"As Northern Ireland's treasure house of the past and the present, the Ulster Museum is home to a rich collection of art, history and natural sciences and is free to all visitors. The revitalised museum tells the story of the people of the north of Ireland from earliest times to the present day. Impressive galleries and interactive discovery zones bring history, science and art collections to life for visitors of all ages."
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"The history of the Ulster Museum starts with the Belfast Natural History Society, which was founded in 1821. From the start the BNHS had as aim to open a museum, which finally became reality in 1831 when the building at No 7 College Square North opened its doors on 1st of November as the Belfast Museum. The Belfast Museum was the first museum in Ireland to be built by voluntary contributions, but unfortunately the museum wasn’t open to the public until 1833, due to financial difficulties. At first only a limited number of visitors were allowed in the museum and only on Saturdays from 12-3 o’clock in the afternoon. Also, the entrance fees were quite expensive for working class people so that at first the museum was mostly visited by the upper classes. Over the following decades the collections of the BNHS grew thanks to different collectors and society members, and the visiting hours increased and even the entrance fees were lowered for skilled labourers and their families on special occasions like Easter Monday, which all in all increased the amount of visitors per year.
In 1888 the Belfast Free Public Library opened on York Street and it heralded the beginnings of Belfast’s first municipal museum. Already at the opening of the library a part of the building was used for exhibiting pieces of art and rare books and in 1890 the entire top floor of the building was opened as the Belfast Free Public Library Art Gallery and Museum.
Over the next twenty years two major events happened that would lead to the construction of the building that we now call the Ulster Museum. In 1891 John Grainger who was a prominent member of the BNHS – which had changed its name to the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society in the meantime – and who owned a huge collection of natural objects and historical and ethnographic artefacts, donated his whole collection to the Belfast Corporation. The collection went to the Belfast Free Library Art Gallery and Museum as it was owned by the Belfast Corporation and there was already a lack of space to show the newly acquired collection. Then in 1910, the BNHPS handed over its collection to the Belfast Corporation as they pronounced that there was a need for Belfast to have a museum, which reflected its standard as a city. Now there was definitely not enough room to show all the collections the Belfast Corporation had acquired and so it was decided that a new museum was going to be built in the Botanic Gardens. There was a competition for the design of the building and James Cummings Wynnes from Scotland was appointed as architect of the project. The First World War delayed the building work on site and it was not until 1929 that the building was opened to the public.
The new Belfast Museum and Art Gallery was a great success and well received by the public when it opened. There was also a real focus now on making the public feel that this was their museum and that they should visit to learn and acquire new knowledge. However, the actual building wasn’t really completed as one can see on the pictures below, and one of the brick walls of the exterior is still visible today.
In the 1950s it became obvious once again that the available space for display and storage was getting too small for the ever-growing collection and the director and committee members of the Belfast Museum and Art Gallery raised the issue to receive funding from the government to complete the building. However, the government was hesitating as the museum was still under management of the Belfast Corporation and they would only fund the project if the museum would become a national institution. Thus in 1962, due to the Museum Act (Northern Ireland) 1961, the Belfast Museum and Art Gallery was granted national status and was renamed the Ulster Museum as it is still called today. Again a competition for the new building project was opened and Francis Pym designed the concrete Brutalist extension, which was completed in 1964.
There is not much information concerning the Ulster Museum during the Troubles, but pictures show that it looked like a dank dark 70s building in the interior and apparently it was very confusing and there were many access problems for visitors, especially for those with disabilities.
Then in 1998 the Ulster Museum merged with Ulster Folk and Transport Museum in Cultra, County Down, and with the Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh, County Tyrone, to form the National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland.
Finally, in 2005 the Ulster Museum acquired funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and from Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure for major refurbishment of the interior. The renovations began in 2006 and ended in 2009 when the museum reopened to show off its bright and user-friendly new interiors to the public. Since reopening in 2009, the Ulster Museum has been very successful visitor attraction, especially with families and foreign visitors."
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