Origin of name
Richmond Square takes its name from the earlier locality of Richmond, a place-name applied to open ground east of the Antrim Road on Ordnance Survey Second Edition maps (1838–1862). The name does not appear on the Ordnance Survey First Edition (1829–1835), suggesting that Richmond became established as a recognised local or estate name in the mid-19th century, prior to urban development.
On the Second Edition mapping, Richmond is shown in italic script, the Ordnance Survey convention for estates or recognised localities, and is not associated with any street or built feature. At this stage the area remained largely undeveloped.
The name Richmond Square itself was formally applied on 12 March 1873, when Belfast Corporation authorised the naming of the development. The council minutes record:
“That the Surveyor be authorised to name Mr Cambridge’s property off Limestone Road ‘Richmond Square’.”
(Belfast Corporation Council Minutes, 12 March 1873)
The name may be understood as a transferred place-name, consistent with a wider 19th-century Belfast naming habit in which recognisable British place names were adopted for new streets and squares. This interpretation is supported by patterns visible in the NI Place dataset and related street-name compilations (for example, Camberwell Terrace, glossed as being named after Camberwell, south London), though no direct documentary statement of origin for Richmond itself has been identified.
By the later 19th century, Richmond had become locally embedded in north Belfast as both a micro-district label and a property or land-use name. This is reflected in contemporary directories and in names such as Richmond Lodge, Richmond Place, Richmond Square, Richmond Nurseries, and the Richmond Brick and Tile Works beside the Mile Water. Richmond Square preserves this earlier layer of local naming within the later street layout.
Sources
Ordnance Survey, Ireland: First Edition, 6-inch maps (1829–1835)
Ordnance Survey, Ireland: Second Edition, 6-inch maps (1838–1862)
Belfast Corporation Council Minutes, 12 March 1873
Belfast directories (late 19th century)
NI Place (Northern Ireland Place-Name Project)
Northern Ireland Heritage Gardens Trust: Alexandra Park background material