The History of the Old Belmont Primary School

In 1889, Mr Robert Ferguson of Sydenham House made an initial donation of £1000 to the Belmont Presbyterian Church committee, with further amounts to follow 'to build and furnish a school and enclose the ground as a memorial to my late dear wife and to be named as such'. The Building was designed by Mr Vincent Craig, brother of Sir James Craig (the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland) and became known as The Ferguson Memorial School opened in 1890.

Belmont Presbyterian Church continued to manage the Ferguson Schools (boys downstairs, girls upstairs) until 1926 when they were handed over to the Education Committee of the Belfast Corporation under the Education Act (NI) 1923, which facilitated the transfer of such schools to local authorities and marked a great change in the attitude of the State to education.

The school was leased and eventually sold in 1975 to Belfast Education and Library Board. However by 1994 the condition of the building had deteriorated and the Belfast Education and Library Board’s economic appraisal concluded that refurbishment was not economically viable and that a new school should be built in the grounds. The building was declared 'surplus to requirements' in May 1999 and the school closed. No major restoration or renovation had been carried out since the 1910 extension.

Concern grew in East Belfast for the future of the former Belmont Primary School building, when it was declared 'surplus to requirements'. This led to a group of local residents and professional people coming together in June 1999 to work extremely hard to save the building.

On the 29th November 1999 the Old Belmont School Preservation Trust was established as a company limited by guarantee to allow this work to continue. The Trust finally acquired the building in April 2001 with a £300,000 thirty year loan from Ulster Garden Villages and, by signing a 99 year sub lease with Belfast City Council.

The building was restored with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the DOE Environment and Heritage Service. It was officially opened by HRH Prince Charles on 1st September 2004.

In April 2005 the building was re-named “Belmont Tower". It is now a unique venue for meetings, events, exhibitions for business, arts and community organisations.