Belfast City Hall (; Ulster-Scots: ) is the civic building of

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council () is the Local government in Northern Ireland, local authority with responsibility for part of Belfast, the largest city of Northern Ireland. The council serves an estimated population of (), the largest of any district c ...

located in Donegall Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It faces North and effectively divides the commercial and business areas of the

city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

. It is a Grade A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

Belfast City Hall was commissioned to replace the Old Town Hall in Victoria Street. The catalyst for change came in 1888 when Belfast was awarded city status by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. This was in recognition of Belfast's rapid expansion and thriving

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...

, rope-making,

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

and engineering industries. During this period Belfast briefly overtook

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

as the most populous city in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It was in this context that in the late 19th century the new city leaders formed the view that the Victoria Street building was not imposing enough and decided to commission a new building: the site they selected was once the home of the White Linen Hall, an important international Linen Exchange. The street that runs from the back door of Belfast City Hall through the middle of Linen Quarter is Linen Hall Street. Belfast Corporation used their profits from the gas industry to pay for the construction of the Belfast City Hall. The building, which was designed by Sir Alfred Brumwell Thomas in the Baroque Revival style, was built in Portland stone at a cost of £369,000 and opened on 1 August 1906. Local firms H&J Martin and WH Stephens were among the companies involved in the design and construction. James G. Gamble, principal city architect with Belfast Corporation, was clerk of works for the erection of the City Hall –1906. The city hall in Durban, South Africa is almost an exact replica of Belfast's City Hall. It was built in 1910 and designed by Stanley G. Hudson, who was inspired by the Belfast design. The Port of Liverpool Building, designed by Sir Arnold Thornely and completed in 1913, is another very close relative. On 1 August 2006 the City Hall celebrated its centenary with a "Century of Memories" exhibition and family picnic day. On 3 December 2012, the City Council voted to limit the days that the

Union Flag The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

flies from City Hall to no more than 18 designated days. Since 1906, the flag had been flown every day of the year. The move was backed by the council's

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...

Councillors and by its Alliance Party Councillors. It was opposed by the unionist Councillors, who had enjoyed a majority on the council until the Northern Ireland local elections of 2011. On the night of the vote, unionist and loyalist protesters tried to storm the City Hall. They held protests throughout Northern Ireland, some of which became violent.

Exterior

The hall features towers at each of the four corners, with a

lantern A lantern is a source of lighting, often portable. It typically features a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle, a oil lamp, wick in oil, or a thermoluminescence, thermoluminescent Gas mantle, mesh, and often a ...

-crowned green copper

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

in the centre. The

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

sculpture is by F. W. Pomeroy, assisted by local carver J. Edgar Winter, and features on the reverse side of the current series of £10, £20, £50 and £100 sterling banknotes issued by the

Northern Bank Northern Bank Limited, trading as Danske Bank, is a retail bank in Northern Ireland. Northern Banking Company Limited was formed from a private bank, with the Deed of Partnership being signed on 1 August 1824. It is one of the oldest banks in ...

Interior

The interior has a number of notable features including the Porte-Cochère and Grand Entrance, the Grand Staircase, the Reception Room and the Banqueting Hall. The roof above the Banqueting Hall was destroyed during the

Belfast blitz The Belfast Blitz consisted of four German air raids on strategic targets in the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland, in April and May 1941 during World War II, causing high casualties. The first was on the night of 78 April 1941, a small atta ...

on the night of 4/5 May 1941 and had to be rebuilt. Carrara, Pavonazzo and Brescia

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

s are used extensively throughout the building as are stained glass windows featuring among others the Belfast

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

, portraits of Queen Victoria and William III and shields of the

provinces of Ireland There are four provinces of Ireland: Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster. The Irish language, Irish word for this territorial division, , meaning "fifth part", suggests that there were once five, and at times Kingdom of Meath, Meath has be ...

. There is also a stained glass window commemorating the 36th (Ulster) Division. Parts of Belfast City Hall are open to the public, with a permanent exhibition opening in 2017. Visitors can also book guided tours of the City Hall with access to areas usually closed to the public.

Grounds and public memorials

The memorial to Sir Edward Harland, the former head of the Harland & Wolff shipyard and Lord Mayor of Belfast, was sculpted by Sir Thomas Brock and unveiled by the Earl of Glasgow on 23 June 1903. The statue of

also by Brock was unveiled by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

on 27 July 1903. The ''Titanic'' Memorial in Belfast was dedicated in June 1920. The grounds also house Northern Ireland's main war memorial, the Garden of Remembrance and Cenotaph, unveiled in 1929. There is also a granite column dedicated to the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

, many of whom were based in Belfast prior to D-Day, unveiled in 1943. A memorial to Leading Seaman James Magennis VC, made from Portland stone and bronze, was erected in the grounds in October 1999. On 3 January 2006 Belfast City Councillors ratified a plan to erect a statue to the late Belfast footballer

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United F.C., Manchester Un ...

in the grounds of the City Hall. Following approval from the Best family, the George Best Memorial Trust was created in December 2006. The trust's patron David Healy contributed £1,000 to the estimated total cost of £200,000. In October 2007 a Ferris wheel was constructed in the grounds, giving passengers panoramic views above the city. The wheel had 42 air-conditioned capsules, which could hold up to six adults and two children. The wheel finally closed at 6:00 pm on 11 April 2010 and was removed during May 2010. In 2008, the Imjin River Memorial was relocated here when the St Patrick's Barracks in

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 31,205 people at the 2021 United Kingdom census, making it the List of localities in Northern Ireland by population, seven ...

closed. The memorial commemorates Irish troops lost in the Battle of Chaegunghyon in January 1951 during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. On 8 March 2024, bronze statues of the anti-slavery campaigner, Mary Ann McCracken, and the trade unionist,

Winifred Carney Maria Winifred "Winnie" Carney (4 December 1887 – 21 November 1943), was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican, a participant in the Easter Rising, 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin, and in Belfast—as a trade union secretary, women's s ...

, were unveiled at a ceremony at Belfast City Hall to coincide with

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

2024. Mary Ann McCracken campaigned against slavery at Belfast docks until she was almost 90 years-old and Winifred Carney was a suffragist, committed trade unionist and political activist. File:Belfast City Hall - Under Construction.jpg, Under construction File:Titanic Memorial, Belfast, Northern Ireland.jpg, Belfast's – '' Titanic'' memorial File:Belfast City Hall 2007.jpg, Front of the building File:Queen Victoria Belfast 2.jpg, Monument to

File:Frederick Temple Belfast.jpg, Lord Dufferin monument File:Edward James Harland Belfast.jpg, Statue of Edward James Harland, founder of Harland & Wolff File:Belfast city hall.jpg, Memorial to James Magennis VC (2004) File:Belfast City Hall 2010.JPG, View showing Belfast City Hall with the Belfast Wheel to the side, Late March 2010 File:James Horner Haslett Belfast.jpg, Statue of James Horner Haslett, Mayor of Belfast (1887–88) File:Sir Daniel Dixon.jpg, Statue of Sir Daniel Dixon, first Lord Mayor of Belfast (1892–93, 1901-04 & 1905–07) File:William James Pirrie Belfast.jpg, Statue of William James Pirrie, Lord Mayor of Belfast (1896–98) File:Robert James McMordie Belfast.jpg, Statue of Robert James McMordie, Lord Mayor of Belfast (1910–14) File:Remembrance Belfast.jpg, Garden of Remembrance and The Cenotaph in Belfast

References

External links