Location: Off Divis Street, Smithfield area
Former name: Lettuce Hill
Ward (1918): Smithfield
John Street, now running off Divis Street towards Institution Place, appears in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century directories, including the 1918 Belfast Directory, where it is described as “John Street (late Lettuce Hill)”. The precise origin of the name is uncertain. A local tradition associates it with John Hamill, whose family was buried at Hannahstown, though firm documentary confirmation has not been identified.
This street should not be confused with an earlier John Street, shown on the Ordnance Survey First Edition (1829–1835) in the older built-up area of Belfast, on the north side of the town, running between North Street and Donegall Street. That earlier John Street was later absorbed into the development of Royal Avenue.
An early twentieth-century account associates that earlier John Street with a locality known as Old Rope Walk and with rope manufacture in eighteenth-century Belfast. Writing in 1937, D. A. Chart notes:
“John Street, it has been said, was called formerly the Old Rope Walk, which is capable of proof, the locality being referred to in the year 1800, in connection with a building lease, under the title of ‘the north side of the Old Rope Walk.’ The manufacture of ropes was carried on in 1758 by John M‘Cracken; but whether at this place, or whether he was the first to begin it, is not known, though, taking into account the early maritime character of Belfast, it is likely ropes were made before 1758.”
The early date, industrial character, and maritime context of rope-making strongly suggest that this reference applies to the earlier John Street rather than to the later John Street off Divis Street.
The present John Street off Divis Street represents a later phase of urban development, formerly known as Lettuce Hill. While it shares its name with an earlier John Street on the north side of the town, the two streets are distinct in location, date, and historical context.
Source
Chart, D. A., I.S.O., Litt.D., “Small Town That Has Become a Capital City – The Story of Belfast Since 1737”, Belfast News-Letter Bicentenary Supplement, Wednesday, 1 September 1937, p. 22.