But then the river was bricked up and it disappeared forever underneath the city.
Now many Belfast residents look incredulous when they are told that there is a river flowing under their feet.
There was a narrow sandbar here that provided a natural crossing over River Farset when the tide was low.
This area would later develop into the intersection of High Street and Victoria Street.
A little over two hundred meters to the east, the Farset emptied into the Lagan.
The settlements original Irish nameBeal Feirstealludes to this sandbar; it means the sandbar across the rivers mouth.
River Lagan in Belfast.
Photo credit:William Murphy/Flickr
Up until the 1600s, Belfast was pretty much an insignificant village.
The rivers that helped propel Belfast into the industrial age became an open sewage.
The river on High Street, c 1830.
There is some discrepancies regarding the dates of exactly when this happened.
But it wasnt until 1848,according to BBC, that the last section of the Farset disappeared underground.
River Blackstaff was alsoculverted over in 1881.
The Bridge Street gets its name from a small footbridge that once crossed the Farset.
Belfast linen trade started to decline after World War I following the rise of mass-produced cotton clothing.
Belfasts shipbuilding and textile industries are now replaced by shopping complexes, universities, hotels and airports.
Belfast is now a popular tourist destination in the UK.
The Albert Memorial Clock in Belfast.
Photo credit:William Murphy/Flickr
