IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
May Street, BELFAST, BT1 4NG

The King George VI Youth Hall was established in May Street (foreground), at the corner of Joy Street, under Act of the Stormont Parliament. The bombing campaign and the associated violence made its position untenable. It closed and lay vacant before being sold for demolition. Now a private car park. See also Image (February 2013).

A building built (I think) in the late 1990’s) at the corner of May Street (foreground) and Joy Street. It’s occupied by a recruitment agency which makes an interesting connection with 100 years ago when one of the tenants, of an earlier building, on the site, was Mrs Malcolm’s servants' registry office. This Image is on the right.

May Street is part of the grid pattern of the streets of central Belfast Image It runs from Oxford Street to Donegall Square South/Howard Street Image and on to the Grosvenor Road. Unusually for a street in the city centre – you can’t buy a newspaper or sandwich but you can get a haircut. Telephone House is on the left.

A sign at the May Street end of Joy Street – a two-way street with a cycle lane. An explanation is available here https://wesleyjohnston.wordpress.com/2012/10/03/the-wrong-way-issue-on-joy-street-belfast/.

The extra-wide bus lane in May Street approaching Joy Street Image(left) which operates 7am-7pm Monday- Friday only. May Street now has two all-purpose traffic lanes instead of four.

See Image (September 2011). The same site, bounded by May Street, Montgomery Street and Gloucester Street seen, across May Street, from Joy Street. Nos 14-18 Montgomery Street http://www.geograph.org.uk/snippet/5744 are towards the middle left. The grid line runs through the site.

May Street. Will Grigg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Grigg

The site, from Joy Street/Little May Street, looking towards May Street.

Little May Street runs off Alfred Street Image It once ran as far as Cromac Street and, a hundred years ago, had 44 houses. Now, much truncated, it exists mainly as side entrances and private car parks. Image shows the view in the opposite direction (November 2011).

Houses in Joy Street, between May Street and Little May Street (right). Restored by the Hearth Housing association – the following is a quotation: “Joy Street was mostly developed between 1825 and 1840 . . . . Nos.4 and 6 have now been restored as three-storey family houses, with alcoves in the cross-walls of the ground floor front rooms, panel doors and simple moulded cornices. No.8 was an entry to the rear of the property, and remains such. No.10 was to have been restored, but proved structurally very fragile and when piling for the replacement of no.12 was under way the decision was reluctantly taken to demolish the house and rebuild it in replica. Both it and the flats at no.12 and 31 Little May Street are therefore of modern construction, but the continuity of the houses with the important Georgian terrace at 14-16 Joy Street, restored some years earlier by the Housing Executive, has been retained.” See also Image