Belfast Townhall - Belfast Northern Ireland - City and Town Halls on Waymarking.com

Negotiations to acquire the site in Donegall Square began in 1896 and a Public Architectural Competition was held, from which the design of Mr. (afterwards Sir) Brumwell Thomas was selected. Work started in 1898 and the building was completed in 1906. The building covers an area of about one acre and a half and is set in gardens which are open to the public. It was built in the Classical Renaissance style in Portland stone and is rectangular in shape, enclosing a quadrangular courtyard. A Porte-Cochère marks the Grand Entrance. In addition to the massive dome over the main entrance and grand staircase, the building has four ornate cupolas on the corners. The interior of the building has several important rooms in addition to the grand staircase: the Council Chamber; the Great Hall, the Reception Room; and the East Staircase

Taken from Wikipedia:

The exterior is built mainly from Portland stone and is in the Classical Renaissance style. It covers an area of one and a half acres and has an enclosed courtyard.

Featuring towers at each of the four corners, with a lantern-crowned 173ft brass dome in the centre, the City Hall dominates the city centre skyline. As with other Victorian buildings in the city centre, the City Hall's copper-coated domes are a distinctive green. The pediment sculpture is by F. W. Pomeroy.


Interior
The interior has a number of notable features including The Porte-Cochère and Grand Entrance, The Grand Staircase, The Reception Room and The Great Hall. The latter was destroyed during the Belfast blitz and subsequently rebuilt.

Carrara, Pavonazzo and Brescia marbles are used extensively throughout the building as are stained glass windows featuring among others the Belfast Coat of Arms, portraits of Queen Victoria and King William III and shields of the Provinces of Ireland.

Various memorials are located in the building, including ones to Frederick Robert Chichester, Earl of Belfast, Sir Crawford and Lady McCullagh and the 36th (Ulster) Division.


Grounds

Garden of Rememberance and CenotaphThe gardens surrounding the City Hall are a popular with office workers taking their lunch in the summer months, as well as tourists and teenagers gathering in their dozens to enjoy the green.

Various statues stand in the grounds, including one of Queen Victoria by Sir Thomas Brock. There is also a granite column dedicated to the American Expeditionary Force, many of whom were based in Belfast prior to D-Day.

Brock also designed the marble figure of Thane, in memorial to the victims of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. The ship was built in Harland and Wolff's shipyard located in the east of the city. The monument was originally located at the front gate of City Hall, at the junction of Donegall Square North and Donegall Place.

There is a memorial to Sir Edward Harland, the former head of the Harland and Wolff shipyard and Mayor of Belfast from 1885 to 1886. It too was sculpted by Thomas Brock.

The grounds also house Northern Ireland's main war memorial, The Garden of Remembrance and Cenotaph, at which wreathes are laid on Remembrance Day.

James Magennis VC, the only Northern Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross during World War II, is also commemorated in the grounds. The Leading Seaman won the medal while serving in the Far East in 1945. A six-foot high memorial to Magennis, made from Portland stone and bronze, stands in front of the City Hall. It was erected in 1999.

On January 3, 2006 Belfast City Councillors ratified a plan to erect a statue to the late Belfast footballer George Best 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

Name: Belfast City Hall Address: Donegall Square Belfast, Co Antrim Ireland bt1 Date of Construction: 1906 Architect: Alfred Brunwell Thomas Memorials/Commemorations/Dedications: World War, Queen Victoria, several Lord Mayors, and the Titanic Web Site for City/Town/Municipality: [Web Link]

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