Parliament Buildings - Stormont

Parliament Buildings, and the grounds in which it is situated, was the gift of the British Government to Northern Ireland when the state was established in 1921. It was designed by Sir Arnold Thornley FRIBA and is in the Greek Classical tradition and style being faced in Portland stone above a plinth of unpolished granite from the Mountains of Mourne.

The building is 365 feet long and 164 feet wide, its height being 70 feet rising to 92 feet at the centre above the portico. The foundation stone was laid on 19 May 1928 by His Grace The Duke of Abercorn who was the first Governor of Northern Ireland. The building was formally opened on 16 November 1932 by the then Prince of Wales who became King Edward VIII and subsequently the Duke of Windsor.

The Central Hall of the building measures 100 feet by 48 feet. The walls are faced in Tavertine marble, the floor being laid with matching but unpolished stone in which is repeated the pattern of the ceiling. In the centre of the ceiling hangs a massive chandelier which was originally given by Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany to King Edward VII and hung in the state apartments at Windsor Castle. It was later presented to the Government of Northern Ireland by King George V. The Imperial German Eagle may be seen on the boss of the chandelier. Four smaller chandeliers also hang from the ceiling and are made of guilded wood to match the centre one.

The two Chambers of Parliament lie along the axis of the building on each side of the central hall. The woodwork in the Senate Chamber is mainly Australian walnut, the Speaker's Chair, South African Walnut and the Clerks' Table, English walnut. On the front of the Press Gallery, above the Speaker's Chair, is an inscription commemorating the fact that the Chamber was lent to the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and used as an operations room.

The Commons Chamber, panelled in English Walnut, was badly damaged in a fire, caused by an electrical fault, several years ago. However it, along with the rest of the building, has been refurbished and is now the home of the Northern Ireland Assembly.