Town Book of The Corporation of Belfast; Robert M. Young

The Town Book of the Corporation of Belfast is the key original source for history of the town in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, and vital for our understanding of Irish history in the same period.

The Corporation was the ruling administrative body of the town and the original manuscript recording their decisions, as well as the list of Freemen runs to 400 pages. The matters dealt with ranged from the trivial to defence of the town at times of tribulation, such as the 1640s.

RM Young transcribed and published the work in 1892, adding extensive notes and commentary along with a charming series of illustrations. This edition is a full facsimile of that edition - making a seminal resource available once again in affordable form.

Also included is he foldout bird's-eye view of Belfast in 1890, with historical information overlaid, which emphasises the progress that had been made in the previous two centuries.