Photograph and text by 2006. [You may use the images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. Click on the thumbnails for larger pictures.]

The Crown Bar, Great Victoria Street: A Victorian Railway Public House. Belfast, Northern Ireland (1849). Present façade designed by E. and J. Byrne in the 1880s.

Left: Façade and Entrance. Right: Interior with Snugs. [Click on images to enlarge them.]

A venerable Belfast landmark that has withstood urban redevelopment and IRA bombings, The Crown Bar retains its private Victorian booths ("snugs") and smoky atmosphere. The pub's opening followed hard on the heels of the opening of Ireland's second railway line in 1839, linking Belfast and Lisburn to the south. During the 1870s, the publican was Michael Flannigan, who, in 1885, decided to replace the old interior with the glorious wood-pannelled version we see now. By the end of the 1880s, Flannigan had contracted E. and J. Byrne to design the façade.

Two views of the ceramic façade. [Click on images to enlarge them.]


Last modified 28 August 2006