street off Sandy Row, south Belfast.
Part of a small cluster including Maxwell Court and Maxwell Place. The name is established by at least the mid-19th century, with Maxwell’s Court recorded in a cholera report published in the Weekly Vindicator (20 January 1849), referring to cases “in … Maxwell’s court, off Sandy-row.” This is the earliest known reference to the name.
The court is again noted in the Ulsterman (22 July 1854), which records a witness address as “John Fee, of Maxwell’s court, Sandy-row,” confirming continued occupation by the early 1850s. By 1870, Maxwell Street itself is listed in the Belfast directory, alongside Maxwell Court and Maxwell Place, indicating a small, developed street system off Sandy Row.
Directory evidence shows the area was occupied by labourers and small trades (e.g. dairy, weaving), consistent with the dense working-class housing typical of the Sandy Row district during Belfast’s industrial expansion.
The name is probably derived from a surname, though its precise origin has not been established.