Skip to content

Belfast listed building to get share of £5.2m fund

Richard O’ReillyBBC News NI
News imageThe World Monuments Fund A white and brown building with columns at the sides of the windows. Cars are parked outside. A person wearing a blue coat is walking by. The sky is blue with minimal clouds. The World Monuments Fund
Built in 1769, the Assembly Rooms building is located at the corner of North Street and Waring Street in Belfast

Belfast's Assembly Rooms are to be helped with a share of more than £5m from an international organisation that preserves historic sites.

Vacant since 2000, the Assembly Rooms is a grade B1 listed heritage building that dates to 1769. It will receive £200,000.

It was bought by Belfast City Council in 2025 from the English company behind the delayed Tribeca development in the city centre.

Other sites that will receive money include the Chapel of the Sorbonne in France, Rapa Nui National Park in Chile and the Historic City of Antakya in Turkey.

The World Monuments Fund (WMF) is an independent international organisation based in New York dedicated to the protection of historic architecture and heritage.

It is investing $7m (£5.2m) across 21 different locations around the world, although it hasn't disclosed how much of that has been allocated to the Assembly Rooms.

The WMF put the Assembly Rooms on a list of global "at risk" heritage sites last year, which includes sites that face "major challenges such as climate change, tourism, conflict and natural disaster".

It said that the Belfast site was "in need of substantial conservation".

News imageThe World Monuments Fund A green metal sign says Belfast Banking Company. Two columns are on each side of the door. The World Monuments Fund
The building was bought by Belfast City Council last year

Announcing the funding, a spokesperson for the WMF said: "The Belfast Assembly Rooms is a significant civic building that has long been central to the city's cultural life.

"WMF is supporting documentation, planning, and stabilisation to prepare the building for restoration and renewed public use."

Built in 1769, the Assembly Rooms are at the corner of North Street and Waring Street.

It was the site of the famous Belfast Harp Festival in 1792, which led to the preservation of the ancient tradition of Irish harping.

It also hosted a meeting in 1786 which blocked a slave trading company from being set up in Belfast.

More recently it was home to the Northern Bank, but it has been empty for about 20 years.

In 2003, it was added to the Ulster Architectural Heritage's "at risk" register.

News imageThe World Monuments Fund A building across a road. Some cars are driving The World Monuments Fund
A meeting which blocked a slave trading company from being set up in Belfast was held at the building in 1786

A spokesperson for Belfast City Council, which owns the site, said: "Our historic buildings are so important to Belfast's character and sense of place, so it's wonderful to have WMF's expertise and backing for this important preservation initiative.

"We want to make The Assembly Rooms a central part of our city's life once again."