Argyle Street
Location: Runs between Shankill Road and Cupar Street, West Belfast
Established: Mid-19th century (as Finn Street); renamed Argyle Street in 1867
Overview: Argyle Street is a long-standing residential street in the Shankill area of West Belfast, running from Shankill Road to Cupar Street. Initially known as Finn Street, it appears under that name in The Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory of 1865. In 1867, it was renamed Argyle Street, as recorded in the minutes of the Town Improvement Committee of Belfast Corporation.
Name Origin: The new name "Argyle" is derived from Argyll, a region in western Scotland and a noble title within the British peerage—the Duke of Argyll. The renaming fits a broader trend in Victorian Belfast of adopting British and Scottish place names for residential streets, particularly in unionist and Protestant-majority neighbourhoods. The name likely carried cultural and political resonance, signalling a connection with Ulster-Scots identity and wider British heritage.
Historical and Cultural Significance: By the late 19th century, Argyle Street had become a well-established part of Belfast’s urban fabric. It appears in street directories from the 1870s onward with a growing number of residential listings and local trades. Its development paralleled the expansion of West Belfast as a hub of linen manufacturing and working-class housing. The street’s identity and naming influenced the later naming of Argyle Court, a smaller court built off Conway Street in the nearby Falls/Shankill interface area during the 20th century.
Conclusion: Argyle Street illustrates the evolution of Belfast’s street-naming practices and urban development in the second half of the 19th century. Its renaming from Finn Street to Argyle Street in 1867 reflects both municipal planning initiatives and the cultural significance of Scottish and British names in the Shankill district. Its presence helped shape the naming of later nearby housing, such as Argyle Court, and remains part of the city’s layered residential history.
Sources:
The Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory, 1865 (entry under Finn Street)
Belfast Corporation, Town Improvement Committee Minutes, 1867 (record of renaming)
Place-name information and Scottish etymology from the Northern Ireland Place-Name Project
Local directories and maps (late 19th and early 20th centuries)