East Belfast : HISTORY
Aidan Campbell has previously published 9 East Belfast local history books, including one on Belmont (above). Profits are donated to various local charities. He regularly gives illustrated left: By 2006 Legge Brothers was closed and the premises were available for rental as the signage declares. It had survived for nearly 90 years and had been a very successful boot and shoe business at the hub of the Strandtown retailing network, which was largely composed of independent retailers. Many people in the area remember going to Legge’s every year to get new school shoes during the back-to-school period for the Autumn term. But retail patterns were changing with the development of large shopping centres and national chains. Legge’s was demolished and Café Smart now occupies the site. It is one of many great restaurants, coffee shops and eateries at Strandtown today.
talks to groups and societies. The books retail at £10.00 each and are on sale at Hillmount Garden Centre, Gilnahirk and Marie Curie Hospice. www.eastbelfasthistory.com
left: Looking along Belmont Road in 1930 and the tram approaching the camera is a ‘Chamberlain’ model which was known as a very durable type and introduced by eponymous and newly appointed tramway General Manager, William Chamberlain. The shop on the corner of Ranfurley Drive (to the far right) is occupied by Belmont Boot Repairs, proprietor W.H. Legge. A close look with a magnifying glass at the shop window and gable wall reveals that the premises were also a ‘receiving office’ for the Glen Laundry back in the days before washing machines were widely
mayor or local dignitary at the final destination which was usually Bangor, but sometimes it could be as far away as Carrickfergus.
the old Strandtown National School, which moved to spacious new premises on North Road in 1931.
picture perfect A view from Gelston’s Corner (inset Pg 20) looking along Holywood Road in 1930 towards Belfast on the left and Pim’s Avenue on the right. The small castellated building is the gatelodge of ‘Strandtown House’, home of James Alexander Morrison Heyn well-known for being owner of the Ulster Steamship Company also known as the ‘Head Line’. The site was chosen for the construction of the new Strand Cinema in 1936.
The school building had been constructed in 1863 as a ‘Chapel of Ease’ for the local Church of Ireland congregation before St. Mark’s Dundela was consecrated in 1878. The three gentlemen sitting on the kerbside seem relatively untroubled by passing traffic. The same view of Gelston’s Corner (above inset) in the 1980s, with Dundela Crescent to the right. The old Strandtown National School site is now occupied by Stewarts Supermarkets.
the changing face A fairly quiet scene at Gelston’s Corner (top of page), probably during the First World Years. The grand pillars at the doorway to the Balmer premises at 2 Belmont Road are nicely captured, as is
The premises have been remodelled although part of the rear of the old school building remains. The single car looks like an Austin Allegro, which was a small family car manufactured by British Leyland under the Austin name from 1973 until 1983, and often suffered from a poor reputation.
East Belfast Life 21