Keith Nicol, Go Wild Out and About
22 May 2022
The George Best House
To commemorate what would have been the former Manchester United and Northern Irish footballing legend George Best’s 76th Birthday on Sunday, I took the opportunity to visit his childhood home last week. The house is now owned by the EastSide Partnership and their Assistant Chief Executive Chris Armstrong gave me a personalised tour that included lots of inside information about this charming property.
Located at 16 Burren Way, Cregagh Estate, Belfast, just across the road from Ulster’s Kingspan Rugby Stadium, the house has been stylishly refurbished to replicate what it would have looked like in 1961 when he left Belfast to join Manchester United as an immensely talented 15-year-old. The house has been sympathetically styled by EastSide Partnership in a fashion that’s as close as possible to what George’s younger sister Barbara remembers, helped further by photos of George growing up in the house and through his visits during the glory days of Manchester United in the 1960s.
The house was the very first house built on the Cregagh Estate, in January 1949, and George, sister Carol, father Dicky and mother Ann, were the very first residents. The estate properties were highly sought after due to having three bedrooms, an indoor bathroom and separate toilet, a side alleyway leading to their own back garden and being in close proximity to Belfast. Inside, the house has a few modern-day additions and comforts, such as a flat-screen TV and microwave, as it’s available to rent through Airbnb, six days a week, while tours can be booked for Fridays.
Otherwise, apart from photos of his childhood and career, newspapers, books plus a specially painted major event timeline in the alleyway, or tunnel, as his mother Ann called it, the house is completely outfitted sixties style, with G-plan furniture, beds ( but with modern mattresses), wardrobes, decoration and plenty of Mementos of George, from his school reports to personal letters he sent home to his parents.
In 2011, the Best family approached EastSide Property, part of EastSide Partnership and offered the house to them. Chris said, “We purchased George Best’s family home from the Best family in order to preserve and celebrate the legacy of the area’s home-grown footballing superstar. We’ve taken our inspiration of the design from family and press photos and from what Barbara herself remembers. We’ve tried to make the house as self sufficient as possible by renting it out through Airbnb and the Northern Irish Tourist Board. For those that would like more information or to book a night’s stay or a guided tour of the house, please visit https://www.georgebesthouse.com . “
Not only is the house a reminder of the footballing legend himself and a must visit for George Best fans, but it’s also a snapshot in history. There are not many other buildings that you can visit that will immediately either take you back in time to the sixties or, for the younger visitor, give you a feeling of what it was like to grow up in these simpler times.
A big thank you to Chris and his team for providing me with a further insight into my childhood footballing idol. You can also find out more about George and Belfast by downloading The George Best Trail (http://www.connswatergreenway.co.uk/sites/default/files/GB%20A6%20Guide%20012%20WEB.pdf) or visiting. https://discovernorthernireland.com/things-to-do/george-best-trail-p706141.
