Originally built as a poor house by the Belfast Charitable Society, Clifton House today houses a heritage centre alongside a residential home and sheltered accommodation apartments.
The original building opened in 1774 as venture by the philanthropic Belfast merchants. The Poor House, as it became known as, had two functions; a 36-person poorhouse and 24-bed infirmary with the purpose of providing medical care and economic support to those Belfast residents in need.
In 1797, the Poor House opened an adjoining cemetery to generate funds for the Poor House. It is known today as Clifton Street Graveyard.
This burial site holds the graves of a number of Belfast’s most distinguished figures including a number of United Irishmen, social reformers and industrialists. It also contains 8,000 people buried in the cemetery’s ‘poor ground’ in unmarked graves.
Do you want to learn more about the history of Belfast? Let me take you on my Bricks and Buildings Tour that includes this building!