thumb|Hyndford Street{{Short description|Street in Bloomfield, East Belfast, Northern Ireland}} '''Hyndford Street''' is a Protestant working-class street in Bloomfield, Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It lies off the Beersbridge Road.<ref>{{Cite web |last=StreetCheck |title=Interesting Information for Hyndford Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT5 5EN Postcode |url=https://www.streetcheck.co.uk/postcode/bt55en |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=StreetCheck |language=en}}</ref>
It is most well known for being the birthplace of musician Van Morrison.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hyndford Street, Belfast, Co. Antrim |url=https://archives.wartimeni.com/location/hyndford-street-belfast-co-antrim/ |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=WartimeNI |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Blake |date=2021-09-02 |title=On Hyndford Street - The Van Morrison Belfast Walking Trail |url=https://www.thisisblake.com/post/on-hyndford-street-the-van-morrison-belfast-walking-trail |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=blakespace |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Van Morrison’s Belfast: From Cyprus Avenue to Hyndford Street |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/van/van-morrison-s-belfast-from-cyprus-avenue-to-hyndford-street-1.2332247 |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref> Van lived in 125 Hyndford Street, with his father, George Morrison, and his mother, Violet Morrison. Morrison's good friend, jazz musician George Cassidy also grew up on Hyndford Street, number 49.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-29 |title=Van Morrison Discover Brighton |url=https://discoverbrighton.org/van-morrison/ |access-date=2024-11-15 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-03-31 |title=Van Morrison in lockdown: ‘I am trying to get back into writing songs’ |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/van-morrison-interview-keep-er-lit-book-lyrics-release-date-albums-a9435686.html |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref> Cassidy taught Van Morrison tenor saxophone and music reading lessons.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rogan |first=Johnny |title=Van Morrison: No Surrender. |publisher=Vintage |year=2006 |isbn=9780099431831 |location=United Kingdom |pages=32 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Chance |first1=David |title=Van Morrison with The Monarchs / Them Chronology 1947/8-1969 |url=https://www.oocities.org/tracybjazz/hayward/van-the-man.info/miscellaneous/themchrono.html |website=www.oocities.org |publisher=Extracted from van-the-man.info |access-date=16 November 2024}}</ref> Van described him as a "big inspiration"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Van Morrison Quote: "When I started studying tenor saxophone as a kid in Belfast, I did so with a guy named George Cassidy". |url=https://quotefancy.com/quote/1334817/Van-Morrison-When-I-started-studying-tenor-saxophone-as-a-kid-in-Belfast-I-did-so-with-a |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=quotefancy.com |language=en}}</ref> and went on to say: "At 15, I was taking lessons from a guy called George Cassidy, who lived in the same street. He was a great jazz player. He had the chops."'<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-04-01 |title=Van Morrison on his musical memories and what he sings when he’s washing his hands |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/music/van-morrison-on-his-musical-memories-and-what-he-sings-when-hes-washing-his-hands/39092301.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CAt%2015,%20I%20was%20taking,The%20Monarchs,%E2%80%9D%20he%20explains. |access-date=2024-11-15 |work=BelfastTelegraph.co.uk |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Van in Lockdown |url=https://suncoastvanfans.blogspot.com/2020/05/van-in-lockdown.html |access-date=2024-11-15 |language=en-GB}}</ref> As Van Morrison and George Cassidy both lived on the same street, this made it extremely accessible for Morrison to continue to learn, they continued to bond, and became great friends.
== Area and events == Hyndford Street was constructed in the late 1890's as part of the rapid expansion of east Belfast.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory |date=1901 |publisher=Henderson & Co |location=Belfast}}</ref> Early residents of the street were predominantly employed in the city's heavy industries. As a working-class area, this trend continued throughout the 20th-century, with laborer's, tradesmen and dockers for the nearby Harland & Wolff and coal quay.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1901 CENSUS BELFAST STREETS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER WITH WARDS |url=https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~jeanmccarthy36/genealogy/census_street_pottinger.htm |access-date=2026-02-26 |website=freepages.rootsweb.com}}</ref>
At the end Hyndford Street is Owen O'Cork Mill, a Grade B2 listed former linen mill.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History and Heritage of Avoniel / Flora Street – EastSide Greenways |url=https://www.eastsidegreenways.com/history-and-heritage-of-avoniel-flora-street/ |access-date=2026-02-26 |language=en-GB}}</ref> The current structure dates back prior to the street, having been built in 1873, replacing an earlier 17th-century corn mill.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Belfast |first=Plan |date=2025-02-19 |title=Owen O'Cork Mill {{!}} Plan Belfast {{!}} Historic Belfast Landmark |url=https://www.planbelfast.com/historic-building/owen-ocork-mill |access-date=2026-02-26 |website=www.planbelfast.com |language=en}}</ref>
Houses on Hyndford Street are terrace housing. Nearby areas include the Comber Greenway (formerly a railway line between Comber and the city of Belfast) and Cyprus Avenue.
125 Hyndford Street displays a brass plaque, marking the family home in which Van Morrison grew up in.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Plaques |first=Open |title=Van Morrison brass plaque |url=https://openplaques.org/plaques/2353 |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=openplaques.org |language=en-GB}}</ref>
The first resident on the 1901 directory in 125 Hyndford Street was James Johnston, a boiler maker.
The previous occupant of 125 Hyndford Street before Van Morrison's family was Lee Child's father.<ref>https://www.tripfiction.com/a-day-in-the-life-of-heather-martin-lee-childs-authorised-biographer/</ref> thumb|Two notable Hyndford Street musicians, George Cassidy and Van Morrison George Cassidy was born in 1936 and grew up on Hyndford Street. He lived with his brother, Billy Cassidy, his mother, Sarah Cassidy and his father, William John Cassidy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1939 BSD h complete |url=https://lennonwylie.co.uk/hcomplete1939.htm |access-date=2026-02-26 |website=lennonwylie.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=George Cassidy (1936 - 2023) |url=https://suncoastvanfans.blogspot.com/2025/06/george-cassidy-1936-2023.html |access-date=2026-02-26 |language=en-GB}}</ref> William was a trimmer on the RMS Titanic, before disembarking in Southampton.<ref>Encyclopedia Titanica (2020) William John Cassidy</ref><ref>The Ulster Covenant</ref>
In 1957, Van Morrison joined a skiffle group known as "The Sputniks". They would practice in an alley behind Van's home.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.irishnews.com/arts/music/2023/02/25/news/van_morrison_on_going_back_to_his_skiffle_roots_writing_for_kenneth_branagh_s_belfast_and_how_david_bowie_nearly_went_into_-3085923/|title=Van Morrison on going back to his skiffle roots, writing for Kenneth Branagh's Belfast and how David Bowie nearly went Into the Mystic...|date=February 24, 2023|website=The Irish News}}</ref>
In August 2015, marking Van Morrison's 70th birthday. Van performed two concerts at near-by Cyprus Avenue. Belfast City Council agreed to donate the original Hyndford Street sign. The idea came following a request from local east Belfast MLA Sammy Douglas.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eyekiller |date=2026-02-26 |title=The Hyndford Street Sign |url=https://www.vanmorrison.com/news/2015/the-hyndford-street-sign |access-date=2026-02-26 |website=Van Morrison |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Sir Van Morrison to receive street sign to mark 70th birthday |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/news/sir-van-morrison-to-receive-street-sign-to-mark-70th-birthday/31346948.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250714123227/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/news/sir-van-morrison-to-receive-street-sign-to-mark-70th-birthday/31346948.html |archive-date=2025-07-14 |access-date=2026-02-26 |work=BelfastTelegraph.co.uk |language=en}}</ref>
In August 2023, a pipe bomb exploded next to a household bin on the street. Hyndford Street residents were evacuated from their homes following a discovery from police officers described as a "crude pipe bomb-type device". No major damage or injuries were reported.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/pipe-bomb-that-exploded-in-east-belfast-alleyway-could-have-killed/a158658749.html|title=Pipe bomb that exploded in east Belfast alleyway ‘could have killed’|date=August 2, 2023|via=m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk}}</ref>
In May 2024, an event known as the " Hyndford Street - aWhisper Project" took place, in a Hyndford Street alley. Musicians played together to mark the beginning of Bealtaine, and a tribute to Van Morrison in the same setting as when he met The Sputniks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://9ftincommon.com/2024/05/hyndford-street-a-whisper-project/|title=Hyndford Street – a Whisper Project – 9ft in Common}}</ref>
In August 2024, a Wild Service Exhibition took place at Hyndford Street Alley, by artist Emily Mcilwaine.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://augustcraftmonth.org/acm-event/woven-willow-hyndford-street-alley/|title=Wild Service Exhibition at Hyndford Street Alley – August Craft Month|website=augustcraftmonth.org}}</ref>
In 2025, a foundation ran by Van Morrison's daughter, Shana Morrison, submitted a bid for 125 Hyndford Street to Belfast City Council to turn his home into a Van Morrison museum.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McAleer |first=Ryan |date=2025-07-12 |title=Plans emerge for official Van Morrison museum in singer’s childhood east Belfast home |url=https://www.irishnews.com/news/business/plans-emerge-for-official-van-morrison-museum-in-singers-childhood-east-belfast-home-7UIYVR7RXZHSTGRCVFNVLR6COA/ |access-date=2025-08-15 |website=The Irish News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-07-12 |title=Work begins to convert Sir Van Morrison’s east Belfast childhood home into a museum |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/music/news/work-begins-to-convert-sir-van-morrisons-east-belfast-childhood-home-into-a-museum/a1669483090.html |access-date=2025-08-15 |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref>
== Media == Van Morrison released a song named after his childhood street, with his 1991 studio album release "''Hymns to the Silence''" included the song "''On Hyndford Street''". Van portrays his life on Hyndford Street as an idyllic period free from real life matters, confusion and sorrow.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Glossary: Hyndford Street |url=http://ivan.vanomatic.de/glossary/hyndford.html |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=ivan.vanomatic.de}}</ref>
Van describes the pylons, meaning the area of Hyndford Street in which he used as a reference point to meet his friends. This is featured in "You Know What They're Writing About" (on studio album ''Into the Music'').<ref>{{Cite news |last=Barton |first=Laura |date=2019-10-31 |title=A duel with Van Morrison: 'Is this a psychiatric examination? It sounds like one' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/oct/31/a-duel-with-van-morrison-is-this-a-psychiatric-examination-it-sounds-like-one |access-date=2024-11-15 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
Other songs featuring Hyndford Street include "See Me Through Part II (Just A Closer Walk With Thee)" (on ''Hymns To the Silence'').<ref>{{Citation |title=Van Morrison – See Me Through, Pt. II (Just a Closer Walk with Thee) |url=https://genius.com/Van-morrison-see-me-through-pt-ii-just-a-closer-walk-with-thee-lyrics |access-date=2024-11-15}}</ref>
Hyndford Street is a part of the "Van Morrison trail" which is a route that tourists and fans take to visit locations that Van Morrison experienced during his early life.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vanmorrison.com/about/van-morrison-trail|title=The Van Morrison Trail | Van Morrison | Official Website|date=November 16, 2024|website=Van Morrison}}</ref> Celebrities have also visited Hyndford Street, including former Dr Who actor Christopher Eccleston visited Morrison's home.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/news/time-out-for-former-dr-who-star-christopher-eccleston-as-he-pays-a-visit-to-van-morrisons-home/39489750.html|title=Time out for former Dr Who star Christopher Eccleston as he pays a visit to Van Morrison's home|date=August 31, 2020|via=m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk}}</ref>
== Etymology == The street takes its name from the Earl of Hyndford, a title in the Peerage of Scotland, established in 1701 for the John Carmichael and his family.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Community Information, Central Library, The Wellgate, Dundee, DD1 1DB, 01382 431525 |title=Streetwise: Hyndford Street |url=https://www.leisureandculturedundee.com/streetwise-hyndford-street |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250420122449/https://www.leisureandculturedundee.com/streetwise-hyndford-street |archive-date=2025-04-20 |access-date=2026-02-25 |website=www.leisureandculturedundee.com |language=English}}</ref> The family was prominent in Scottish politics and diplomacy during the 18th century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Carmichael, 3rd Earl of Hyndford (1701-1767) |url=https://www.layersoflondon.org/map/records/john-carmichael-3rd-earl-of-hyndford-1701-1767 |access-date=2026-02-26 |website=www.layersoflondon.org}}</ref>
== References == <references />
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Category:Streets in Belfast
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