A resource for the history of Bloomfield through the farm and the 'big house', the village, housing development and suburb -- including the 1851 mill disaster (16 workmen killed, six injured).
Finding your way around the site: Please click on the specific periods at
the top and bottom of each page.
I acknowledge with thanks the assistance of the East Belfast Historical Society and Wesley Thompson. The Society's DVD, The Past in Pictures, grant-aided by the Heritage Lottery Fund, along with John Auld's comprehensive article on Bloomfield in the Society's Journal, Vol.3 No.2, 1994, provided a treasure trove of historic photographs and a rich source of information. It was John Auld's drawing of Bloomfield House as he remembered it which set this website project in motion.
Site last updated 2 January 2022.
Just added two new PDFs: a fascinating 1811 letter written by John Crawford;
also a substantially revised genealogical survey of the Crawfords of Crawfordsburn.