Stranmillis Road

Stranmillis (from Irish an Sruthán Milis, meaning 'the sweet stream') is an area in south Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is also an electoral ward for Belfast City Council, part of the Laganbank district electoral area. As part of the Queen's Quarter, it is the location for prominent attractions such as the Ulster Museum and Botanic Gardens. The area is located on Stranmillis Road, with Malone Road to the west and the River Lagan to the east.

Stranmillis Road begins at the junction of University Road, Malone Road and College Gardens, heading uphill and southwards past Friar's Bush Graveyard and a small shopping district, before descending towards the River Lagan. The route then swings to the west around the outside of Stranmillis College and uphill again, before rejoining the Malone Road. The north end of Stranmillis Road contains many shops and restaurants, while the south end of the road is mainly housing.

The Malone and Stranmillis Historic Urban Landscape featured on the 2010 tentative list of sites proposed for addition to the List of World Heritage Sites of the United Kingdom, as an area of architectural interest featuring examples of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

In the 9th or 10th century A.D. a rath was built on the bank of the Lagan. The site is one of Belfast's best surviving ringforts and now lies in the grounds of Stranmillis College.

In 1603 Sir Arthur Chichester was granted expansive lands in Ulster, including all of the land west of the Lagan from Carrickfergus to Dunmurry, and the site of the future City of Belfast. In 1606 he leased his Stranmillis lands for 61 years to Moses Hill, who built a plantation castle. This was described in the Report of the Plantation Commissioner around 1611 as being located at a place called "Stranmellis". The castle guarded a crossing point of the Lagan, close to today's King's Bridge. The site of the castle has been traced to some Victorian farm buildings in the centre of the current estate, and historian George Benn stated during the 19th century that the ruins of the building existed "almost within living memory". Hill also built a second castle at Malone, on the site of what is now Malone House.

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