Old Town Hall designed by Anthony Jackson 1869-71. Belfast, Ulster, Northern Ireland. Belfast was a small town of scant importance until the middle of the eighteenth century, overshadowed by nearby Carrickfergus, which had been a settlement since Scandinavian times. The Old Town Hall, located approximately where the Farset River (now the High Street) met the Lagan River, spanned by the Queen's Bridge (rebuilt in 1841), was central to the quays and businesses of the prosperous market town. Nearby is the old Custom House, an E-shaped building in the Italian palazzo style, dates from 1857.
When Belfast achieved city status in 1888, the Town Hall was not considered imposing enough and the City Hall was built instead. According to Discover Northern Ireland, "The old site, by the River Lagan, was too constricted to permit the construction of a much larger, grander building, so the old Linen Hall site in Donegall Square was acquired by the Belfast Corporation, leaving the old Town Hall to become a police court. The Town Hall is currently used as Belfast County Court, but before that was occupied by offices of the Ulster Unionist Party. (Also designed by Anthony Jackson in Belfast: Riddel's Warehouse, Ann Street.)" — PVA and GPL
Other Views
- Main Entrance (Detail)
Photograph by Philip V. Allingham 2006. You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.
References
"Belfast Town Hall." www.discovernorthernireland.com. 29 August 2006.
Last modified 29 August 2006