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Belfast Charitable Society was established in 1752 with the purpose of raising funds to build a poorhouse and hospital for the poor of Belfast; twenty years later, the foundation stone of the Poorhouse was laid. From here the Society would go on to assume increasing responsibility for a range of matters relating to health, welfare, and public order, and its members would play a key part in the civic life of Belfast. It continues to provide vital social services to this day and its Poorhouse, now Clifton House, is still one of the finest buildings in the city. During the century following the establishment of the Society, Belfast was transformed from a relatively small mercantile town into a major industrial city, a transformation that was accompanied by political upheaval and the major societal challenges associated with rapid industrialisation and urban growth. Taking as its focus the work of Belfast Charitable Society, the global connections that influenced its thinking and the societal issues it sought to address, this fascinating volume provides valuable insights into the wider social, economic, and political life of nineteenth-century Belfast.
About the author
Olwen Purdue is Professor of Modern Social History at Queen's University Belfast, where she is also Director of the Centre for Public History. Professor Purdue is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a Director of the Irish Museums Association, and a Governor of Belfast's Linen Hall Library. She was historical advisor for Titanic Belfast and has made numerous TV appearances in her capacity as an expert on Irish social history.
