Cholera & Civic Belfast

Stories of Disease, Public Health and Everyday Life in Nineteenth-Century Belfast

Stories Archive

This section contains research-based case studies and narrative explorations of nineteenth-century Belfast and its cholera epidemics. Each article is available as an HTML webpage and as a downloadable PDF.

Cholera in Belfast in 1832 and 1848-49

The story of Belfast's cholera epidemics in 1832 and 1849, examining disease transmission, mortality, urban environment, and early municipal public health responses.

Cholera in Nineteenth-Century Belfast

A comprehensive historical overview of cholera and the evolving public health response in nineteenth-century Belfast, covering the epidemics of 1832, 1848-49, 1854, and 1866.

Bound volume of cuttings relating to cholera in Belfast, Royal College of Physicians Ireland

Cleaning Up Belfast: A Brief Overview of Public Health and Epidemic Disease, 1800–1878

A comprehensive overview of Belfast's public health challenges, from the early 1800s to the Public Health Act of 1878. This story explores the city's struggle with cholera, fever, water shortages, and the slow progress of sanitary reform.