Cathedral Quarter - Belfast City Council

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War Memorial Building
Thomas Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick’s superb
craftsmanship can be
admired at the Ulster
Bank, the Custom House
and the pair of seed
warehouses built for rival
merchants John Lytle and
Samuel McCausland on
Victoria Street. They have
been converted into the
Malmaison hotel. Marvel
at his creations on the
ground floor façade based
on drawings by James
Kendall. As Brett puts it,
the five continents and
their fruits are symbolised
in a “mouth wateringly
juicy manner”.
The Northern Ireland War Memorial Building 1955
Built as the result of an architectural competition,
the ground floor is set behind distinctive square,
dark grey piloti or pillars. The interior contained a
museum, shrine and Hall of Friendship before it was
transferred to Talbot Street.
Ulster Buildings 1869-70 Listed
The three-storey beige sandstone building alongside
is by Thomas Jackson & Son. Set on a grey granite
plinth with curved end bays, this group shows great
respect for its neighbour. A plaque over the entrance
features the red hand of Ulster.
Ulster Bank 1857-60 Listed
This Italianate Victorian bank was designed by the
young James Hamilton of Glasgow, with carving by
Thomas Fitzpatrick. By the 1850s, the Waring
Street/Donegall Street area was the undoubted
commercial centre of town and banks were adopting
an image of confident and solid respectability.
Sandstone from Scotland was used in this exuberant
Italianate building to create bearded keystones, an
acanthus frieze, tall urns and the sculptured skyline
of Britannia, Justice and Commerce.
The bank is enclosed by lacy cast iron panels,
linking winged lamps ornamented with swags of
roses, the heads of Irish wolfhounds and the red
hand of Ulster.
Ulster Bank relocated their headquarters in 1999 to
new offices near City Hall. But the Ulster Bank
headquarters (a Grade A building) has been carefully
converted into an intimate five star hotel – the
Merchant opened in April 2006. You can admire the
stucco work, mosaics and stained glass of the
magnificent banking hall which is an elegant
restaurant today.
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