Days Out NI
Historic Belfast landmark City Centre

Spires Mall Church House · Assembly Buildings

The old shopping mall is gone — but the 1905 building it sat in, with its clock tower and peal of bells, is worth a look opposite City Hall.

5 photos
Mall closedShops shut in 2017 · now a conference venue
Free to look1905 landmark · free history library inside
BelfastFisherwick Place · BT1 6DW
Get directionsOfficial website
10–15 minTo look
1905Landmark
FreeTo see
12 bellsOn the hour
City car parksNo own park

Heads up: the Spires shopping mall closed in 2017 — but the building it sat in is one of Belfast's more striking bits of stonework, so it's worth a slow walk past on the way somewhere else.

  • The mall itself is gone. The little arcade of speciality shops and Spires Café on the ground floor shut for good in 2017. If you've come to shop, this is not the place any more — the retail space is now the Assembly Buildings Conference Centre, which is a hired venue, not open to browse.
  • What's still worth it — the building. This is Church House, the 1905 headquarters of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, with a 40m clock tower and turrets that stand out on the skyline opposite City Hall. Free to admire from the street.
  • The bells — the tower holds Belfast's only peal of 12 bells, said to chime hymns and carols on the hour. Time your walk-past on the hour if you'd like to hear them.
  • One thing you can actually go inside for — the Presbyterian Historical Society library and archive on the ground floor is open to anyone and free to visit (roughly Tuesday–Thursday mornings, closed Thursday afternoon). A quiet stop for anyone chasing family or church history — worth ringing first to confirm.
  • How long — 10–15 minutes to take in the front and the tower; longer only if you're using the library. It pairs best with a bigger day out nearby rather than being the day itself.
Plan your visit

Treat it as a landmark, not a shop

Church House sits on Fisherwick Place, right at the top of the city centre and more or less opposite Belfast City Hall — so you'll pass it on almost any wander round town. The outside is the draw: the stone frontage, the turrets and the clock tower are free to look at any time of day. Inside, the old mall is gone, but the Presbyterian Historical Society library and archive on the ground floor welcomes visitors free of charge, and the Assembly Buildings run as a conference and exhibition venue (booked events only). Best paired with City Hall, the Grand Central or a Victoria Square trip rather than done on its own.

1905 landmark building Peal of 12 bells on the hour Free history library inside Opposite City Hall
The shops have closed — read this before you set off:

The Spires shopping mall shut for good in 2017 and there are no shops or café inside any more. Come for the building, the bells and the free ground-floor library, not for retail. If you want the library, ring 028 9041 7299 first to check the day's hours — it opens limited mornings and closes some afternoons.

Before you set off

What to bring

  • 📷A camera or phoneThe tower, turrets and carved 1905 datestone are the reason to stop — get the whole frontage from across the road.
  • 🕰️An eye on the clockTry to pass on the hour if you'd like to catch the bells chiming from the tower.
  • 📖A note of what you're chasingIf you're using the free history library, bring the names, congregations or dates you want to look up.
  • 📱The phone number handyRing 028 9041 7299 before a special trip — the library keeps limited hours.
Good to know

Everything before you go

The mall
Closed. The Spires shopping arcade and its café shut for good in 2017 — there are no shops or coffee stops inside now. Don't come for retail.
What it is now
Church House / the Assembly Buildings — the 1905 headquarters of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The old retail floor is now the Assembly Buildings Conference Centre, a hired venue rather than somewhere to browse.
To see (free)
The exterior any time — a Scottish-baronial-Gothic stone frontage with turrets, a 40m clock tower and carved 1905 datestones. Said to hold Belfast's only peal of 12 bells, which chime on the hour.
Inside
The Presbyterian Historical Society library and archive on the ground floor is open to members and non-members, free of charge — a stop for family or church-history research. Hours are limited (broadly Tue–Thu mornings, closed Thu afternoon); ring ahead.
Cost
Free to look at and free to use the library. Conference-centre spaces are for booked events only.
Parking
No dedicated car park. Use a city-centre multi-storey — the ones off Great Victoria Street and around City Hall are closest.
Getting there
Fisherwick Place, Belfast BT1 6DW, opposite City Hall. A few minutes' walk from Grand Central Station; on plenty of city bus routes.
How long
10–15 minutes for the building and the bells; add time only if you're using the library.
Check ahead
Assembly Buildings / library: 028 9041 7299. Conference-centre enquiries: 028 9032 2284.
Questions

Before you go

Is Spires Mall still open?
No — the shopping mall closed for good in 2017. There are no shops or café inside any more. The ground floor is now the Assembly Buildings Conference Centre, which is a hired venue rather than somewhere to browse.
So is there any point going?
Yes, if you enjoy old buildings. Church House is a handsome 1905 landmark with a clock tower and turrets, free to look at from the street, right opposite City Hall. And the free Presbyterian history library on the ground floor is open to anyone.
Can I hear the bells?
The tower is said to hold Belfast's only peal of 12 bells, which chime on the hour. Time your walk-past on the hour and you've a good chance of catching them.
Can I go inside?
The Presbyterian Historical Society library and archive on the ground floor is free and open to visitors on limited mornings (broadly Tue–Thu). The rest of the building is a conference venue for booked events. Ring 028 9041 7299 to check library hours before a trip.
Is there parking?
No car park of its own. Use a city-centre multi-storey — the ones off Great Victoria Street or near City Hall are handiest.
Getting there

Church House / the Assembly Buildings is on Fisherwick Place, Belfast BT1 6DW — at the top of the city centre, opposite City Hall and a few minutes' walk from Grand Central Station. No car park of its own, so use a nearby city-centre multi-storey.

Directions on Google MapsOfficial website

Check ahead: 028 9041 7299

See it on our map
Nearby

Make more of the day

Belfast City HallFree tours & gardens · directly opposite Victoria SquareShops under the glass dome · 8 min walk Grand Central StationBelfast's big transport hub · 5 min walk More days out in BelfastSee what else is close by
The story

A church headquarters that dressed up as a castle

The reason a "mall" ended up inside a landmark is worth telling. The building is Church House — the headquarters of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland — and it opened in 1905, at the start of that June's General Assembly week. It stands on the site of the old Fisherwick Presbyterian Church, whose congregation gave up their city-centre plot and moved out to the Malone Road so the church could build its grand new home here. The bill came to around £74,000, a serious sum at the time.

The architects, Young & Mackenzie, are said to have modelled the design on a Scottish baronial castle, and it shows: turrets, carved stonework and a 40-metre clock tower that still stands out against the modern city centre. The tower holds what's described as Belfast's only peal of 12 bells, said to chime hymns and carols on the hour — and the turret clock is reckoned to have been the first in Britain to use electricity to drive the time and the chimes. Look up as you pass and you'll spot the carved datestone: "Church House and Assembly Hall, 1905".

Inside is an oval assembly hall built to seat around 1,300 for the church's yearly gathering. The building has taken a knock or two over the years — it was reopened in 1992 after a refurbishment, and it was around then that the ground floor was turned over to retail as the Spires shopping mall, a little arcade of speciality shops with a café. That chapter ran until 2017, when the church closed the shops to reclaim the space for its Assembly Buildings conference and exhibition centre.

So the shops are a closed chapter — but the building carries on doing what it was built for, and it's still one of the more characterful things to look up at on a walk through Belfast city centre. Free, five minutes, and a genuine slice of the city's story.