HISTORY OF SAINT GEORGE'S
Situated at the bottom of High Street (near the Albert Clock) this is
the oldest Church of Ireland (Anglican) church in Belfast. The present church was opened in 1816 on the site where two earlier churches
had stood.
In Celtic times what is now known as Belfast - Beal Feirsde ('the ford
at the sandbank' or 'the mouth of the River Farset') was merely a crossing
place on the River Lagan. There was a battle at the ford in 667 between
the Ulidians and the Picts. A small chapel belonging to the Church of
Sancles (Shankill) stood here and was used by pilgrims waiting to cross
the mud flats which were dangerous at high tide. A Papal Taxation Roll
of 1306 refers to 'the chapel of the Ford'. In 1333, when Belfast was
still a tiny hamlet consisting of little more than the chapel and the
castle (at Castle Junction near the top of High Street), William de Burgo,
Earl of Ulster, was assassinated at 'the ford near the castle'. When the
mother church at Shankill became ruinous the chapel at the ford took over
as the parish church.
THE CORPORATION CHURCH
'The Church at Belfast' had been in existence for some years when the
Charter of James I was granted to Belfast in 1613. The Sovereign and Burgesses,
that is the 'Corporation', attended here - hence the name 'The Corporation
Church'.
During the Commonwealth, Cromwell's troops were stationed in the building,
and the lead from the roof was taken for making musket balls. After the
Restoration, King William III came here on his way from Carrickfergus to the
Battle of the Boyne. A famous sermon - 'Arise, great king...!' - was preached
to him here, and the chair in which he sat is still in use.
The River Farset (which now runs in a culvert underneath High Street)
was navigable right up to the church and beyond. The street opposite the
church is still called Skipper Street as captains' lodgings were provided
there.
In 1774, the church was in bad repair and the patron, the Earl of Chichester,
instead of repairing it, gave land for another church to be built in Donegall
Street. This new church was known as St Anne's Parish Church, and has
since been replaced by Belfast Cathedral. Most of the ancient silver,
records, etc., were removed to St Anne's. The bell and charity board went
to Clifton House, opened in 1774.
In 1798 the body of Henry Joy McCracken, the United Irishman executed
in the Cornmarket, was buried in the churchyard somewhere close to the
present hall doors. The body was later removed to Clifton Street cemetery.
THE PRESENT CHURCH
Belfast grew phenomenally in the early 19th century and it soon became
necessary to provide the town with another church in addition to the Parish Church of St Anne.
A group of parishioners formed themselves into a Building Committee and
with little or no assistance from state or diocese, erected a chapel-of-ease
on the old site.
It was known as 'George's Church', and because the territory stretched
from the Falls Road to the Lagan, and from Waring Street to Dunmurry,
it was the Perpetual Curacy of Upper Falls.
No less than ten parishes have been formed out of its territory. One
of them, Saint John the Baptist, took on the title of Upper Falls - leaving
this church with its present title, 'The Parish Church of Saint George,
Belfast', but with only a small area of the city centre within its boundary.
Famous in its early years for its flamboyant clergy and popular sermons,
Saint George's soon developed its own traditions of music, liturgy and
inclusiveness.
MUSIC AT SAINT GEORGE'S
The first organist of the church was Edward J. Bunting (1817-1821), renowned
for his work in collecting and recording Irish music at the Belfast Harpers'
Festival. The musical tradition of the parish has continued unbroken since
his time.
It was the first Anglican church in Ireland to introduce Harvest Thanksgiving,
musical recitals in church, early morning celebrations of the Holy Communion,
a robed choir, drama in church, the Christmas Midnight Eucharist, the
Three Hours Devotions on Good Friday, and to adopt the revised Alternative
Prayer Book of the Church of Ireland.
Saint George's has a 'High Church' ethos and its strong liturgical and
musical traditions, along with the large number of ordinands who have
had their vocations fostered here, have made it one of the best known
parishes in Ireland and abroad.
Top
Address by Dr Robin Eames at the rededication
of Saint George's Parish Church
‘Up Spake the Cabin Boy’, by Robert Harbinson, published by Faber & Faber Ltd 1961
Last Updated:
Thursday 24 August, 2006
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