antiquity. There is probably not a house in the borough more than 150
years old. The place is first noticed by history in 1178, merely as
the site of a fort of the O'Neills, which was destroyed by John De
Courcy. It was only a poor village at the time of Bruce's invasion, in
1315, though Spencer erroneously calls it 'a very good town.' It was
so insignificant in 1586 that Holinshed does not mention it among the
towns and havens of Down and Antrim. Whatever town existed there had
been destroyed by the Earl of Kildare when lord-deputy. In 1552 it was
repaired and garrisoned, and shortly after it was granted by the
crown to Hugh O'Neill of Clandeboye. In 1571 the castle, with a large
portion of territory adjoining it, was bestowed upon Sir Thomas Smith
and his son. The latter was assassinated by the 'wicked, barbarous,
and uncivil people;' and the former, not being able to fulfil the
conditions of his tenure, the district reverted with the whole earldom
of Ulster to the crown in the reign of James I. Belfast was then
surrounded by extensive forests, abounding in fine timber for
building. The best specimen--perhaps the only one in the kingdom--of
a forest like what covered the country at that time, still exists at
Shane's Castle, the magnificent demesne of Lord O'Neill, where may be
seen enormous oaks decaying with age, under whose shade probably the
famous Shane marshalled his galloglasse.

In 1613 the castle and manor of Belfast were granted to Sir Arthur
Chichester, lord-deputy, ancestor of the Marquis of Donegal, who did
so much to effect the final conquest of Ulster. He may be said to
be the founder of the town. From the estates of his family, in
Devonshire, and from Scotland, many families came over and made a
strong settlement here. Ultimately it became a corporation sending two
members to the Irish Parliament. The chief magistrate was called 'the
sovereign;' and the first who held the office was Thomas Pottinger,