Project of the week

As Belfast’s linen industry started at the end of the 1820s, the town started to expand, and terraces of substantial merchants’ houses like this were built on new ground. Unfortunately, most were lost during the Troubles through redevelopment schemes or vandalism and subsequent dereliction. By 1988, the row at Hamilton Terrace was little more than a vandalised shell, its floor joists having been stolen, windows smashed, and with holes in every roof. Local redevelopment plans saw no alternative but to demolish these once-handsome homes.

Instead, Hearth Historic Buildings Trust stepped in to conserve the buildings, providing them with interiors restored from surviving fragments. One was split into a retail unit and flat above to accommodate a nearby shopkeeper who had been forced to relocate his business. When complete, the Grade B2-listed houses were sold, with discounts made available to buyers already living in the area – three of the units were purchased by local families, including one family that had lived in their home since 1902. 

Today, the attractive terrace remains fully occupied as well-maintained family homes, bringing residents right into the heart of historic Belfast and keeping this community alive.  

‘Very few pre-Victorian buildings survive in Belfast, and restoring these buildings in the city centre before the ceasefires was particularly challenging, but we were delighted with the outcome.’
Hearth Historic Buildings Trust