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THE
SHANKILL HAS ABSORBED OVER 2,000 YEARS OF HUMAN CHEMISTRY. THE
ROAD ITSELF WAS AN ANCIENT TRACK, PRE-DATING CHRISTIANITY WHICH
LINKED COUNTY DOWN TO COUNTY ANTRIM.
Hence,
it was originally known as the Road to Antrim. The name "Shankill",
derived from the Gaelic meaning 'Old Church', refers to the
area as the cradle of Christianity in the Belfast area, where
its first church was founded at Shankill graveyard, as legend
has it, by Saint Patrick himself.
The area was also the birthplace of industrial Belfast, where
from the 1840's onwards the linen lords built houses around
their mills, stretching from the Crumlin, through Shankill,
along the Farset River, to the Falls Road.
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During
the next 50 years, the fast growing,
tightly packed streets of "two up, two down" houses and the
influx of thousands of people from that surrounding countryside,
gave the Shankill the unique character for which it became
famous.
The characteristics of a vibrant, hard -working, independent
community with strong cultural and social traditions, marked
the Shankill out as special and enabled it to survive hard
times and bounce back.
Linen, engineering and shipbuilding, along with the unique
mile long row of shops provided the area 5 economic base.
Its churches, mission halls, pubs, corner shops and famous
neighsbourhoods, like the Hammer, and Nick and Brown Squares,
gave the area its character.
By the 1960's the local economy was in decline and its neighbourhoods
under threat; the twin terrors of the Troubles and redevelopment
crippled a once proud community, reducing its population by
over 40,000 and leaving in its wake
an ageing population.
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