Belfast The Crown Bar
The Crown Bar Photos
About The Crown Bar
The Crown Bar is one of Belfast’s most historically rich landmarks. A priceless gem from the Victorian period, the Crown belongs to that era of Victorian gin palaces that marked the industrial revolution. It is owned by the National Trust and managed by a hotel group ‘Six Continents Retail’.
The bar dates to 1826 when the first train ran from Belfast to Dublin in keeping with the flurry of workers travelling around the country.
The external facade is a riot of polychromatic tiles bursting with rich colours and fine detail. It screams of exotic features and skilled craftsmanship that it’s hard to imagine that this is just a public bar.
Internal delights include these gas lit lamps, part of the original character. A recent restoration project including the no smoking ban have now meant that the true splendour of this bar is evident for all to admire.
In those early days this was named ‘The Railway Tavern’ and initially owned by Felix O’Hanlon, before he sold it to Michael Flanagan. Michael’s son Patrick was a student of architecture and it was through his worldly astuteness having travelled wide and far that would take the Crown to the dizzy heights of world fame it still currently enjoys today.
The floor is laid in a myriad of mosaic tiles and complemented with a long, Balmoral red, granite-topped ‘Alter’ bar divided by columns and faced with gaily coloured tiles and believe it or not a heated foot rest. Fabulous wood carvings sit atop private ‘snugs’ which guarantee privacy. In the past, many people would have preferred not to be seen drinking in a bar just for the stigma attached to drinking salons. Quirky features here include gunmetal plates for striking matches and an antique bell system to call for attention.
The ceiling is designed in a burnished primrose yellow, red and gold, supported by ornate wooden columns with Corinthian capitals. And if that was not enough gold feather motifs also adorn the columns.
Ornate mirrors, stain glass and etched windows break up the darkness created by the wood. Even the toilets are a step back in time and decorative elements such as the tiled walls are quite symbolic of traditional times.
On the way upstairs are various photos lining the walls quite reminiscent of the heydays around Belfast. One last stain glass window at the top closes the chapter in these artistic gems and a return to the plain transparent ones in the dining area upstairs.
The whole idea was the project of Patrick Flanagan. He had initially encouraged Italian craftsmen that were working on Catholic churches in Ireland to come and work on the family bar. Suffice to say that their skilled work and artistic intensity has made the Crown one of the most unique bars in the world.
Surprises don’t end here though as more wood carvings appear in the corners juxtaposed floor tiles with a sprinkling of colour and enclosed in thick wooden borders. Two antique fireplaces give this room greater autonomy and space from the more claustrophobic ground floor bar. The old fashioned wall paper and more photographic mementos from the past creates that settled appearance which has seen the Crown unchanged for over a century.
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