Name: The History of the Belfast Workhouse
Start: 2026-05-30T11:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-05-30T12:30:00+01:00
Location: Richview Presbyterian Church Halls

For a century, the Belfast workhouse oversaw the growth & expansion of the city of Belfast. This is its story.
About this Event

The History Collective Presents

A new talk by - "The History of the Belfast Workhouse"

In 1841the Belfast Union Workhouse opened its doors as a last resort for the destitute and sick of the growing industrial town. Over a century, tens of thousands of people passed through its doors, and those of it's associated hospital. Many never left. Thousands died there and were buried in the workhouse burial ground on the Donegall Road in unmarked graves.

Dr Robyn Atcheson has spent over a decade researching the Belfast workhouse and successfully campaigned for the final resting place of so many workhouse residents to be marked.

This talk recreates what life was like in the workhouse and why so many people were afraid of ending up within its walls. You will discover how and why the workhouse evolved into a hospital and why its graveyard was quietly forgotten until recently.