Belfast Assembly Rooms (James Grieve Architects)

Commissioned by James Grieve Architects, this comprehensive historical research report explored the evolution and significance of Belfast's Exchange and Assembly Rooms, one of the city's oldest and most important public buildings. Drawing on extensive archival research, including historic maps, newspapers, manuscripts and contemporary accounts, the report traced the building's development from its construction in 1769 through more than 250 years of architectural change and civic life.

Rather than presenting a conventional building history, the report examined the Assembly Rooms as a focal point for Belfast's political, cultural and intellectual development during the late eighteenth century. It explored the building's association with defining moments in the city's history, including the Belfast Harp Festival of 1792, Thomas McCabe's celebrated opposition to Belfast's proposed slave-trading venture, the trial of Henry Joy McCracken and the emergence of Belfast as a centre of Enlightenment thought and civic ambition. By combining rigorous historical research with original interpretation, the report provided a robust evidence base to inform the building's future conservation, interpretation and public engagement.