Dickens and performances by actors, pop, opera, rock acts and singers. [1] [8]

AC/DC performing in 1979. ACDC-Hughes-long ago.jpg
AC/DC performing in 1979.

Notable political rallies

Since its opening, the Ulster Hall has staged political rallies for many different causes, most notably:

Unionism

Ulster Hall has a longstanding historical association with Ulster unionism and from the late 19th century became the traditional venue for high-profile unionist rallies. [11] [12] Ulster Hall has been described as an "iconic venue for unionism", [12] "synonymous with unionism", [13] a "bastion of Ulster unionism", [14] and the "birthplace of Ulster unionism". [15] The Ulster Unionist Council (UUC) held its first public meeting in the Ulster Hall in 1905. [15]

In early 1912 First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill was invited to a rally on the subject of Irish Home Rule in Belfast at the behest of the Ulster Liberal Association. [12] The Ulster Unionist Council passed a resolution declaring the Liberals intent to hold the demonstration a "deliberate challenge" and resolved to "take steps to prevent it being held". Churchill published a letter in the press reluctantly conceding the Ulster Hall venue and after difficulties the meeting took place at Celtic Park. [12] In November 1995 Sinn Féin during the Northern Ireland peace process organised a rally in Ulster Hall; it was the first time nationalists had used the venue. Unionists on Belfast city council were outraged and threatened to try to have the booking cancelled. [15] Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) group in the council, Sammy Wilson described the Sinn Fein event at Ulster Hall as a "deliberate attempt to rub unionists noses in the dirt". [13]

2009 refurbishment

In 2007, a major refurbishment plan was initiated by the Consarc Design Group, under the direction of architect and Everest mountaineer Dawson Stelfox. [8] The main aim of the refurbishment was to restore the venue back to its original condition, while also modernising the building's facilities and providing better disabled access.

Detail of the Ulster Hall's wrought-iron entrance canopy. Ulster Hall, Belfast, May 2010.JPG
Detail of the Ulster Hall's wrought-iron entrance canopy.

The £8.5 million project included: [3]

The refurbishment was performed by Graham Building Contractors and was jointly funded by Belfast City Council, the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. The hall was reopened with a gala event on 6 March 2009. [17]

Previously stated as 1,850, [18] the seated capacity of the refurbished hall is 1,000. [2] Since the reopening, the hall has provided a rehearsal home and (from June 2009) administrative offices for the Ulster Orchestra. [17]

The Ulster Hall served as the eleventh "Pit Stop" during the 22nd season of The Amazing Race . [19]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Revamped Ulster Hall unveiled". BBC News . 6 March 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
  2. 1 2 Rathcol (6 March 2009). "Classical Music 06/03/09". The Belfast Telegraph . Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 "'Grand Dame' returns to Bedford Street". Belfast City Council. 6 March 2009. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  4. ↑ "A New Home for the Ulster Orchestra". Culture Northern Ireland. 28 March 2008. Archived from the original on 9 June 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  5. ↑ "About the hall". Belfast City Council. Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  6. ↑ "Dunleath Papers" (PDF). Public Records Office of Northern Ireland . 2007. p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  7. ↑ "Historic Ulster Hall paintings to be restored" (Press release). Belfast Waterfront. 26 June 2008. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  8. 1 2 "Ulster Hall to get £7m facelift". BBC News . 7 July 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
  9. ↑ "Belfast, Northern Ireland, Ulster Hall" . Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "Snow Patrol Concert Setlist at Ulster Hall". setlist.fm. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  11. ↑ "CAIN: A Draft Chronology of the Conflict - 1995" . Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Historical Belfast: Churchill In Belfast, 1912". 9 February 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  13. 1 2 "An Phoblacht/Republican News, Thursday October 26 1995" . Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  14. ↑ "Once the home of Edward Carson, the Ulster Hall never saw a night like this". The Irish Times. 26 November 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  15. 1 2 3 Irish Independent. 9 November 1995.
  16. ↑ "Ulster Group Theatre". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  17. 1 2 "Welcome home Ulster Orchestra!". Ulster Orchestra. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2009.[ permanent dead link ]
  18. ↑ "Ulster Hall, Belfast". worldstadia.com. 28 December 2005. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 7 March 2009.
  19. ↑ Betzold, Todd (5 May 2013). "The Amazing Race 22 Live Recap: Finale – The Winner Is…". Reality Rewind. Retrieved 31 December 2019.

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