Bubbling just under the surface of modern-day Belfast, the hidden River Farset shaped the city we see today.
Did you know that there’s a river flowing below Belfast? No, it’s not a terrible cover version of Lana Del Rey. There really is a hidden river just below the surface in the capital of the north.
From the city’s name, its geography, and its industrialisation, the River Farset played a key role in shaping Belfast into the city it is today. But ironically, very few people – residents and visitors alike – even know it exists.
From its role in making Belfast an industrial powerhouse to its subsequent covering in the mid-1800s, we look at the history of the River Farset, Belfast’s hidden river.
What’s in a name? – the city owes its name to the River Farset
Contrary to the claims of one infamous loyalist Twitter user, Belfast was not named after King Billy’s horse, Belle, who was fast. Instead, it comes from its location at the mouth of the River Farset.
Belfast is, of course, an anglicisation of the Irish Béal Feirste, meaning ‘mouth of the Farset’, which itself comes from the Irish word for ‘sandbank’ – the sandbank on which the city of Belfast was founded.
River Farset course – flowing through the city centre
The source of the River Farset is near Squires Hill in the northwest of the city, near Ballysillan and the ‘horseshoe bend’ of the Crumlin Road.
Its proximity to the source of the Farset led archaeologist Ruairí Ó Baoill to excavate the site in 2016, on thinking that it would have been a perfect site for prehistoric people to base themselves on. He found flint artefacts dating somewhere between 4,000 BC and 3,500 BC.
From its source, it flows across the present-day Crumlin Road and Shankill Road, before roughly following the course of the Falls Road into the city centre and along what is now High Street, where it joins the River Lagan where it empties into Belfast Lough.
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The River Farset was a spate river, meaning its flow fluctuates with the weather. Its waters tended to be low in the drier summer months but treacherous during the winter.
Indeed, St. George’s Church on High Street stands on the site of an ancient chapel at which pilgrims would pray for a safe crossing of the river.
Significance – the River Farset’s part in Belfast’s history
The banks of the River Farset saw the first quaysides of an up-and-coming industrial and merchant city. Ships loading and unloading goods became the precursor of the shops that would line the city’s High Street in the future.
The Farset also provided power for the city’s burgeoning mills. Manor Mill, at the south side of the Farset, was one of the first to harness the power of the river’s waters with a waterwheel that drove its millstone to grind corn into flour for local farmers.
Other mills and businesses along the Farset’s course in northwest Belfast soon followed suit, including Ewart’s Mill on the Crumlin Road, Glenwood Mill on the Shankill Road, Cupar Street Weaving Factory, and the Falls Foundry.
Indeed, in their book, Rivers of Belfast: A History, Des O’Reilly and Wesley Johnston write that “the Farset […] ensured west Belfast would become an industrial suburb by providing both power and clean water for the numerous linen mills, distilleries and foundries along its course”.
The Farset helped Belfast become central to the Industrial Revolution in Ireland. Its water not only powered the mills that made Belfast the world’s biggest linen producer but also gave them a handy outlet for exportation.
Covering up the River Farset – “an open sewer”
However, the Farset’s empowering of the city it named was also, ultimately, its downfall. The very businesses that it powered found it a convenient place to dispose of their industrial waste.
Other businesses and Belfast residents did the same. It became a dumping ground for human and household waste and for unused offal and cuts of meat from local butchers.
Describing the Farset as “an open sewer”, Ó Baoill said, “Back then, you probably would have smelled Belfast before you saw it”. The solution? To cover the River Farset entirely, trapping its smell underground.
Work was completed in 1848 and the Farset has been hidden ever since.
The Farset today – clues to Belfast’s hidden river
Though the river flows just 60 cm below Belfast’s streets, many visitors and residents remain unaware of its existence. However, the modern city offers several clues if you just look hard enough.
The first, and perhaps most obvious, is the Albert Clock. The clock tower on Queen’s Square isn’t exactly the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but it does tilt 4.1 ft (1.25 m) off the perpendicular. It owes this slant to its base on the marshy banks of the Farset.
Another clue to the Farset’s existence is in the names of the city’s streets and pubs. Just off High Street, you’ll find Skipper Street Bridge Street, and the nearby Mermaid Inn, whose names recall the maritime history of the area.
