The Titteringtons of Northern Ireland

Queen Anne’s Cathedral  is a Church of Ireland Cathedral.  The Cathedral Quarter of Belfast so named because it is the home of the Cathedral, can be found next to the Merchant Quarter. 

 

The Church of St Anne’s was built in 1774 on the site of the old Linen Hall as a gift from the Earl of Donegall.  In 1778 John Wesley preached in St Anne’s.  A new Snetzler Organ was donated to the Church by the Earl of Donegall in 1781. 

 

By 1800 the population of Belfast had risen to 20,000.  Between 1800-1845 the living conditions were dreadful.  The streets were dirty and the houses overcrowded.   The river Lagan was used as a sewer.  In 1847 there was an outbreak of typhus and by 1848 cholera had struck Belfast.  In 1834 the Belfast Ropeworks, the world’s largest manufacturer of rope and twine,  are opened and continue to trade until 1983.  Linda’s grandmother, Matilda Moran worked here until she married James Titterington.

 

In 1861 the Harland and Wolff Partnership was formed and the shipyard commences in 1862.  At its heighth of industry, employing over 30,000 workers, it was the biggest shipyard in the world.

 

In 1887, Linda’s great grandparents,  James Tittterington and Susan Houston were married in St Anne’s Church.

 

In 1888 Belfast was the largest city in Ireland and is designated a City by Royal Charter.  Consequently, Queen Anne’s Church ultimately becomes a Cathedral.

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