ULSTER'S PARLIAMENT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21342, 17 November 1932, Page 8

ULSTER'S PARLIAMENT

NEW HOUSE COMPLETED. 5

WONDERFUL SITE CHOSEN

GIFT FROM BRITAIN

Northern Ireland's new Parliament House, which is to be opened by the Prince of Wales this week, is one of the finest buildings in Ireland and no structure of its size has been erected there in so short a time.

The first Parliament of Northern Ireland was opened on June 22, 1921, by His Majesty the King, who was accompanied by the Queen. That ceremony took place in the Belfast City Hall, which was lent for the purpose, and since then the Parliament has occupied as a temporary home the college of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, situated near the Queen's University in Belfast. When the Parliament was established the British Government undertook to provide a Parliament House, as the little State of Northern Ireland could not be expected to find the money for such an undertaking at the outset of its new career.

Mr. Arnold Thornely, F.R.1.8.A., of Liverpool, was appointed architect, and he prepared designs for a very'fine building, with a central block flanked by two large wings The plans were approved, but the British Government subsequently came to the conclusion that the building would cost too much money, and the plans were amended, so that the completed building consists of one large block, without any side wings.

Long Approach Avenue The building has a great advantage in its situation, high up on the southern side of the Holywood Hills. From it one . looks across the pleasant valley of Knock to the Castlereagh Hills, on the top of which Con O'Neill, an old Irish chieftain, had his house and fort, still indicated by a ring of trees. Along the Knock Valley runs one of the main roads out of Belfast, the Newtownards Road, leading to the town of that name and 'the Ard3 Peninsula. From the entrance gates on the Newtownards Road a processional avenue runs in a perfectly straight line up the hill for nearly a mile, and ends at the bottom of a flight of granite steps 90 feet wide, which approach the front terrace of the Parliament House. To the left are the towers of Stormont ' Castle —the official residence of the Northern Ireland Premier, Viscount Craigavon, rising from among the trees. To the right i is the city of Belfast, its towers and spires and tall chimneys half hidden in a haze of smoke, through which looms the dark bulk of the Antrim Mountains, enclosing the city on its north and western sides. From the roof of the House the view widens and takes in the great shipbuilding yards with their tall steel gantries, the busy docks, the head of Belfast Lough and the County Antrim shore. Effects from Simple Lines The .preparation of the site and the building of the Parliament House and other work comprised 14 separate contracts, all of which were carried out by one firm, Stewart and Partners, Limited, of Belfast and London. The House is iu the Greek classical style, with few elaborations, and it relies for effect upon simple and well-proportioned masses. The only elaborations are in the central feature of the main facade and also to a smaller degree in .* the entrances in the east and west facades. Portland stone has been used for the superstructure, and the plinth is of unpolished grey granite, from the Mourne Mountains in County Down.

The building itself was not begun until 1928, but Messrs. Stewart and Partners started to prepare the site in 1924. It is interesting to note that the House is not a steel-framed building, like the majority of large structures put up nowai v days. Its floors are carried on the brick and stone walls, in the old-fashioned way. Symbol of Loyalty On the top of the building, above the ' centre of the main facade, there stands a statue of Britannia, with a lion at either side. The figures are of Portland stone, and they weigh 30 tons. In the tympanum panel there is another group of statuary, composed of allegorical figures, representing Ulster handing the torch of loyalty to Great Britain. The main entrance of|the House leads directly into a large cenfral hall. A passage off this hall to the left leads to the House of Commons chamblr, and a similar passage to the right leads to the Senate chamber. All the colour is low in tone, leading up to the main central ceiling, which is richly treated in blues, reds, and toned gold, applied on scarlet in the old manner. In the central hall is a gift from the King to Parliament House—an electric light chandelier from one of the state rooms of Windsor Castle. It has been given the place of honour. Both the House of Commons and the Senate chambers also rise Jk> the height of two storeys. Each has galleries for the press and the public, an(F the Speaker's chair in each is directly below the press gallery. The lighting of both chambers is controlled from the Speakers' chairs by means of a dimmer switch. The ventilators are concealed in the walls, and all through the building the panel system of heating has been used. The principal rooms of the Government < and Parliament are on the ground floor and first floor, within easy reach of the- r two legislative chambers. Cost of Structure Wood blocks of Australian walnut are laid on the floors of th<§ principal rooms, . and a great deal of th® joinery work in theso apartments is of till same wood, and also of English oak. on| upper-floors are kitchens and dining rooms for civil scr- -\.v vants and members of Parliament, and close to the members' room is a terrace on the front of the building. This follows . the example of Westminster, where the terrace is so popular with members and || their visitors, who sometimes have tea there. The House is 369 feet long, 167 feet || deep, and 70 feet high, rising to almost |v 100 feet in the centre. The cost of Messrs. , Stewart and Partners' 14 contracts was Jf? £650,000. . About three-quarters way up the processional avenue a number of other avenues radiate from it, and at this point will be placed the statue of Lord Carson, which is still in the hands of the sculptor.