Location: Off Belmont Church Road, Strandtown, East Belfast
First recorded: 1906–1907
Formerly known as: New Avenue No. 1
Origin of name: The origin of the name ‘Aston’ is uncertain. It may have been inspired by English place-names such as Aston in Birmingham, or selected by a developer for its respectable, genteel connotations. No local landowner or family with the name has been identified.
Background: Aston Gardens was established as a small residential street in the early 20th century. It appears in the 1907 Belfast and Ulster Street Directory under its current name, with a note that it was formerly “New Avenue No. 1.” A Belfast Telegraph advertisement from 29 August 1906 already lists Aston Gardens as an address in Strandtown. The area was part of the growing middle-class suburbs east of Belfast, and residents listed in 1907 included merchants, a grocery manager, and a chartered accountant. Several houses carried individual names, a common practice in Edwardian residential developments.
Notes: Nearby streets (such as Greenwood, Wandsworth, and Ardgreenan) feature a mix of English and Irish-derived names, suggesting no single naming convention. Aston Gardens fits into the eclectic but aspirational tone of Strandtown’s early 20th-century development.
Sources:
Belfast Telegraph, 29 August 1906 (classified advert)
Belfast and Ulster Street Directory, 1907 (listed under “Aston Gardens – late New Avenue No. 1”)
OSNI Historical Maps (4th edition, 1916–1957)