Location & Context
Queen’s Road lies in East Belfast, within the area of the old Queen’s Island, now redeveloped as the Titanic Quarter. It runs through the former shipyard zone, close to Hamilton Dock, the SS Nomadic, and the slipways from which the Titanic and her sister ships were launched.
Name & Dedication
The street takes its name from Queen’s Island, which was so named to commemorate Queen Victoria’s visit to Belfast in August 1849.
The renaming of the island coincided with works on the Lagan channel (leading to the naming of the Victoria Channel) and a symbolic royal presence in the city.
Thus, the “Queen” in Queen’s Road is Queen Victoria.
Historical Usage & First Appearances
The name Queen’s Road is well attested in local street and trade directories from the late 19th century onward.
By 1890, Belfast directories list the street in the format “Station Street to Queen’s Road,” confirming its contemporary use.
By 1901, a directory references “Abercorn Road – off Queen’s Road,” showing the name was already established.
By 1907, maps and schedules show “Queen’s Quay to Queen’s Road” in regular use.
Over the early 20th century, the name appears consistently in municipal, industrial and cartographic sources.
Significance & Role
Queen’s Road was a principal thoroughfare within the shipyard precinct, linking docks, factories, administrative buildings and worker housing.
In heritage walking trails such as the “Yardmen Trail,” the name is preserved to mark the industrial and social geography of the shipbuilding workforce.
In the modern regeneration of the Titanic Quarter, Queen’s Road forms part of the historic fabric integrating heritage elements such as cranes and slipways with new development.
EastSide Greenways, The Yardmen Trail (PDF guide, 2022)
Titanic Belfast, “History of the Shipyard: Queen’s Island to Titanic Quarter”
Belfast and Ulster Street Directories (1890, 1901, 1907 editions)
Wikipedia entry on Titanic Belfast