Exchange and Assembly Rooms, Belfast, Harp Festival, and Charles Lanyon bronze plaque — Report the wrong picture

What is recorded here

Exchange and Assembly Rooms stood as the Four Corners where every Belfast milestone was measured, beginning as a market house in 1769 before Charles Lanyon italianised its exterior in 1845. The upper floor, added in 1776, hosted the Harp Festival of 1792, turning a trading space into a stage for collective memory. The bronze plaque still marks that shift, reminding passers-by the building was never merely brick but a living centre for the city's identity.

This bronze commemorative plaque records: The Harp Festival of 1792 was held in the Assembly Rooms, on the upper floor of this building. It began life as a single-storey arcaded market house or 'exchange' in 1769. The upper floor was added in 1776 and Charles Lanyon italianised the exterior in 1845. Known as the 'Four Corners', all milestones out of Belfast were once measured from here. Recorded plaque organisation: Belfast City Council.

The Exchange and Assembly Rooms in Belfast served as a significant cultural hub, hosting the Harp Festival of 1792 which celebrated Irish harp music; Charles Lanyon, a prominent architect, later redesigned its exterior in an Italianate style.

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