Coates Row
Location: Lagan Village / Ravenhill Road area, East Belfast
First Recorded: 1877
Named After: The Coates family – prominent 18th–19th-century Belfast industrialists
Origin & Meaning:
Coates Row was named for the Coates family, particularly Victor Coates and his descendants, who were leading figures in Belfast’s early industrial development. The family’s residence, originally called Snugbrooke and later renamed Glentoran House, stood nearby in Lagan Village on the County Down side of the River Lagan. They established the Lagan Foundry in the 1790s and provided employment for hundreds of local workers. Coates Row was a small terrace built in the 1870s as housing for foundry workers, reflecting the family’s paternalistic model of industrial community development.
The name "Coates Row" appears in Belfast directories from 1877 onward, and by 1880 it is officially listed as “Coates Row, Lagan Village Road.” A short-lived earlier name, "Cameron’s Row," is noted in 1907–08 directories, suggesting a possible renaming around the time Belfast absorbed Lagan Village in the 1880s.
Historical Context:
The Coates family were Quakers and engineers, operating under the firm Victor Coates, Son & Young. They played a key role in early Belfast shipbuilding and built Ireland’s first iron steamship. The family’s influence lives on not only in street names like Coates Row and Glentoran Street (laid out in 1893), but also in Glentoran Football Club, founded in 1882 and named after their estate.
Legacy:
Coates Row survived as a residential street into the mid-20th century but eventually disappeared during urban redevelopment. However, it remains a tangible reminder of the Coates family's legacy in shaping East Belfast’s industrial and social landscape.
Historical Street Directories:
Belfast Street Directory, 1877, 1880, 1890, 1907–08 (via LennonWylie.co.uk) – Listings for “Coates’ Row” and “Coates Place” confirming dates and resident occupations.
Ordnance Survey & Historical Maps:
Williamson’s 1791 map (noting “Snugbrooke, Mr. Coates”) and mid-19th-century maps showing Glentoran House and the Lagan Village area.
Ulster Echo, 15 July 1895 – Newspaper article confirming common usage of “Coates Row” by the mid-1890s.
Northern Whig, December 1895 – Reference to clusters of workers’ housing in Lagan Village, including Coates Row.
History Hub Ulster:
Profiles of the Coates family’s industrial and civic contributions.
https://historyhubulster.co.uk/tag/victor-coates
Roamer Column, News Letter:
“Hats off to the Coates family’s remarkable role in our past.”
https://www.newsletter.co.uk/.../roamer-hats-off-to-the-coates-familys-remarkable-role
Belfast City Council Planning Documents (20th century):
References to formal closure/abandonment proposals for Coates Row as part of area redevelopment.