Belfast's Favourite Pub
The Crown Liquor Saloon is the main pub for Belfast's drinkers.
A perfectly preserved example of the gin palaces which once flourished in the industrial cities of Britain, it is maintained by the National Trust of N. Ireland
A fully functioning pub and a regular haunt of the local people, Belfast’s favourite pub is The Crown Liquor Saloon, opposite The Opera House in Great Victoria Street. One of Belfast's architectural gems.it was built in 1826 as The Railway Tavern and renovated in 1886.
The glowing, rich façade is clad in faience and colourful tiles, the work of Italian craftsmen moonlighting from their daytime jobs on the Catholic churches then being built in Belfast. The interior is no less sumptuous with carved oak snugs containing gunmetal plates for striking matches and an antique bell system for summoning staff (nowadays not used)., the doors of which are topped by carved wooden lions and griffons.
Snugs are small enclosed spaces seating up to six people with pew-like seats and a table running down the centre. They afford great privacy and were very popular in Victorian days, and in fact during trhe early 20th century, when people did not always want to be seen drinking in a pub! In the Crown Liquor Saloon they are a perfect place to have a traditional Irish stew, served piping hot.
The long bar with its inlaid coloured glass and marble trim is where "a drop of black" (Guinness) can be sampled while resting a foot on the heated foot-rest and admiring the riot of polychromatic tiles, stained and smoked glass, bevelled mirrors, and ornately carved ceiling. The only illumination in the room is from ancient ceiling gas lamps and the rays that manage to pierce the Victorian etched-windows.
The upstairs dining-rooms are also worth a look for the Victorian panelling and the carved gargoyles on the pillars.
The pub has no hanging sign, apparently because of religious differences between the owners. The Protestant Mrs. Flannagan insisted on naming it The Crown but Catholic Mr. Flannagan, being against the British regime then in control in Ireland, had the workmen insert a mosaic of the crown where customers would have to step on it as they entered! It is still in place today.
Tourists wanting to sample more of Belfast’s historic pubs can sign up for the Belfast Historic Pubs Tourwhich visits six pubs over a two hour period and departs from The Crown on Thursdays at 7 p.m. and Saturdays at 4 p.m. with a chance to sample a drink in each pub. Information and booking at 028 9268 3665. website:
www.belfastpubtours.com and http:///www.crownliquorsaloon.comt
Open all year: 11.00 - 23.00 Monday to Saturday. 12.00 - 22.00 Sunday.
Nearest Tourist Office: Belfast Welcome Centre, 47 Donegall Place, Belfast.
028 9024 6609 website: www.gotobelfast.com
Book to read: Historic Pubs of Belfast by Gary Law (Appletree Press)
Nearby and worth a visit is Belfast City Hall - a magnificent building which dominates the centre of Belfast. Guided tours daily (free).
Other interesting tours: Lagan Legacy Boat Tours. See where the Titanic was built, the offices, yards, dry-docks and slipways and hear the history of the Lagan River. Daily at 2.00 p.m. book at Belfast Welcome Centre.
