The Carlton was located at 25 Donegall Place from 1912.
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| Frederick William Henry (Image: Lisa Curtis) |
Frederick William Henry was the managing director.
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| (Image: Lisa Curtis) |
Frederick and his wife, Margaret, owned and ran Ye Olde Castle, the Elcho, the Carlton and Queen's Arcade.
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| (Image: Lisa Curtis) |
The Carlton extended back to Fountain Street, and included numbers 30-32 Fountain Street to its rear.
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| (Image: Lisa Curtis) |
The Carlton operated here until about 1954; whence it relocated to 11, Wellington Place, as the Carlton Grill and Lounge Bar, where it remained until its closure in the mid-1990s.
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| (Image: Lisa Curtis) |
I'm grateful to David Thompson for this information.
25 Donegall Place is the oldest extant building on the thoroughfare.
It was built in 1790-91 by Roger Mulholland as part of a terrace of three houses.
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| Donegall Place frontage |
The premises extended back as far as Fountain Street, where there was once another entrance (the premises today are known as Carlton House).
Throughout the 20th century, 25-27 Donegall Place was used as a café and a retail shop.
The stained-glass canopy, which was added for the Carlton, had been removed by at least the 1950s when Saxone Shoes acquired the site and installed a modern shopfront.
They (subsequently renamed Freeman, Hardy & Willis) continued to operate from the premises until at least 1976.
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| 25 Donegall Place in February, 2024 (Timothy Ferres, 2024) |
In 1993 the building had been taken over by Trueform.
The directors of The Carlton in 1974 were as follows: Henry Toner; David Andrews; Dawson Moreland; Samuel Meharg; James S Andrews; Thomas Baker.
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| main restaurant |
The main restaurant in Donegall Place boasted alternate panels of mirror plate and rose-coloured silk, surrounded by mauve decorations between substantial pilasters.
At the rear, a large soda fountain was installed which dispensed "iced beverages, ices and iced fruits."
The restaurant was approached through the shop.
The Locksley Hall restaurant was located behind the restaurant.
This room had Romanesque mahogany pilasters with gold-bound panels of Oriental, atmospheric, prismatic colouring, producing a cheerful "Plein Air" feeling.
The ceiling was painted in delicate tints of pale sage green and antique ivory.
It extended to over 2,800 square feet and could be subdivided.
There was an entrance from Fountain Street.
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| The Oak Room |
The Oak Room was described thus:-
a regal apartment of comfort and elegance, panelled in natural oak, elaborately carved with all the correctness of detail and charm of execution of the LOUIS XV period; and relieved by smaller panels of rich tapestry of antique colour and design.On two sides of the room, large mirrors were inserted in the oak walls.
An Oriental carpet graced the floor.
On the first floor from the shop was The Ladies' Room, "a beautiful apartment overlooking Donegall Place."
It was decorated in subdued tones of blue and gold, and "most exquisitely furnished."
The Smoke Room was on the second floor, "a most comfortable and restful apartment, overlooking Donegall Place."
It was beautified in the Jacobean style and contained "all the comforts of a luxurious divan."
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| The Balcony |
The Balcony was available for dining or afternoon tea.
The Grand Ballroom was beside the Balcony:
Passing the celebrated Herbert Mortimer Orchestra, we mount a few steps and enter the GRAND BALLROOM, a veritable salon, both in purity of style and correctness of detail, reminiscent of that famous period of refinement and elegance - Louis Quinze.
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| The Grand Ballroom |
The colour scheme was ivory white, with delicate shades of shell pink and pastel blue, enhanced by an oak parquetry floor.
This ballroom had a floorspace of 3,200 square feet and seated 300 or up to 400 for dancing.
It had a separate entrance from Fountain Street.
As a matter of interest, the Carlton operated a bakery in Donegall Avenue.
25 Donegall Place is presently being fitted out (February, 2024) for Lunn’s the Jewellers.
First published in February, 2016.
11 comments :
My parents met at the Carlton Cafe in 1942 or 43. My mother was a waitress there and my was an American working for Lockheed servicing airplanes for the war effort preceding D Day.
I worked at the Royal Avenue Hotel in the 60's and came across a silver plate cream jug with CARLTON BELFAST engraved in the side. I have pictures of it but can't see anywhere to add them to this comment.
I worked for the legendary Ad-Man Rex McKane in the late 60`s. Our offices where in Scottish Provident Buildings and the Carlton Bar and Grill was our nightly haunt. So much so that Rex decided to make the Head Chef---Bill Beecham into a celebrity by advertising Cookstown Sausages. Not quite with the same success he had had with George Best in previous ads. But surely one of the earliest examples of celebrity-chef.
Ken Belshaw
And there were many broadcasts of its orchestra during the 1920s, for instance: https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/page/427b387a75d048a98aabab762d7af2bd
John Bradbury
In the early days of Ulster Television (1960s) Rex McKane was always a most welcome and colourful visitor when ads were filmed or live in the studio. He was a celebrity in his own right, always cheerful and smiling. Lovely man. Anne Hailes.
My grandmother Catherine Reilly worked here in the 1920's before moving to the US in 1928. After about 6 years between New York and Florida she returned to Ireland. Recognising a good idea when she saw one she founded the Carlton Cafe and Restaurant in West St. Drogheda.
Thank you for this information. The Louis XV paneling of the Oak Room is clearly leftover paneling from the liner RMS Britannic, lost in World War I as a hospital ship, and sister to Titanic. Before she was 100% completed at Harland and Wolff she was sent to the war, and her fittings put in storage in Belfast. After sunk from hitting a mine, the ornate woodwork was auctioned off. Lots were installed around Belfast and still exist. Very interesting to see some of the first class lounge in use!
https://www.nmni.com/collections/history/photographs/hogg-collection/belumy1908?fbclid=IwAR2DsOi5sC0OwRcqMsxzqF8VdLFvXsd-L_sbJEtrGkQUTiSQ7j1tBetWh1w
My parents had their wedding reception there, December 1 1948. Due to rationing in UK, my great aunt in Canada sent a large package of dried, candied and glacé fruit for the cake. The cake was to be made by the Carlton, but on the day there was very little fruit in it and my mother had a barney with the manager, accusing the Carlton of misappropriating most of the fruit her aunt had sent and how could she possibly send a slice of the cake her aunt? The Carlton made a small richly fruited cake and my mother sent a slice of it to my great aunt
Jane, many thanks for the terrific anecdote. Tim.
Although the Carlton ceased trading on Wellington Place in the mid 1990s, the name and the business was transferred (for the second time) to first floor premises in the Scottish Provident Building on Donegall Square West. The directors (the Andrews family of the Percy Street Flour Mill ... and of course Titanic designer fame) then decided to change the name of the business to 'Truffles' (under the management of Rita Murphy) but despite having a good reputation for food and drink, it suffered from not having a ground floor presence (it was reached by a narrow staircase) and the footfall required to cover the costs of running a city centre restaurant never materialised. The building was then taken over as a new hospitality venue named 'The Apartment' under the directorship of Michael Stewart, formerly of Bob Cratchitts at the Russell Court and The Fly on Lower Crescent. As with all the former premises, Stewart soon created in the Apartment one of the coolest venues in the city centre. Ownership of The Apartment changed hands and as with most city centre venues it was given several makeovers evolving into 'Hellcat Maggie's' a modern day gastro pub, which is about as far away as you can get from the original ethos of The Carlton in its heyday! On a sidenote, the Andrew's family also owned the Ormo Coffee Shops in Donegall Place - one of which was in the department Store of Anderson & McAuley. Henry (Harry) Toner, another director of The Carlton on Wellington Place, was also the proprietor of the Windsor Hotel, Knocknagoney, a popular East Belfast wedding venue which competed with the Glenmachan Tower Hotel nearby. The Windsor was originally Knocknagony Hiuse, home of the McCance family of Suffolk, one of the leading linen families in Ulster. The building is now owned by the PSNI who use it for forensic science purposes. The PSNI also own the nearby estate of Garnerville - residence of the Garner family until the mid 20th century ... but I digress! Suffice to say The Carlton name did live in after Wellington Place ... but not for long, as it was felt the name did not reflect modern changes in hospitality at that time. Sadly, by then the 'boozy' G&T lunches frequented by the businessmen of the city and which went on until late in the afternoon / early evening had become distinctly unfashionable, and were consigned to the history books in favour of lighter lunches with no brandy or cigars, and where returning to the office after lunch was mandatory!!
Richard, that is a brilliant narrative of the Carlton's afterlife, and a few of its associated characters. Many thanks. Priceless.
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