The Guildhall in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

, is a

guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in some ...

in which the elected members of

Derry City and Strabane District Council Derry City and Strabane District Council ( ga, Comhairle Chathair Dhoire agus Cheantar an tSratha Báin; Ulster-Scots: ''Derry Cittie & Stràbane Destrìck Cooncil'') is the local authority for Derry and Strabane district in Northern Ireland. ...

meet. It is a Grade A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

History

Derry Guildhall Main Hall Pipe Organ 2013 09 17

Guildhall in Derry City as of August 2016

The current building was preceded by an earlier town hall called the Market House which was built in the 17th century and destroyed in the

Siege of Derry The siege of Derry in 1689 was the first major event in the Williamite War in Ireland. The siege was preceded by a first attempt against the town by Jacobite forces on 7 December 1688 that was foiled when 13 apprentices shut the gates ...

in 1689. The current building, which was designed by John Guy Ferguson and financed by

The Honourable The Irish Society The Honourable The Irish SocietyIn full, the "Society of the Governor and Assistants, London, of the New Plantation in Ulster, within the Realm of Ireland". is a consortium of livery companies of the City of London established during the Plantat ...

, was completed in 1890. The design for the clock tower was modelled on the

Elizabeth Tower Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, and the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower. The official ...

in London. After a disastrous fire in 1908, in which only the tower and rear block survived, and more funding from The Honourable The Irish Society, the Guildhall was rebuilt to the design of Mathew Alexander Robinson in 1912. The current organ, which was designed by Sir Walter Parratt and has 3,132 pipes, was installed in 1914. During

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

, the Guildhall was the focus of multiple terror attacks. The building was badly damaged by two bombs in 1972, but was restored at a cost of £1.7 million and reopened in 1977. On 23 September 1980 the

Field Day Theatre Company The Field Day Theatre Company began as an artistic collaboration between playwright Brian Friel and actor Stephen Rea. In 1980, the duo set out to launch a production of Friel's recently completed play, '' Translations''. They decided to rehearse ...

presented its first production, the premiere of

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription requ ...

's ''Translations'', in the Guildhall. The guildhall, which had been the meeting place of the

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...

of Londonderry for much of the 20th century, continued to be the local seat of government after the formation of Londonderry City Council in 1972; the council was renamed

Derry City Council Derry City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Dhoire; Ulster-Scots: ''Derry Cittie Cooncil'') was the local government authority for the city of Derry in Northern Ireland. It merged with Strabane District Council in April 2015 under local governm ...

in 1984. The square in front of the Guildhall regularly plays host to important events and was the site of U.S. President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

's address when he visited the city in November 1995. The Guildhall was also home to the Saville Inquiry into the events of

Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence aga ...

from 1998 to 2005. An extensive restoration programme, undertaken by H & J Martin (the contracting firm which built

Belfast City Hall Belfast City Hall ( ga, Halla na Cathrach Bhéal Feirste; Ulster-Scots: ''Bilfawst Citie Haw'') is the civic building of Belfast City Council located in Donegall Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It faces North and effectively divides the com ...

) to the designs of Consarc Architects, began in August 2010. The project was completed in 2013 at a cost £8 million, and won a Regional Award from the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

in 2014. Following further local government reorganisation, the building became the meeting place of the enlarged Derry and Strabane City Council in 2014; the council was renamed

on 24 February 2016.

References

External links

* {{Government buildings in Northern Ireland 1890 establishments in Ireland Buildings and structures in Derry (city) Culture in Derry (city) History of Derry (city) Tourist attractions in Derry (city) Government buildings completed in 1890 Grade A listed buildings City and town halls in Northern Ireland Guildhalls in Ireland

History

See also

References

External links