1857 – Custom House, Belfast

Completed in 1857, the two storey Italianate Custom House stands on the site of the old Ballast Office – on land reclaimed from the Lagan. The building originally housed the Custom Service, as well as the General Post Office, Inland Revenue, the Stamp Offices and Government Emigration Departments. Designed in 1847 it eventually cost £30,000, and was not completed for ten years. In 1861 the building’s forecourt was raised to allow greater basement space and various other adaptations made to the interior over its history. Now offices.