Customs House, Belfast

The Customs House is a historical building in Belfast. Completed in 1857, the building has been used by various governmental departments, including the Belfast Board of Works, the Inland Revenue, and an Income Tax Office.

Designed in 1847 by English architect Charles Lanyon and finished in 1857 at a cost of £30,000.

Throughout the years the building has undergone numerous alterations. In 1861 the building's forecourt was raised to allow greater basement space and a westward facing entrance was added. Again in 1872 the southern entrance (then used as a Post Office) was removed and replaced with another western entrance which was itself removed in 1886.

Further changes were again carried out in 1926 when the interior of the central and southern blocks were removed, a second floor was added above them and the building's original chimneys and eastern entrance's portico were demolished. A new staircase was installed in the northern block in 1940.

The building is closed to the public, but even from the outside, it's a magnificent and elegant building.