Today we went to jail. Okay, perhaps that needs a little more explanation. Today we visited the old Crumlin Road Gaol, now an historic tourist attraction. The Crum, as it is affectionately known, is an old Victorian era prison, built in 1845 and taken out of service in 1996. It was the site of hangings, and part of the tour we took was spent in the area where a condemned man spent his last days, and the actual chamber where it occurred. It is definitely an unsettling, eerie experience, explained in detail and with all the assorted 'equipment' that was used. This time of year they also have a 'haunted' 'tour and the guide Bobby said that many people over the years have seen one ghost in particular, but I can't recall his name. In its day, this prison has housed men, women, and children, the guide explained one record for a child that was sentenced for a very petty crime, like stealing an apple and they were housed with all the other hardened criminals. This jail also factored into the more recent conflicts within Ireland during the 70/80's.
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| Crumlin Gaol |
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| Recreation of a cell |
The afternoon was spent trying to locate grave sites in the Belfast City Cemetery. We had the burial sites for Deb's relatives, but even with a map of the section where the sites should have been, we could not find them, as there were numerous toppled, unmarked and some with thorny vines covering them completely, we were out of luck. Our call to the cometary office went unanswered..
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| Belfast City Cemetery |
We also drove around some Belfast streets checking out the addresses of long ago relatives, some we found and others were fields or office buildings. Saw the neighbourhoods, some still very upscale by the University, some near the Opera House and others now looking tired and well lived in.
Well, tomorrow has arrived, and off we go to challenge our driving skills, keeping in mind that it is now Monday, a work day, and still pretty early in the morning! We found a relatively quiet side street to park on near the newspaper archive office, part of the Belfast Library and while Deb went a-searching. I went and visited a local barber so I can look presentable when I return home. When the barber discovered I was Canadian and not American, she was most apologetic...several times, and like most barbers, was quite chatty about Belfast, etc, etc.
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| Lobby of Belfast library |
We ended the day off on another short road trip to Cultra, where Deb's Cooper family used to vacation. We had the picture of the large home and the view from it, probably taken in late 1890's, but despite asking a few locals, it became apparent that it too had been torn down to make way for newer large upscale homes. Had a good walk along the sea though...
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| View from Cultra |
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