Stormont House | |
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Speaker's House | |
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Coordinates | 54°36′06″N5°49′56″W / 54.601779°N 5.832303°W |
Listed Building – Grade B1 | |
Official name | Stormont House |
Designated | 13 March 1987 |
Reference no. | HB26/13/017 [1] |
Stormont House (also called Speaker's House) is the headquarters of the Northern Ireland Office, situated in the Stormont Estate in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was designed by Ralph Knott, [2] although Sir Edwin Lutyens has been credited with some involvement. [3]
It served as the official residence of the Speaker of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. For part of the time it was actually lived in by a number of Prime Ministers of Northern Ireland in preference to their own official residence, Stormont Castle, which was used primarily as offices. [4]
The Social Security Agency building shares its grounds with Stormont House, however it is separated from the main building by a fence.
The Northern Ireland Office is currently based at Stormont House after relocating from Castle Buildings nearby. [5]
The prime minister of Northern Ireland was the head of the Government of Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920; however, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, as with governors-general in other Westminster Systems such as in Canada, chose to appoint someone to head the executive even though no such post existed in statute law. The office-holder assumed the title prime minister to draw parallels with the prime minister of the United Kingdom. On the advice of the new prime minister, the lord lieutenant then created the Department of the Prime Minister. The office of Prime Minister of Northern Ireland was suspended in 1972 and then abolished in 1973, along with the contemporary government, when direct rule of Northern Ireland was transferred to London.
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdom of Ireland (1541–1800) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922). The office, under its various names, was often more generally known as the Viceroy, and his wife was known as the vicereine. The government of Ireland in practice was usually in the hands of the Lord Deputy up to the 17th century, and later of the Chief Secretary for Ireland.
The secretary of state for Northern Ireland, also referred to as the Northern Ireland secretary or SoSNI, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the Northern Ireland Office. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
The Northern Ireland Assembly, often referred to by the metonym Stormont, is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive. It sits at Parliament Buildings at Stormont in Belfast.
The governor of Northern Ireland was the principal officer and representative in Northern Ireland of the British monarch. The office was established on 9 December 1922 and abolished on 18 July 1973.
The Senate of Northern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973.
The House of Commons of Northern Ireland was the lower house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. The upper house in the bicameral parliament was called the Senate. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973.
Stormont Castle is a manor house on the Stormont Estate in east Belfast which is home to the Northern Ireland Executive and the Executive Office. It is a Grade A listed building.
Parliament Buildings, often referred to as Stormont because of its location in the Stormont Estate area of Belfast, is the seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature for the region. The purpose-built building, designed by Arnold Thornely, and constructed by Stewart & Partners, was opened by Edward, Prince of Wales, in 1932.
An official residence is the residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-related functions.
Hillsborough Castle is an official government residence in Northern Ireland. It is the official residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and the official residence in Northern Ireland of the British monarch and other members of the British royal family when they visit the region, as well as a guest house for prominent international visitors.
A grace-and-favour home is a residential property owned by a monarch by virtue of his or her position as head of state and leased, often rent-free, to persons as part of an employment package or in gratitude for past services rendered.
John Beattie was a Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP) politician from Northern Ireland. He was a teacher by profession. In 1925, he became a Member of the Northern Ireland House of Commons for Belfast East. He represented Belfast Pottinger from 1929. At one point he served as leader of the NILP.
The Executive Committee or the Executive Committee for Northern Ireland was the government of Northern Ireland created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. Generally known as either the Cabinet or the Government, the executive committee existed from 1922 to 1972. It exercised executive authority formally vested in the British monarch in relation to devolved matters.
Sir Charles Norman Lockhart Stronge, 8th Baronet, MC, PC, JP was a senior Ulster Unionist Party politician in Northern Ireland.
The speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly is the presiding officer of the Northern Ireland Assembly, elected on a cross-community vote by the Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly. A principal deputy speaker and two deputy speakers are elected to help fulfil the role. The office of Speaker is currently held by the former MLA for Belfast West Alex Maskey of Sinn Féin.
The Stormont Estate is an estate east of Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the site of Northern Ireland's main Parliament Buildings, which is surrounded by woods and parkland, and is often referred in contemporary media as the metonym "Stormont".
The Speaker of the Northern Ireland House of Commons was the presiding officer of the lower house of Parliament in Northern Ireland from 1921 to 1972.
Castle Buildings is the name given to a group of Northern Ireland Executive buildings in the Stormont Estate in Belfast. They are the headquarters for the Executive Office, the Department of Health and the Department of Justice. The group of buildings have previously been used by the Northern Ireland Office. The complex is notable as the location of the negotiations leading to the Good Friday Agreement.
The Identity and Language Act 2022 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom providing "official recognition of the status of the Irish language" in Northern Ireland, with Ulster Scots being an officially recognised minority language.