Balmoral, County Antrim
| Balmoral | |
| County Antrim | |
|---|---|
 The King's Hall, Balmoral | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | J3170 |
| Data | |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Belfast |
Balmoral is a village in County Antrim, now swallowed within Belfast. It is along the Lisburn Road (hemmed in to the north by the M1 motorway), and just north of the River Lagan, which forms the county boundary, with County Down.
Away from the city centre, Balmoral has several playing fields and other open space, including Musgracve Park, the Balmoral Golf Course and the fields running down to the Lagan. The Balmoral Show, Ulster's biggest agricultural show, was held here, at the King's Hall, until 2012, after which it moved to the newly named Balmoral Park in Lisburn.
Contents
The King's Hall
The King's Hall Complex is a multi-purpose venue on the Lisburn Road in Balmoral, owned by the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society. It is the largest exhibition venue in Northern Ireland and until the completion of the Odyssey and the Waterfront Hall in Belfast it was the only large concert venue in Ulster. It hosts concerts and sporting events, and up to 2012 the Balmoral Show.
The hall remains the largest exhibition venue in Northern Ireland, having in excess of 107,639.1 square feet (10,000.0 m²) of exhibition space on a 33-acre site. It can accommodate 1,000 conference delegates and provide banqueting facilities for 2,000 diners.[1] The exhibition centre can hold up to 7,800 patrons, with standing facilities.
Design
The stepped facade of the hall features substantial windows and Art Deco motifs on doors and buttresses. Inside the functional space is spanned by reinforced concrete arches.[2]
The hall was designed by Leitch and Partners, Glasgow, built in 1933[2] and opened on 29 May 1934.
Regular events
Ulster's biggest dance music promoter PlanetLove host annual winter party and spring party events at the venue, importing the finest DJ talent and seizing audiences of 7,000. Planet Fun, Europe's biggest travelling theme park regularly makes stops at the hall between late September to November.
Ulster's largest Christian festival, Summer Madness, is hosted at the King's Hall in early July each year, with 5 days of camping, worship and seminars.
Musgrave Park
Musgrave Park opened to the public in 1924 on land donated by Sir Henry Musgrave, after whom it is named after. Sir Henry lived in nearby Drumglass House.
The park features include walks, sports facilities, horticultural displays and a bottle bank. In 2010, 2011 and 2012 the park was awarded the Green Flag Award, which recognises the best open spaces in the United Kingdom.
The park contains two bowling greens and Gaelic football, hurling and camogie pitches. The bowling pavilion is open for casual play during the indoor bowling season. The pitches are open from dawn to dusk
Therapy garden
Musgrave Park contains an innovative therapy garden which combines different therapeutic features in one space. A "whispering wall" is the central focus of the garden. This is fitted with acoustic equipment and a mosaic finish to encourage sensory, stimulatory and interactive play.
Other features of the therapy garden include a story circle and meeting area, a willow tunnel, a sand play area, a bed for planting designed with disabled access, musical instruments, community artwork and play equipment.
Outside links
References
- ↑ The King's Hall Exhibition & Conference Centre
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dixon, Hugh (1975). An Introduction to Ulster Architecture. Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society. p. 196.
