McKee Memorial, Balmoral Cemetery, Stockman's Lane, Belfast, BT9 7JA

McKee Memorial, Balmoral Cemetery

A gabled arcaded neo-Gothic style sandstone memorial facing south, dating from 1866. It forms part of a group of listed structures within Balmoral Cemetery, alongside the Fergusson memorial and the Cooke memorial, giving it particular group value.

The memorial comprises four trefoil-arches supported on triple clustered Corinthian columns with foliated capitals. The central arches are larger and extend into the gable, which features a central quatrefoil above. Foliated mouldings ornament the gable ends. The stonework throughout is Giffnock sandstone. A carved slate plaque is positioned behind the arcade and quatrefoil. The plot is enclosed by cast iron colonnettes and railings mounted on a stone plinth.

The memorial is possibly by William Barre, who also designed the Ferguson monument in this cemetery. Architectural historian Larmour has noted that the monument possesses "something of a Venetian touch to it".

The memorial commemorates the McKee family. James McKee, described as a gentleman in his will, died at his residence, 45 Balmoral Terrace, on 19 November 1872 at the age of 76. He was a wealthy man whose estate was valued at just under £3,000. Others commemorated include his widow Isabella, who died in 1878 aged 71; Mary, widow of John Belshaw of Lurgan, who died in 1863 aged 89; Mary Jane Millar, described as "a faithful servant"; and James McKee's daughter Isabella, wife of W.D.H. Moore of Lurgan, who died in 1876 aged 29.

Balmoral Cemetery was opened in 1855 to relieve overcrowding in Belfast's existing cemeteries, which had resulted from rapid urban expansion and cholera epidemics and the Great Famine. The cemetery was established by Presbyterian trustees, including Reverend Henry Cooke, following an incident in which a funeral conducted by Cooke and Reverend Joseph Mackenzie was obstructed by a Church of Ireland rector. In 1953 the cemetery was taken over by Belfast Corporation.