" St George’s Market is one of Belfast’s oldest attractions. It was built between 1890 and 1896 and is one of the best markets in the UK and Ireland. It has been selected for numerous local and national titles and awards for its fresh, local produce and great atmosphere. It holds a weekly Friday Variety Market, the City Food and Craft Market on Saturdays and the Sunday Market. It also hosts a range of events throughout the year.
St George’s Market has joined Jamie Oliver in being named the “best in Britain”. The market has recently added to its growing list of accolades when it was named ‘Best Market’ at the annual Observer Food Monthly Awards. The award was earned by readers’ votes.
It was named the UK's Best Large Indoor Market 2014 by the National Association of British Market Authorities, beating off stiff competition from internationally renowned markets like Spitalfields, Billingsgate and Borough.
St George’s Market was also voted the nation’s favourite Heritage project in the 2014 National Lottery Awards. They recognise and reward the inspirational impact of National Lottery funded projects across the UK. There are seven categories, reflecting the main areas of Lottery funding: arts, education, environment, health, heritage, sport, and voluntary or charity. St George’s Market beat off six other challengers in a public vote to win the Best Heritage Project. It received a £2,000 cash prize to spend on the project as well as a coveted National Lottery Awards trophy.
History of St George's Market
There has been an open market on the St George's site dating back to the 17th century. The present St George's Market was built in three stages between 1890 and 1896.
Pre-1890, St George’s Market was an open market with stalls similar in style to May’s Market and certainly included a meat market and slaughter house. Its name may have come from St George’s Church in High Street.
Design and concept
The original open St George’s Market would have been smaller than the 1890 structure. It was designed by the then city surveyor JC Bretland - architect of the 1896 Fish Market and the new Albert Bridge following its collapse in the 1880s.
Built in red brick with sandstone dressings, external features of St George’s include Roman pedimented arches with Latin and Irish mottos. The Latin motto, pro tanto quid retribuamus, means for so much what shall we give in return? And the Irish motto, lámh dearg na hÉireann, means Red Hand of Ireland.
The central portico contains the Belfast Coat of Arms.
Light and spacious interiors with glazed roofs are supported by 70 cast iron columns made by Ritchie, Hart and Co of Belfast and Glasgow based company Brownlie S Murray.
The covered St George’s Market was open to the public on 20 June 1890 for the sale of butter and eggs.
The Belfast Blitz
Following heavy German bombing of Belfast on Easter Tuesday 1941, St George’s Market was used as an emergency mortuary. Some 700 people were killed during the raids with 255 bodies brought to the market for identification.
Not all of the dead were identified and a public funeral of the unclaimed dead took place on 21 April 1941. After separate Catholic and Protestant services were held at the market, thousands lined the streets as the cortege passed by on its way to both Milltown and the City cemeteries.
Traders
Many of St George’s current stall holders have had close connections with the Markets area down the years. Some have lived there and their families have traded at St George's and other markets for at least three generations.
Renovation and restoration
St George’s Market was originally built for the sale of butter, eggs, poultry and fruit. But by the 1980s, it had developed into a general market. It was the last of Belfast's thriving Victorian markets.
Increasing maintenance costs, changes to hygiene regulations and its once-a-week usage prompted us to consider other uses for the listed building. We led a campaign, backed by traders and the general public, which resulted in a £3.5 million refurbishment programme, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Environment and Heritage Agency.
During the two-year restoration period, we aimed to reinstate St George’s elegant, yet practical Victorian character. As the brick and stonework had deteriorated badly, we used the original drawings to plan the restoration programme.
The unusually sized bricks were specially produced in England. We used Blaxter stone to complement the original Glasgow made Giffnock stonework, and reinstated the Bangor Blue slate and glass roof. We also sandblasted and painted the cast iron columns and exterior gates in the original holly green.
Inside, we have maintained the painted white brickwork and while the flooring was probably cobbled, today's concrete version retains St George's utilitarian design. We designed and installed exact replicas of the original Victorian shops on the Oxford Street frontage using architectural drawings."
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