"Submitted application from Mr. John Seeds, 7 Donegall Square West, on behalf of Viscount Harberton, to name new streets on the Harberton Estate, situate off Balmoral Avenue and Upper Malone Road, as follows:– Greenview Lane, Harberton Park, Bristow Lane, Pomeroy Lane, Drummond Lane, Trasnagh Lane, Braddock Lane, and Strangford Lane. Resolved – That the names suggested be approved of. (16th November 1926).
"Resolved – That the name Bristow Park be approved in lieu of Bristow Lane for a new street on the property of Lord Harberton situated off Balmoral Avenue". (10th May 1932).
"The City Surveyor submitted memorial signed by occupiers and owners of property in Bristow Park, Malone Road, requesting that the name be changed to Dorchester Park. The Committee could not see their way to accede to the request". (13th March 1934).
Bristow Park
Location: Malone, BT9
Named: 1932
Theme: Prominent local families / Suburban prestige
Etymology and Naming
Bristow Park is named after the Bristow family, notably James Bristow (1796–1866), a Belfast banker and landowner. The Bristows built Wilmont House (1859) on the outskirts of Belfast—now part of Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park. Their prominence in local society and landholding likely influenced the naming of the 1930s suburban development. The “Park” suffix, common in South Belfast, was used to evoke leafy, upper-middle-class suburbia.
Origins and Development
Developed in the early 1930s on former farmland near Upper Malone Road, Bristow Park was part of Belfast’s planned suburban expansion. Early builders included T.J.M. Davison, J.H. Barton & Sons, and Alexander McDowell, with houses constructed from 1933 onwards. The street was not fully built up until after WWII.
It features large detached houses in Arts-and-Crafts and early modernist styles, set along a curving cul-de-sac with mature landscaping. It remains one of Belfast’s most desirable addresses and is now part of a Conservation Area.
Naming Patterns
Bristow Park fits a broader Malone-area trend of using the “Park” suffix alongside names evoking prestige, landed families, or English locales—e.g. Harberton Park, Knightsbridge Park, Dorchester Park. This reflected developers’ desire to market the area as Belfast’s answer to a garden suburb.