The King's Hall was a multi-purpose venue located in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The King's Hall consisted of 6 event venues. The King's Hall is owned by the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society (RUAS) (previously the North East Agricultural Association of Ireland), who moved to the venue in 1896 from their previous showgrounds in Belfast Corporation Markets area.On With The Show by Alf McCreary The RUAS subsequently moved out in 2012 and the venue has been abandoned since then.

History

In 1891, the North East Agricultural Association of Ireland appealed to its members and the general public for funds to purchase new premises as they had outgrown the site at Belfast Corporation Markets. Suitable land sites were considered at Bloomfield, Fortwilliam Park, Andersonstown, Turf Lodge, Ulsterville, Castlereagh Road, Ballymacarret, Ormeau Road and Antrim Road. However the most favoured was the land at Balmoral. Agreement to purchase the Balmoral site was made in 1894. Work on the site began in 1896 and was finished for the opening of the first Balmoral Show on 30 June 1896.

The King's Hall

The King's Hall was designed by Leitch and Partners, Glasgow, built in 1933 by J & R Thompson, Belfast and opened by the Duke of Gloucester on 29 May 1934. The King's Hall was the largest exhibition venue in Northern Ireland and prior to the completion of the

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', th ...

and the

Waterfront Hall Belfast Waterfront is a multi-purpose conference and entertainment centre, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed by local architects' firm Robinson McIlwaine. The hall is located in Lanyon Place, the flagship development of the Laganside Corp ...

, was the only large concert venue in Northern Ireland. It hosted the Balmoral Show, an annual

agricultural show An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhibit ...

with regular attendees in excess of 75,000. The stepped facade of the hall features substantial windows and

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

motifs on doors and buttresses. Inside, the functional space is spanned by reinforced concrete arches. In June 2012, the RUAS voted to purchase and develop a new venue,

Balmoral Park Balmoral Park can mean: * Balmoral Park, Illinois, a horse racing track in Crete, Illinois * Balmoral Park, Lisburn, an exhibition and business park in Lisburn, Northern Ireland *It is also the name of two places in Australia {{disambig ...

, a events park located in Lisburn, around 10 miles (16 km) from the current King's Hall site. Also at this time, the RUAS unveiled plans to build Northern Ireland's largest exhibition and events venue at Balmoral Park to replace the main King's Hall building. This venue was constructed in 2015 and named the Eikon Exhibition Centre. As a result, the King's Hall building closed its doors on 30 June 2012. 2020–2021: The King's Hall is currently being re-developed. The original Kings Hall Building is in the process of being restored and the whole complex is being re-developed into a Health & Wellbeing Park. The development can be followed at www.kings-hall.com.

Boxing

The main hall is also a famous boxing venue. Rinty Monaghan boxed several times in the hall. A blue plaque was unveiled in his memory at the hall in 2007. In 1985

Barry McGuigan Finbar Patrick McGuigan MBE (born 28 February 1961) is an Irish boxing promoter and former professional boxer. Born in Clones, Ireland, McGuigan was nicknamed ''The Clones Cyclone'' and held the WBA and lineal featherweight titles from 198 ...

made his first title defence against

Bernard Taylor Bernard Taylor may refer to: *Bernard Taylor (author) (born 1934), British horror and suspense author *Bernard Taylor, Baron Taylor of Mansfield (1895–1991), British coalminer and politician *Bernard Taylor (boxer) (born 1957), American boxer *Be ...

at the King's Hall, having fought there on six previous occasions. Both boxers have become synonymous with the venue. Other famous bouts to have taken place in the hall include Ray Close's rematch with

Chris Eubank Christopher Livingstone Eubank (born 8 August 1966) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 1998. He held the WBO middleweight and super-middleweight titles between 1990 and 1995, and is ranked by BoxRec as the th ...

in 1994, and Dave McAuley's two fights with Fidel Bassa in 1987 and 1988. Other high-profile boxers to have fought at the venue include:

Tyson Fury Tyson Luke Fury (born 12 August 1988) is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the WBC title since defeating Deontay Wilder in 2020, and '' The Ring'' magazine title from 2020 to August 202 ...

, Jamie Moore,

John Duddy John Francis Duddy (born 19 June 1979) is an Irish actor and former professional boxer who fought from 2003 to 2010. He challenged once for the vacant WBC Silver middleweight title, losing in his final fight to Julio César Chávez Jr.

, Martin Lindsay, Neil Sinclair, Robin Reid,

Wayne McCullough Wayne Pocket Rocket McCullough (born Wayne William McCullough; 7 July 1970) is a former professional boxer from Northern Ireland who competed from 1993 to 2008. He held the WBC bantamweight title from 1995 to 1997, becoming the first boxer fr ...

, Danny Williams, Amir Khan,

Paul McCloskey Paul McCloskey (born 3 August 1979) is a former professional boxer from Northern Ireland who competed from 2005 to 2013. He held the British super-lightweight title from 2008 to 2009; the European super-lightweight title from 2009 to 2011; a ...

, Eamonn Magee and

Brian Magee Brian Magee (born 9 June 1975) is a Northern Irish former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2012.. Retrieved 19 June 2016. He held the WBA (Regular) super-middleweight title in 2012, and the IBO title from 2001 to 2004. At regiona ...

References

External links

Official website

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{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Belfast Exhibition and conference centres in Northern Ireland Indoor arenas in Northern Ireland Music venues in Belfast Buildings and structures celebrating the third millennium Concert halls in Northern Ireland Event venues in Northern Ireland Grade B1 listed buildings