Queen's Quarter (also known as the University Quarter) is the southernmost quarter in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) 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 (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

and named after

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

, Northern Ireland's largest university. The Quarter is centred on the Lanyon Building, the University's most prominent building, designed by architect Sir Charles Lanyon, while Botanic Avenue, Stranmillis Road, University Road and Malone Road are the main

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way of transport, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. Originally, the word referred to a main road or open street which was frequented thoroughly. Different terms *Roa ...

s through the area. The Quarter encompasses a region bounded by the

Ormeau Road Ormeau Road is a road in south Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. Ormeau Park is adjacent to it. It forms part of the A24. History The road, as currently laid out, dates from the first decades of the 19th century when a bridge was buil ...

, the Holylands and Stranmillis Embankment to the east and the

Lisburn Road Lisburn Road is a main arterial route linking Belfast and Lisburn, Northern Ireland. The Lisburn Road is now an extension of the "Golden Mile (Belfast), Golden Mile" with many shops, boutiques, wine bars, restaurants and coffee houses. The road ...

to the west.

Culture

Many cultural events take place in this area of the city, in part because of the presence of the university, and in part because of the choice of venues, including the Whitla, Mandela and Elmwood Halls owned by the University. As well as these inside venues, the Botanic Gardens, serve as an outdoor venue for events such as the Belfast leg of the Tennents T Vital concert. The best known event that takes place in the quarter is the long running

Belfast Festival at Queen's Belfast International Arts Festival, formerly known as Belfast Festival at Queen's, claims to be the city's longest running international arts event. Originally established in 1962, it was hosted by Queen's University until 2015, after which a n ...

, an international arts festival held every November, now in its 46th year. The Quarter is also home to the

Lyric Players' Theatre The Lyric Theatre, or simply The Lyric, is the principal, full-time producing theatre in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In January 2023 it won The Stage's Theatre of the Year award in recognition of "its programme...as well as for its online festiva ...

, the

Crescent Arts Centre The Crescent Arts Centre (or simply The Crescent) is an arts centre based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, founded in 1980. The centre hosts a wide range of arts and entertainment events, as well as classes in dance, music, verbal and visual arts, ...

, the

Naughton Gallery at Queen's The Naughton Gallery at Queen's, also known as The Naughton Gallery, is an art gallery and museum at Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland. Opened in 2001, the gallery is named after its benefactors, Martin and Carmel Naughton, who donated ...

and

Queen's Film Theatre The Queen's Film Theatre or QFT is an independent cinema at Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It ...

(an

art house An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is an independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made prima ...

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ** Filmmaking, the process of making a film * Movie theate ...

that hosts the annual

Belfast Film Festival The Belfast Film Festival (BFF) is an annual film festival in Northern Ireland with an attendance over 25,000. In 2022, it launched its International Competition program. BFF includes the Docs Ireland international documentary festival, as well ...

). While many popular bands and performers play in the Queen's Students' Union's Mandela Hall and 'Speakeasy' venues.

Attractions

Much of the area is near the Botanic Gardens, a public park opened in 1828, housing rare plant species in the iconic 'Palm House' (also designed by Charles Lanyon); the park is located close to the Stanmillis Embankment along the

River Lagan The River Lagan (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ''Lagan Wattèr'') is a major river in Northern Ireland which runs from the Slieve Croob mountain in County Down to Belfast where it enters Belfast Lough, an inlet of the Irish Sea. The ...

, which consists of a

towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, Working animal, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mod ...

that runs to the town of

Lisburn Lisburn ( ; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with t ...

. Northern Ireland's largest museum, the

Ulster Museum The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasures ...

, is located in the Quarter adjacent to the Friar's Bush Graveyard, a former monastery and one of Belfast's oldest Christian sites, with graves dating to the time of

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...

Architecture

The area is also known for its architecture which includes not only the Lanyon Building, but also

Union Theological College Union Theological College is the theological college for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and is situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Council for Training in Ministry. It has been responsible for training people for m ...

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

training college used as the base for the

Parliament of Northern Ireland The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...

between 1921 and 1932), the main building of

Methodist College Belfast Methodist College Belfast (MCB), locally known as Methody, is a co-educational voluntary grammar school in Belfast, located at the foot of the Malone Road, Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1865 by the Methodist Church in Ireland and is one of e ...

and Elmwood Hall (a former Presbyterian Church, now owned by Queen's and used as a concert hall). The main building of

Stranmillis College Stranmillis University College is a university college of Queen's University Belfast. The institution is located on the Stranmillis Road in Belfast. It had students in . The school offers the BEd, PGCE and TESOL, as well as other courses. ...

(part of Queen's) was also designed by Charles Lanyon.

Students

Thousands of students from Queen's, as well as other institutions such as the

University of Ulster Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...

and

Belfast Metropolitan College Belfast Metropolitan College, also known as Belfast Met, is a further and higher education institution in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The college offers both vocational education and academic qualifications. With over 37,000 enrolments and an a ...

, live in the area which has given rise to a large number of coffee shops, restaurants and pubs which have also made the area popular among tourists. Clear examples of this can be seen in the Stranmillis Village area south of Queen's, and Botanic Avenue to the north of the main campus.

Images

Image:The Union Theological College, Belfast - geograph.org.uk - 395032.jpg,

, located on Botanic Avenue. Image:Queen's University of Belfast, Lanyon building, May 2006.jpg, The Lanyon Building, the main building of Queen's University, and centre of Queen's Quarter. Image:War Memorial, QUB.JPG, QUB War Memorial, outside main entrance to Lanyon Building. Image:Student's Union Queen's.jpg,

Queen's University Belfast Students' Union Queen's Students' Union (QSU) is the official representative body for students at Queen's University Belfast. Membership of the union is automatic and currently totals 24,560, making it one of the largest unions on the island of Ireland and in ...

Image:Butal2.jpg, Exterior of Ulster Museum, located on Stranmillis Road and designed by James Cumming Wynne. Image:Ulster Museum refurbishment.jpg, Ulster Museum undergoing refurbishment. Image:Inside Palm House.JPG, Inside the Botanic Gardens Palm House. Image:Lord Kelvin, Botanic park Belfast.jpg, Statue to Belfast-born physicist

Lord Kelvin William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (26 June 182417 December 1907), was a British mathematician, Mathematical physics, mathematical physicist and engineer. Born in Belfast, he was the Professor of Natural Philosophy (Glasgow), professor of Natur ...

at the entrance to the botanic gardens. Image:Laganhead.jpg,

Queen's University Belfast Boat Club Queen's University Belfast Boat Club (QUBBC) is the boat club of Queen's University Belfast in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is based on the River Lagan in the Stranmillis area of the city, about 10 minutes' walk from the university. Histor ...

based in Stranmillis, racing

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

on the

References

External links

Discover the Quarters, Official Belfast Tourist SiteQueen's University Belfast
{{coord missing, County Antrim Quarters of Belfast Queen's University Belfast