Wood Stuart, Outfitter

When I was a lad at prep school the uniform was supplied by a shop called J Wood Stuart, 19 Howard Street, Belfast.

Their motto was for man and man junior.

I have unearthed a receipt dated the 3rd July, 1972, for the following:-

• One Brackenber House blazer     @ £6.55
• One B/H tie                                  @ £0.55
• One B/H cap                                @ £0.95
• Discount                                           £0.15
• TOTAL                                             £7.90

According to my Bank of England inflation calculator, that is about £80 in today's money.

The young Brackenbrian in the image below must have been en route to or from a Games Day, because we wore shirts and ties.

A Brackenbrian wearing uniform

Incidentally, they weren't overly generous with the discount!

First published in August, 2011.

Kenneth Branagh

HONORARY BURGESS OF THE CITY OF BELFAST, 2018

Elected and admitted by the Council of the City of Belfast under the Municipal Privilege (Ireland) Act, 1875:-

SIR KENNETH CHARLES BRANAGH

Knight bachelor

In recognition of his "outstanding achievements and international status in drama and cinema, as an actor, director, producer and screenwriter".

Van Morrison

HONORARY BURGESS OF THE CITY OF BELFAST, 2013

Elected and admitted by the Council of the City of Belfast under the Municipal Privilege (Ireland) Act, 1875:-

SIR GEORGE IVAN (VAN) MORRISON, OBE

Knight Bachelor
Officer of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire 

In recognition of "the extraordinary contribution made to the City by [Sir] George Ivan ‘Van’ Morrison; achieving international acclaim over the last fifty years, he has portrayed a majestic image of Belfast and continues to inspire generations through his inspirational music." 

Cathedral Donors

Inside Armagh's Anglican cathedral, a stained-glass window above the West Door displays the armorial bearings of the ten principal donors during the great 1834 restoration of the building, viz.

• 1st Earl O'Neill KP PC; 
• Sir Thomas Molyneux Bt; 
• Samuel Blacker; 
• Maxwell Close; 
• James Wood; 
• Elias Elsler; 
• Thomas Keers; 
• Roger Hall; 
• R Livingstone; 
• Sir William Verner Bt MP.

Could Lord O'Neill's act of beneficence have been meant as a kind of atonement?

In 1566, Shane O'Neill ‘utterly destroyed the Cathedral by fire, lest the English should again lodge in it’.

In 1641, it again became a target for the O'Neills, when Sir Phelim O'Neill burned it.

Sir Phelim, incidentally, met his timely fate in 1653, when he was caught and executed on the orders of William, 5th Baron Charlemont, for the murder of his brother Toby, the 3rd Baron.

Perhaps a more plausible explanation is that, as a Knight of St Patrick, Lord O'Neill was well acquainted with the Prelate of the Order, Lord John Beresford, Lord Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland.

First published in May, 2013.