The chiselled heads of Neptune, Britannia and Mercury gaze down from this stately 1850's Italianite building whose sweeping steps have long been a platform for protests and speeches galvanising the working man. Look out for the bronze sculpture of a Speaker representing this oratorical past. Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope used to work here, and is commemorated with a Blue Plaque. The pedestrianised Square provides a sparkly space for Sk8er Bois, science toys, illuminated fountains tracing the reclaimed River Farset, Belfast's oldest drinking fountain for horses and the occasional al fresco event.
