It may be one of the more peculiar twists of the Troubles - an old Victorian city centre warehouse was in part preserved in superb condition despite the building being taken over by the security forces, or maybe because of its use as a buffer against bombs..
Riddel's Warehouse, for over a century the key link between iron foundries and retailers, closed its heavy timber doors for the last time exactly half a century ago.
Arson attacks, Belfast's bomb- scarred streets and the city’s “ring of steel” forced the owners to move the business away from the Ann Street headquarters out to Lisburn.
It was taken over by the then RUC for use as an annex of the Musgrave Street barracks, in latter years as a lost property office but for all the time as a buffer between the station’s rear and bombs.
The B+ listed building has a “remarkable Piranesian interior of five floors of galleries supported on cast iron columns". It is "rare for a warehouse in Belfast to have such a complete and little-altered interior, including an intact set of cast iron columns and atrium", the architectural cataloguers concluded.
Hearth Historic Buildings Trust are now at the beginning of the end of turning the remarkable structure, built in its present form in 1865, into a hub, for music and theatre and other events, a co-working space and, more broadly, a link between the east side of the Lagan and the city centre.
It is in use occasionally for events and tours, including on European Heritage Day.
“This is a dream project for me; to work for a charity that aims to have a real positive impact on Belfast’s city centre, helping to reduce the number of vacant heritage buildings and contribute to the reanimation of Ann Street,” said Mari McKee, Hearth’s development officer.
“The next steps include appointing a design team and community engagement activities are very exciting as we see this project build momentum.
“ It is a real privilege to be part of a project that doesn’t just look at heritage buildings as property but understands how their conservation will have a wider social and environmental impact for current and future generations.”
Hearth describe the building as a "conventional working space" and no photographs exist of it in operation, but "it is an extraordinary survival which has changed little since the days when Riddels imported ironmongery from England and Scotland". Ann Street mostly served agricultural customers.
The police used part of the ground floor as a lost property office but otherwise mothballed the building, allowing the space to retain the "patina of many years in daily use as an ironmongery warehouse".
Measurement marks are chalked on the iron columns, while elsewhere it is noted that Harry was “the best worker here”. An Avery scale remains inside the doorway while hoists and runners are still in place.
In total, the estimated likely cost of transforming the building is approximately £4m, with initial development funding from the National Lottery and hopefully more to come. It is also hoped for funding from other sources, including Belfast City Council. John Riddel & Sons, still operating in Lisburn, is supportive.
It is a substantial building and can be adapted with very little structural change, said Marcus Patton, vice chair of Hearth Historic Buildings Trust.
“Reusing a building like this is economic, adds very little to our carbon footprint and will create a memorable and exciting experience for its users,” Mr Patton added.
Alastair Rankin, Hearth’s chair, described the building as a “unique relic of our industrial heritage”.
