Robyn Atcheson - Historian

As well as being a workhouse historian, I am also a women's historian.

History for a long time was written by men, about men. Even famous women like queens were only discussed through this lens.

This Saturday, I'm leading an interactive workshop about the most infamous of all, Queen Anne Boleyn.
In this workshop, we will trace who was telling Anne's story from the 1500s to today and what ways her life has been interpreted.
We will also be looking at media depictions of Anne and investigating whether she really was a 'femme fatale' or deserves the accolade of 'feminist icon'.
Still a few tickets available!

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1986067806272?aff=oddtdtcreator

What happens when the past and present meet?

A piece of Belfast's history has been marked with a permanent plaque by Belfast City Council.

The memorial plaque has been mounted at a burial ground on Donegall Road in Belfast, where over 10,000 people from the former Belfast Workhouse were buried during the Irish Famine.

Dr Robyn Atcheson, a social historian and history commentator based at Queen's, was instrumental in campaigning for the site to be commemorated.

"The history of the Belfast workhouse is the history of the city itself. The tens of thousands of people buried in this burial ground will finally have their resting place marked and I am honoured to have played a part in that." (Dr Robyn Atcheson)

Click here to find out more ➡️ ow.ly/q2F450YYfKk

If you'd like to find out more about the history of the Belfast Workhouse, I am giving a talk near the new memorial on the Donegall Road on Saturday 30th May at 11am.

Tickets and more info can be found here

The History of the Belfast Workhouse For a century, the Belfast workhouse oversaw the growth & expansion of the city of Belfast. This is its story.

Belfast’s Forgotten Graveyard — Robyn Atcheson - Historian The forgotten burial place of tens of thousands of Belfast’s working-class people in the nineteenth century and why I think it’s time we remembered it.

Come for the history,
Stay for the incredibly specific millennial memes.

We did it!

Huge thank you to BBC News NI Mark Simpson for championing this story.

I was so pleased to be able to contribute the wording of the plaque.

"They all had names" is also written on the stone marking the poor ground in Clifton Street Cemetery. It is a beautiful poignant phrase & helps to draw together the different unmarked burial places for the poor across Belfast.

Belfast: Famine and workhouse graves marked in ceremony Thanks to the efforts of a young historian, Belfast City Council has recognised the burial ground in the south of the city.

For anyone interested in finding out more about the Belfast workhouse burial ground and why it has been unmarked until now, check out my article -

Belfast’s Forgotten Graveyard — Robyn Atcheson - Historian The forgotten burial place of tens of thousands of Belfast’s working-class people in the nineteenth century and why I think it’s time we remembered it.

I am so happy to attend the unveiling of the memorial for the workhouse burial ground.

Thank you to the team at Queen's , , , and everyone at the council who worked behind the scenes to make this a reality.

I am so honoured to have played a part in marking this, the final resting place of tens of thousands of men, women and children.

They all had names