Belfast's Enterprising Past 'Uncovered'

The public is being invited to discover more about Belfast's industrial past with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) holding a lunchtime talk, [1pm in Waterman House, Belfast on Friday 6 May] to focus on the recent excavation of the Sirocco Works.

The free event is the next in a series highlighting Northern Ireland's most striking historical sites and monuments.

The Sirocco Works played a central role in Belfast's history. In the late eighteenth century industry was growing rapidly in the city and nowhere was this better represented than at the Sirocco Works on the bank of the River Lagan.

NIEA Archaeologist Paul Logue explained: "In 1784 John Smylie began to construct his glasshouse on the site. The production of glass bottles began in 1786 and by 1788

had expanded into manufacturing window glass. At the time it was the largest glasshouse in Great Britain and Ireland.

"Smylie and Co. ceased glass production in 1800 and in 1881 the Sirocco Works was established on the site producing most of the world's tea drying machinery and later ventilation systems and ship propellers.

"The first air conditioning system was developed here and the Royal Victoria Hospital was the first building in the world to have it fitted," he said.

The Smylie glasshouse was destroyed in 1937 during a storm but its remains have been uncovered due to archaeological excavation of the site.

The excavation also uncovered evidence of an adjacent glasshouse dating to 1776 and a contemporary clay pipe manufactory, both ventures of the Edwards family.

Mr Logue continued: "The excavation revealed a site of national importance. None of the conical glasshouses that once existed in Ireland have survived and given that this

was one of the largest examples of its kind and its wares were exported around the world, it is essentially tied into the history and development of Belfast."

To find out more about this and other upcoming talks visit www.wonderfulni.info or call 028 9054 3159.

(GK/BMcC)