White's Tavern

Prospect of White’s Tavern from Lombard Street entrance

WHITE'S TAVERN, Winecellar Entry, Belfast, is a three-storey rendered public house of ca 1790 facing onto the courtyard of Winecellar Entry.

The style is urban vernacular, though the fenestration is fairly regular.

The roof is covered with Bangor Blue slates, with the ridge parallel to Lombard Street; eaves with ogee gutter.

the front elevation is rendered and painted with slight texture; shallow frames surround most windows, and projecting cills.

Windows are contemporary, typically two-over-two, quite regularly spaced in six bays.

the ground floor is more irregular, with four windows close together, one much smaller window and three doors.

Modern ornamental iron grilles protect the windows at ground and first floor levels

Quoin-stones are at each end of the terrace.

The building is “landlocked,” being enclosed on three sides.

THE STUMP of a bollard of some antiquity survives in Winecellar Entry, at the corner of the courtyard near White's Tavern. Marcus Patton suggests that it might be what remains of an old cannon.

White's claims to be Belfast's oldest tavern.

The first building on the current site is believed to have been established as early as 1630, according to popular tradition.

It is thought that the original structure on the site was erected in 1630 by Thomas Kane.

There is, however, no documentary evidence that accurately supports this construction date.

The 1685 map of Belfast records that Winecellar Entry did not even exist in the mid-17th century.

The map shows that the area between High Street, Bridge Street and Waring Street was utilised as yard and garden space, whilst there were no standalone buildings depicted within the area which later became Winecellar Entry.

Another theory suggests that the Bateson family established a wine and spirit store in the vicinity during the late-1600s.

The current building does not date from the mid-17th century, but actually dates from the late-18th century, when the previous structure was demolished and reconstructed by VALENTINE JONES.

Mr Jones, a wine merchant, constructed "two good and substantial messuages or tenements of brick and lime, three stories high.”

Marcus Patton OBE states that Winecellar Entry was known in 1715 as 'Bigart's Alley'.

I wonder if this entry was more likely to have been named after James Bigger, a prominent merchant in Belfast at the time.

The alley was renamed Winecellar Entry by the early-19th century due to the number of wine cellars that had been established along the alley.

During the early-19th century the wine and spirit store changed hands with great frequency.

In 1803, the property came into the possession of James Napier, and was later controlled by William Park & Co.

John Kane was the sole wine merchant recorded in 1824; however, by the 1830s the premises were occupied by Messrs John Murphy & Co.

Winecellar Entry ca 1845

By 1852, the property was occupied by Hugh White and his trading partner, James Neil.

In that year the site was recorded as "Neil & White - Wholesale Wine and Spirit Merchants.”

Neil and White continued to work in partnership until at least the early-1860s.

James Neil left the partnership between 1861-68, when Hugh White took over the wine and spirit stores, giving the building its current name, although the establishment was then known as Hugh White & Co.

Mr White died in 1882; however, the licensed stores continued to operate under his full name for a century until the 1960s.

Winecellar Entry in 2022 (Timothy Ferres)

Since the early-19th century, the building on Winecellar Entry was not referred to as a public house but operated as a licensed wholesale store.

A section of the building operated as The Temperance Hotel in the 1870s.

It is not known precisely when Hugh White's wine and spirit store was converted into a public house; however, in 1900 the building included a public house which was open for six days of the week, but was required to close early.

Mr White continued to sell wine and spirits wholesale.

The premises were renamed White's Tavern in 1962, when the building was renovated.

White's Tavern underwent a major restoration and heavy redecoration in the 1980s, when

"...the style of both the exterior and the interior [was] designed to reflect the rich heritage of one of Belfast's oldest drinks emporiums."

Sir Charles Brett, writing in 1985, criticised the renovation, noting that

"Until quite recently it combined the picturesque and the practical to perfection with its heavy timbered bays, barred windows and roof hoist. Unfortunately it has recently been disastrously restored in "Ye Olde" style; the outside boasts a poker-work inn-sign, the interior is replete with arty brass and electric bulbs in bogus lanterns."

The Tavern was acquired by the owners of the Merchant Hotel ca 2013.

In 2019 the bar was acquired by the Clover Group.

The exterior of the building affords little of great interest today, architecturally or aesthetically.

First published in February, 2015.

The Crown Bar

THE CROWN LIQUOR SALOON stands at the end of a terrace on the east side of Great Victoria Street, Belfast.

It is located at 46, Great Victoria Street, on a corner site, with its gabled south side elevation fronting onto Amelia Street.

The Crown comprises three storeys, though the southern elevation extends as a two-storey attic return.

It is directly opposite the Europa Hotel (which is on the site of the former Great Northern railway terminus).

This stucco-fronted building was built ca 1840, and remodelled ca 1898, including a decorative, tiled pub shopfront.

The interior was remodelled about 1885.

The pitched, natural slate roof was reconstructed ca 2005.

A painted fascia reads 'THE CROWN BAR', each corner surmounted by urns.

The elaborately tiled pub shopfront has tiled panels divided into five bays by Corinthian tiled pilasters.

Three central bays are recessed to provide a porch, with a pair of pink and white marble Corinthian columns to full-span gilded glass fascia proclaiming "LIQUOR {THE CROWN} SALOON" and tiled panels to either end, stating "SPIRIT" and "VAULTS".

All are surmounted by a series of scrolls, finials and tiled scallops to either end.

The porch contains a mosaic tiled floor proclaiming "CROWN BAR", with etched and painted fixed-pane windows to three sides and tiled panels below.

THE CROWN BAR was recorded in the 1852 Belfast street directory as the Ulster Railway Hotel and Tavern, the proprietor being Terence O’Hanlon.

In 1859 it was recorded that the Ulster Railway Hotel was let to Mr O’Hanlon by Henry Joy.

The hotel was described as a three-storey, A-class building that measured 19½ by 12 yards.

Mr O’Hanlon continued to occupy the hotel until 1880, when it was taken over by Patrick Flanigan (who later purchased the building in 1885).

Mr Flanigan thereafter purchased numbers 19 and 21 Amelia Street to its rear, and converted the entire premises into a public house.

By 1901, the premises were known as the Crown Bar, comprising ten rooms and a storeroom.

Patrick Flanigan was 45 years of age and lived at the address with his wife and their seven children.

He employed a number of staff including barmaids, shop assistants and domestic servants.

(Image: Richard Gibson)

Mr Flanigan occupied the property until his death in 1902, when his widow, Ellen, came into sole possession.

Mrs Flanigan ran the bar until 1927, when Patrick McGreeny took possession.

He also owned 2, Keyland’s Place, a cul-de-sac at the rear of the pub (now part of Blackstaff Square).

The exterior mosaic facade and stained glazing of the bar was considerably damaged through general wear, but also through numerous attacks during the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland.

Nevertheless, in 1980-81 Robert McKinstry undertook a restoration of the bar's interior and restored the mosaic facade using a plan of the original pattern design which was found at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum in Shropshire.

Further changes to the Crown Bar took place after McKinstry’s restoration, when £250,000 was spent on the eradication of dry rot in the walls during the 1980s.

A restaurant was constructed on the first floor in 1988 by Gifford & Cairns costing £450,000.

Marcus Patton, OBE, remarks that this restaurant was named the Britannic Lounge and incorporated panelling from the Harland & Wolff shipyards originally intended for RMS Britannic (sister ship of the Titanic), which was sunk during the 1st World War in 1916.

The Crown Bar continues to operate as a public house and is a popular tourist destination attracting people visiting Belfast with its beautifully preserved Victorian character.

It was listed in 1977 and is said to be the only bar owned by the National Trust, which acquired the building in 1978.

The bar is today administered on behalf of the National Trust by Nicholson Bars.

First published in February, 2017.

The Morning Star

THE MORNING STAR, 17-19 Pottinger's Entry, Belfast, is a two-storey public house, reputedly dating from ca 1820.

It is one of the longest-operating licensed premises in the city.

The building occupies the corner site of Pottinger's Entry and Pottinger's Court, an alley which was first mentioned in a map of 1715.

The Bar comprises two storeys, with a pilastered front, moulded base panels, and etched glass windows.

The current building had certainly been erected by at least 1850, when maps depicted the building along its current layout.

Griffith's Valuation recorded that it was occupied by John and William Riddel in 1860 (the Riddels were iron and metal merchants who utilized the premises on Pottinger's Entry as a store and workshop).

The premises were valued at £25 in 1860; however, by 1863, the site had been converted into a licensed "spirit shop and stores" operated by Mr J Steenman.

Mr Steenman was recorded as the occupant of the site between 1863-81, although the Belfast Street Directories state that the "wine stores" were administered by the Malcolmson Brothers in 1868, George McChesney in 1877, and William Nixon in 1880, presumably the publicans.

In 1892, the property was acquired by James McEntee and Henry McKenna, two publicans who also owned pubs in the area around Castle Street.

The property was recorded as a "Licensed House" and had been increased in value to £65.

McEntee and McKenna's partnership had been dissolved by 1900, when Henry McKenna was the sole occupier of the site.

Pottinger's Court ca 1910

In that year the valuer increased the rateable value of the premises to £95 and noted that McKenna paid annual rent of £60 to William Riddel.

Henry McKenna's public house also included a bottling store which was located off Pottinger's Entry, in Pottinger's Court.

Mr McKenna continued to operate the public house until 1926.

In 1913, the site was first referred to as the Morning Star Bar in street directories. 

The Irish Builder records that in 1924 renovation work was carried out to the bar which repaired damage incurred during an arson assault. The Morning Star was burnt out in a sectarian attack, part of the sectarian violence common in the post-partition years of 1921-23. Renovation work was carried out by Messrs F & J McCardle.

In 1935, the bar was administered by the Madden Brothers, having passed from Henry McKenna in 1924.

There was no further valuation of the pub carried out for the next two decades due to the disruption of the 2nd World War.

The Morning Star narrowly survived the Belfast Blitz of 1941 whilst many neighbouring building on High Street and Bridge Street were levelled.

The Morning Star is, without doubt, the earliest building currently standing on Pottinger's Entry; however, the exact construction date of the two-storey building is difficult to determine.

The Morning Star maintains a historic tradition stretching back as early as 1810, when the Belfast Newsletter supposedly made reference to the building as "one of the terminals for the Belfast to Dublin mail coach".

However, the building was probably not utilised as a public house or tavern at this time, and it was not until 1863 that the building was first referred to as a licensed premises.

The Morning Star was refaced in 1892, when Messrs McEntee and McKenna took possession of the site and added its Victorian features.

Much of the current bar dates from the 1924 renovation of the building following a sectarian arson attack.

Law states that the renovation was carried out shortly after the Madden Bros. acquired the Morning Star Bar from McKenna in 1924.

The Maddens also owned the Ivy Bar in Church Lane; Dufferin House in Whitla Street; the Sportsman's Arms in York Street; and spirit stores in Duncairn Gardens.

The current horseshoe bar and the exterior sign are amongst the features installed as a result of the Madden Bros. 1924 reconstruction.

Having undergone a further extensive renovation in the 1960s, the Morning Star was listed in 1986.

Marcus Patton OBE, writing in 1993, described the public house as a

"Two-storey stucco building of considerable character, tall pilastered front with etched glass windows and boldly moulded base panels; projecting sign in brass and glass with bronze urn on top; a winged lion stands guard over the corner entrance."

The features described, including the exterior sign, continue to adorn the façade of the public house.

Although it is not possible to identify the precise origins of The Morning Star, the building is significant as the sole surviving remnant of the former street-scape of Pottinger's Entry, one of Belfast's original entries dating from at least the early-18th century.

First published in January, 2015.

Kelly's Cellars, Belfast

Kelly's Cellars, Bank Street, Belfast ca 1960 (Image: eBay)

Much has already been written about Kelly's Cellars, the celebrated public house located at 30-32, Bank Street in Belfast.

I propose, nevertheless, to condense some of the more salient and relevant information relating to that notable establishment.

Bank Street, as it is now called, is (or was) one of the oldest and most historic streets in Belfast.

It runs from 2, Royal Avenue, to Chapel Lane, where it terminates at St Mary's Church.

This street is shown in Thomas Phillips' 1685 map of central Belfast as a lane veering off from Castle Street, with houses lining it on each side.

It was once known as Bryce's Lane; Crooked Lane or simply Back of the River; Cunningham Row; Bank Lane; and today as Bank Street.

Thomas Phillips' 1685 map of central Belfast

The crooked bend in the lane, caused by Kelly's Cellars, appears in a 1757 plan.

Whereas it is generally accepted by historians that the present building dates from at least 1780, buildings existed here in 1685; so proprietors' claims that the premises were established in 1720 could well be true.

Doubtless Kelly's Cellars is the oldest public bar in Belfast.

McHugh's Bar, at Queen's Square, is an older building, said to date from ca 1711; though it did not operate as a public house until the 19th century. 

White's Tavern, according to Historic Buildings Branch, "probably dates from the late 18th century;" the date of 1630 "does not necessarily refer to the construction of a building on the current site but is most likely derived from the granting of a continuous tavern licence which was not restricted to a particular area or building."

The first recorded tenant of Kelly's Cellars, about 1830, was Hugh Kelly, a wine and spirit merchant.

Kelly leased the premises from Robert Stewart, who administered the estate on behalf of Captain William Mussenden, of Larchfield, County Down (the Mussendens were prosperous bankers in Belfast, and owned property in and around Bank Street).

Hugh Kelly died in 1871 at his residence in Holywood, County Down.

A painting of Bank Street drawn in 1920 by Frank McKelvey

Following Hugh Kelly's death the premises were leased by Young, King, and Co.

Kelly's Cellars was damaged during the Belfast blitz in 1941, and purchased from the Mussenden Estate in 1942 by James Tohill of the Tohill Vino wine company.

Jimmy Tohill carried out more alterations to the bar's interior, when a cocktail bar was opened upstairs in 1948, followed by the Tudor Lounge in 1954.

Kelly's Cellars was sold for £43,000 in 1961 (equivalent to about £800,000 in 2024) to Kevin O'Kane.

Bank Street, Belfast, with whitewashed Kelly's Cellars, ca 1973,
Image: Guy Butler Slides Archive, History Hub Ulster

Croft Inns, a division of Guinness and Co., purchased Kelly's Cellars as well as the Fountain Tavern in 1972.

Lily Mulholland and Martin O’Hara bought Kelly's Cellars in 2004 and are the current proprietors.

Bank Street entry for 1974
Click to Enlarge

The historic buildings department of the Northern Ireland Department for Communities remarks in its general comments:-

"Two-storey painted brick public house perhaps c1720 but definitely constructed by 1757. It is reputed to be the oldest public house in Belfast and an impression of this character survives, despite extensive alterations. However, more recent changes and renovations have resulted in the loss of most historic fabric and detailing and have compromised its historic and architectural interest."

"Although no longer a Georgian, or even Victorian, public house, it is of historic significance due to its strong connection to the 1798 Rebellion and the continuous presence of the public house in this location from the time of the early development of the city."