Parliament Buildings , known as Stormont because
of its location in the Stormont area of Belfast, served as the seat
of the Parliament of Northern Ireland and successive Northern
Ireland assemblies and conventions. It is now the home of the
Northern Ireland Assembly created under the Belfast Agreement, and
also of the Executive Committee or power-sharing cabinet created
under the Agreement, in which nationalists and unionists share
power in a form of consociational democracy.
The need for a separate parliament building for Northern Ireland
emerged with the creation of the Northern Ireland home rule region
in the Government of Ireland Act, 1920. Pending the construction of
the new building parliament met in two locations, in Belfast City
Hall, where the state opening of the first parliament by King
George V took place in on June 21, 1921, and in the nearby
Presbyterian Church in Ireland's Assembly's College. In 1922,
preparatory work on the chosen site, east of Belfast, began. The
original plans for a large domed building with two subsidiary side
buildings, housing all three branches of government - legislative,
executive and judicial - gave rise to the plural in the official
title still used today. Alongside the parliament and "Ministerial
Building" the site would have been host to the Northern Ireland
High Court.
After the shelving of plans to build a "Ministerial Building'",
the headquarters of government was in effect Stormont Castle, a
baronial castellated house in the grounds and which was originally
meant to have been demolished to make way for the "Ministerial
Building". Stormont Castle served as the official residence of the
Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and was the meeting place for
the Northern Ireland cabinet.
The building itself changed little over the years, even as the
parliaments meeting inside it did. To camouflage it during World
War II the building's Portland stone was painted with supposedly
removable "paint" made of bitumen and cow manure. However, after
the war, removing the paint proved an enormous difficulty, with the
paint having scarred the stonework. It took seven years to remove
the "paint", and the exterior facade has never regained its
original white color. While most traces of it were removed from the
facades (though having done damage that can be seen up close) some
of the remains of the paint survive in the inner courtyards and
unseen parts of the place.
The building was used for the Parliament of Northern Ireland
until it was prorogued in 1972. The Senate chamber was used by the
Royal Air Force as an operations room during World War II. The
building was used for the shortlived Sunningdale power-sharing
executive in 1974. Between 1973 and 1998 it served as the
headquarters of the Northern Ireland civil service. Between 1982
and 1986 it served as the seat of the rolling-devolution assembly.
It is now the home of the Northern Ireland Assembly. In the 1990s,
Sinn Féin suggested that a new parliament building for Northern
Ireland should be erected, saying that the building at Stormont was
too controversial and too associated with unionist rule to be used
by a power-sharing assembly. However, the demand was not supported
and the new assembly and executive was installed there as its
permanent home.
On 3 December 2005, the Great Hall was used for the funeral
service of former Northern Ireland and Manchester United footballer
George Best. The building was selected for the funeral as it is in
the only grounds in Belfast suitable to accommodate the large
number of members of the public who wished to attend the funeral.
Approximately 25,000 people gathered in the grounds, with thousands
more lining the cortege route. It was the first time since World
War II that the building has been used for a non-governmental or
non-political purpose.
In springtime in 2006 the building was reopened for political
talks between the MLA's from the various political parties in
Northern Ireland.
Stormont grounds are open to the public and waymarked trails are
provided. The terrain is hilly, so not wheelchair accessible. THE
CACHE is a decon container with log book, pencil, sharpener and
some small swaps. It is big enough to hold some TB's. PERMISSION
WAS GRANTED FOR THIS CACHE TO BE PLACED.