The Crown Bar symbolises a link with our Victorian past when the city was enjoying unparalleled industrial expansion. In The Crown Jewel, presenter Dan Gordon traces the story of this much loved liquor saloon from its opening back in 1885.
As his journey begins Dan discovers how The Crown Bar really came by its name and reveals more about the visionary Flanagan family who created this elegant gin palace.
Dan said: “What’s extraordinary about the place is that today it is almost identical to when it opened in 1885. “I passed many happy hours there from my student days onwards. Occasionally there’d be gossip about a resident ghost and sometimes about the Flanagans, its original owners and I was always intrigued. It was great to have a chance to find out more about this colourful history.
“The Crown Bar is a timeless place,
fact
merges with fiction, when there’s drink
involved, the stories become even better.
”The bar reeks of atmosphere and it comes as no surprise to Dan to discover the ghost of a fallen woman haunts the building and finds her own voice within his story. The Crown Bar survived against the odds withstanding the Belfast Blitz in 1941, going on to receive a starring role in the Carol Reed’s legendary film Odd Man Out.
Later The Crown Bar captured the heart of poet Laureate John Betjeman who declared on a visit to Belfast: “I have just been to the most marvellous pub.”
It is also hard to believe the establishment was hit 33 times in city centre bombings, however in the late seventies it was purchased by the National Trust who secured its future. Today as the bar undergoes a £500,000 project to conserve its interior and exterior, Dan reflects on what the Flanagans would think of their old place now.
Viewers watching on digital satellite and digital cable can press the red button after the programme to see ‘Betjeman’s Belfast’ first shown in 1976 from which much of the archive in The Crown Jewel was taken.
The Crown Jewel is on BBC
One Northern Ireland on Monday April 13 at 10.25pm.