John Templeton was a pioneering Irish naturalist, sometimes referred to as the "Father of Irish Botany". He was a leading figure in Belfast's late eighteenth-century enlightenment, initially supported
Watercolour of Orobanche rubra by John Templeton
Partial reconstruction of the Cranmore garden
Plants in the tropical house in the Botanic Gardens, Belfast
James MacDonnell was an Irish physician and polymath who was an active and liberal figure in the civic and political life of Belfast. He was a founding patron of institutions that have since developed
Bust by Charles Moore, Ulster Museum