St George's, Belfast, Chancel - a photo on Flickriver

            The chancel of St. George’s, a Church of Ireland church located on High Street in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Although there has been a place of worship on this site since perhaps the 8th Century, the present building, designed by Dublin architect, John Bowden, opened in 1816, and the chancel, depicted here, was added as recently as 1882, designed by Edward Braddell. Major refurbishment work was completed in June 2000.

The tripartite east window was created by Alexander Gibbs of London, as were the mural paintings on the north and south walls of the chancel. I am not sure about the east wall paintings.

During the 19th Century, Belfast became the premier Irish industrial city – indeed one of the epicentres of the Industrial Revolution worldwide – and the population of the city grew rapidly. As a result, the new church of St Anne became full to overflowing within a few decades. A group of parishioners formed themselves into Building Committee, and with minimal support from state or Diocese, erected a chapel of ease on the site of the old Corporation Church which opened in 1816 – this became today’s St. George’s Church.

Although St. George’s began life as a conventional Church of Ireland parish, after 1860 it became influenced by the High Church movement which had sprung to life in England. This High Church movement emphasised that Anglican Churches were part of the universal Catholic Church, and encouraged a renewed focus on the Sacraments of the Church.

In the 20th Century, the residential population of the City Centre dwindled to almost nothing as people moved to the new suburbs. St. George’s suffered from declining congregations for most of the 20th Century, and there were several attempts to close the church. In the 1941 Belfast Blitz, the Parish School, which stood on the site of the current Parish Hall, was destroyed along with many other buildings around High Street. It was mercifully empty at the time.

When The Troubles began, St. George’s sat in the middle of the IRA’s City Centre bombing campaign. The church was damaged on 17 occasions, perhaps most notably when a 150 pound bomb hidden in a coffin in Church Lane exploded on Easter Saturday in 1972, causing serious structural damage to the church, and many parishioners became too afraid to travel into the City Centre. The future for St. George’s looked bleak, although through the difficult years a faithful few, including the Rector, Organist and a small but devoted congregation kept the Parish and its unique traditions alive. St. George’s was sustained in those difficult times by its distinctive ‘High Church’ ethos, which first began to emerge as early as the 1860s, and which has attracted parishioners from across the Greater Belfast area and beyond.

As the level of violence slowly declined through the 1980s, renewal came to St. George’s, with a revived men and boys’ choir and a steady growth in numbers attending services, leading to the vibrant, thriving, church that exists today.

This description incorporates text from the English Wikipedia and the parish website, although thinking about it, I originally wrote the text that I took from the parish website anyway.

Taken in: UK / N Ireland / Belfast (show map)

Taken on: December 31, 2023

Tags:

altar

anglican

belfast

chancel

choir stalls

christian

christianity

church

church of ireland

europe

ireland

murals

northern ireland

ulster

алтарь

архитектура

белфаст

ирландия

ольстер

северная ирландия

фрески

церковь

церковь ирландии

北爱尔兰

圣公宗

圣坛

基督教

壁画

建筑

教堂

欧洲

爱尔兰

爱尔兰教会

祭坛

英国

贝尔法斯特

阿尔斯特

阿尔斯特省 « less

Sets appears in: • Northern Ireland

Groups appears in: • Ireland • This Is Europe more » • CHURCHES & HOUSES OF WORSHIP • IRELAND TODAY • Nikon Full Frame Cameras. • The Church of Ireland • Anglican • * TRAVEL * (Please COMMENT with the CODE !) • "U.K. Photo Gallery" ( All Welcome ) « less

Camera: Nikon Z 6_2, f/4.0, 1/80 sec, 24mm, ISO 3200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon Z 6_2
Lens:	NIKKOR Z 24-120mm f/4 S
Aperture:	f/4.0
Exposure Time:	0.013 sec (1/80)
Focal Length:	24mm
ISO:	3200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	High gain up
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 12.5 (Windows)
Show full info

Stats: 1,001 views / 2 comments

go back

Link to this photo view:
Link to this photo large view: