Ulster Hall

Ulster Hall
Black geometric logo on white background, the stylised pipes of a pipe organ. The words "The Ulster Hall" are underneath, also in black.
Photograph showing the front of Ulster Hall, a 19th-century grey and white rendered-brick building with black wrought-iron and glass canopy outside the front triple doors. Photo taken from the opposite side of a street, with cars parked on both sides.
Location Bedford Street
Belfast
Northern Ireland
Coordinates 54°35′39.5″N 5°55′51″W / 54.594306°N 5.93083°W / 54.594306; -5.93083Coordinates: 54°35′39.5″N 5°55′51″W / 54.594306°N 5.93083°W / 54.594306; -5.93083
Owner Belfast City Council
Type Concert hall
Capacity 1,000 seated, or 1,850 standing
Construction
Built 1859
Opened 1862
Renovated 2009
Website
www.ulsterhall.co.uk

Ulster Hall is a concert hall and grade B1 listed building in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated on Bedford Street in Belfast city centre, the hall hosts concerts, classical recitals, craft fairs and political party conferences. Despite the opening of larger concert halls in the city, such as the Waterfront Hall and the Odyssey, the Ulster Hall has remained a very popular venue, and is considered to evoke much more atmosphere than the newer venues.

History

The Ulster Hall in an empty Bedford Street, c. 1890

Built in 1859 and opened in 1862,[1] the hall's purpose was to provide the expanding city of Belfast with a multi-purpose venue of sufficient size. It was designed by William J. Barre (also responsible for the Albert Clock) for the Ulster Hall Company.

On its opening night on 12 May 1862, the hall was described by the local press as:

stand[ing] unexcelled, and all but unrivalled, as an edifice for the production of musical works. ... the hall is a great and unmingled success, and the public, no less than the proprietors, may feel the utmost gratification at a result at once so pleasant and so rare.(The Belfast News Letter, 1862)[2]
a music hall fit for the production of any composition, and for the reception of any artist, however eminent (The Northern Whig, 14 May 1862)[3]

In 1902 the hall was purchased by Belfast City Council (then named the Belfast Corporation) for £13,500 and it has been used as a public hall ever since.[4] During World War II it was used as a dance hall to entertain American troops stationed in Northern Ireland.[1]

Mulholland Grand Organ

The Ulster Hall features one of the oldest examples of a functioning classic English pipe organ. The Mulholland Grand Organ is named in honour of former Mayor of Belfast, Andrew Mulholland, who donated £3000 to the hall toward its cost in the 1860s.[5] It was built by William Hill & Son and donated after the hall was officially opened. In the late 1970s, the organ was extensively restored to Hill's own original design. Mullholland's great-great-grandson, Henry Mulholland, 4th Baron Dunleath, oversaw the restoration.[6]

Joseph Carey's Belfast scenes

In 1902, Belfast City Council commissioned the local artist Joseph W. Carey to produce thirteen scenes from Belfast history on canvas, to be mounted within the Ulster Hall. The scenes depict the city and the surrounding area, incorporating historical and mythological influences.[3][7]

The paintings were restored in 1989 and again, by Kiffy Stainer-Hutchins & Co., King's Lynn, in 2009 (see 2007–2009 refurbishment, below).

Notable performances

The hall has hosted a massive variety of acts during its history, including readings by Charles Dickens and performances by actors, opera singers and rock acts.[1][8]

AC/DC guitarist Angus Young (in requisite school blazer, hat and shorts) and lead singer Bon Scott (in black trousers and topless) in an energetic performance on stage.
AC/DC performing in 1979.

Notable political rallies

Since its opening, the Ulster Hall has staged political rallies for many different causes, most notably:

2009 refurbishment

In 2007, a major refurbishment plan was initiated by the Consarc Design Group, under the direction of architect and Everest mountaineer Dawson Stelfox.[8] The main aim of the refurbishment was to restore the venue back to its original condition, while also modernising the building's facilities and providing better disabled access.

Detail of the Ulster Hall's wrought-iron entrance canopy.

The £8.5 million project included:[3]

The refurbishment was performed by Graham Building Contractors and was jointly funded by Belfast City Council, the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. The hall was reopened with a gala event on 6 March 2009.[10]

Previously stated as 1,850,[11] the seated capacity of the refurbished hall is 1,000.[2] Since the reopening, the hall has provided a rehearsal home and (from June 2009) administrative offices for the Ulster Orchestra.[10]

The Ulster Hall served as the eleventh "pit stop" in the 22nd season of The Amazing Race.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Revamped Ulster Hall unveiled". BBC News. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
  2. 1 2 Rathcol (6 March 2009). "Classical Music 06/03/09". The Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 "'Grand Dame' returns to Bedford Street". Belfast City Council. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  4. ↑ "A New Home for the Ulster Orchestra". Culture Northern Ireland. 28 March 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  5. ↑ "About the hall". Belfast City Council. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  6. ↑ "Dunleath Papers" (PDF). Public Records Office of Northern Ireland. 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2009. |contribution= ignored (help)
  7. ↑ "Historic Ulster Hall paintings to be restored" (Press release). Belfast Waterfront. 26 June 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  8. 1 2 "Ulster Hall to get £7m facelift". BBC News. 7 July 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
  9. ↑ "Belfast, Northern Ireland, Ulster Hall". Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  10. 1 2 "Welcome home Ulster Orchestra!". Ulster Orchestra. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  11. ↑ "Ulster Hall, Belfast". worldstadia.com. 28 December 2005. Retrieved 7 March 2009.

Further reading

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