One of the finest parliament buildings in the World

This impressive structure is the Parliament Building for Northern Ireland, better known as Stormont. In 1920, when ‘The Government of Ireland Act’ was established in Northern Ireland, plans were launched to construct new parliament or Ulster. The Stormont estate was chosen as their new location and designs were drawn up by Sir Arnold Thorley in the Greek classical style. It is 365 feet wide to represent the days in the year and was built in a similar style to many government buildings throughout the world to represent stability, strength, and above all else ‘democracy’! It was officially opened by the then Prince of Wales, (later to be King Edward VIII), in 1932 at a cost of £1.7 million. After the outbreak of World War II, it was decided to paint over the white Portland stone exterior with a ‘removable paint’ to help camouflage it from German air raids. This was made with a mix of bitumen and cow manure. This must have worked as the building was never bombed. After the war, however, and seven years of hard scrubbing, the building never regained its original white colour!