I studied Architecture at Queens University between 1966 and 1972. Lived at 7 Rugby Road, moving to 9 Rugby Road after we restored it (owned by Queens), shared the flat with a number of people like Marcus Patton, then Stewart Parker and his wife Kate Ireland, Madelaine Stewart and quite a few others. Worked for the Planning Projects Unit at Queens University on the Markets area and then on the Taughmona estate when working with the Housing Executive.
In the late 1960s I worked on a Student magazine called ‘Interest’ and did a feature on Sandy Row where I took photos. I soon got involved with the community and helped Hector McMillan and Harry Fletcher to fight the Belfast Urban Motorway. Campaigned against the ring road and attended the Public Enquiry into it. Worked with Ron Weiner to organise a ‘motorway teach in’.
Even gave a talk at Long Kesh about the proposed motorway (however the wardens did not allow me to take in any maps of the city!). Met Fred Lancaster and Doff Pollard who were youth workers at Sandy Row and who organised a demonstration, they worked from Hope Street Church and did some great work.
When working with Cliff Moughten at the Planning Projects Unit at Queens, probably around 1977, I worked with the Markets Redevelopment Association which then had Joe Mills and Billy Magill and Patrick Riall. Prepared a plan to show that terraced housing could be built at the same density as the mega blocks planned for the area under the CDA program. Eventually the architects, Taggarts, designed a scheme that more or less helped to keep the community in place although regrettably there was no strategy to save the commercial shops in Cromac street. We had proposed that new ‘garages’ could be built to house the horses that were used for trotting in the area.
The writer Stewart Parker (who wrote ’Spokesong’) asked me to take some photos of Stone’s Bike shop in Cromac Square and I also went with Stewart to photograph the area where he was brought up in Sydenham.
I was involved in the Davis Flats at one point, seeing the flats being built and was shown around by a resident who was eventually interned.
I also worked with Louis Boyle who was a community worker and Bob and Ruth Overy, so that led me into other areas of Belfast. Strangely, at no time was housing ever on the agenda at Architecture school. I am not sure if that has changed much.
The photos of Aldergrove Airport were taken for a friend who was also studying architecture for his final year design on airports. I think it was in about 1968. One pf the shots also shows my sister and her new husband, leaving for a flight to London.
I left Belfast in 1976 to study planning at Sheffield University, but soon left the course and ended up joining ASSIST Architects in Glasgow to work on housing projects, mostly restoring tenements.
Set up my own architecture practice in 1992 and retired from it in 2020. I am still involved in a website which encourages people to maintain their tenements and flats, called ‘underoneroof’.
John Gilbert Galleries
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