no The Irish Nahualist. May, 



CHANGES ON THE FORESHORE OF BEIvFAST 



EOUGH. 



BY SIR R. I.LOYD PATTERSON, D.I.., F-L-S- 



The preparation of m}^ note on Herons, &c., which appeared in 

 the last number of the Irish Nahiralist, directed my 

 attention more particular!}^ than usual to a matter I have been 

 noticing for some time back — namety, the great changes that 

 have been going on within living memory, but particularly 

 during the last twelve to fifteen or eighteen years, in the 

 character of the foreshore on, at least, the Co. Down side of 

 Belfast Eough. 



Late in the ^' forties " the County Down Railway Company 

 constructed the Holywood section of their line, reclaiming, 

 about Conn's Water and low^er down all the way along as far 

 as opposite the Palace grounds at Holywood, a very consider- 

 able extent of land from the sea, and at the same time 

 throwing the embankment across from the railway to the 

 point of the Kinnegar ; but even long after that the sea came 

 up close to the present Queen's Quay terminus and covered 

 the ground where the coal sidings are situated and some of 

 the workshops and other buildings now stand. In fact, the 

 railway skirted the sea all the way from just outside Belfast 

 station to the Kinnegar embankment near Holywood, except 

 for the very short distance where it cut through the point 

 fields at Sydenham, then called Ballymisert ; Queen's Island 

 (formerly called Dargan's Island), and the Twin Islands — both 

 works the result of harbour improvements — were then really 

 islands. At various times further reclamations of land were 

 made ; Queen's Island was united with Queen's Quay, which 

 had itself not so long before come into existence, and the 

 former flow of w^ater through the old channel at the back of 

 Queen's Island was consequently stopped, and a great extent 

 of land right down to Sydenham reclaimed. Since then 

 Queen's Island and the South Twin Island have also been 

 connected, so from Queen's Bridge down to the eastern 

 extremity of the South Twin Island now forms one continuous 

 land connection. Some of the results of these changes are 

 mentioned in my book on some of our local birds 



