County Buildings is a municipal facility in East Bridge Street,

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,823 a ...

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It served as the headquarters of

Fermanagh County Council Fermanagh County Council was the authority responsible for local government in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, between 1899 and 1973. It was originally based at the Enniskillen Courthouse, but moved to County Buildings in East Bridge Street ...

from 1960 to 1973.

History

During the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, meetings of

were held at the

Enniskillen Courthouse Enniskillen Courthouse is a judicial facility in East Bridge Street, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is a Grade B listed building. History The East Bridge Street site had previously been occupied by a gaol which had been buil ...

. In the 1950s, county leaders decided that the courthouse was too cramped to accommodate the county council in the context of the county council's increasing administrative responsibilities, especially while the courthouse was still acting as a facility for dispensing justice, and therefore chose to acquire additional premises on a vacant site to the west of the courthouse. The new building, which was designed in the Neo-Georgian style, involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto East Bridge Street; the central section of three bays, which slightly projected forwards and was five storeys high, was faced with stone and featured a deeply recessed doorway; there were sash windows on each of the floors above and a flag pole projected above the middle first floor window. The new building was constructed by the local contractor, A. J. Humphries, at a cost of £58,000 and was officially opened by the

Lord Lieutenant of Fermanagh A list of the Lord Lieutenants of Fermanagh, located County Fermanagh of Northern Ireland, U.K. The Lord Lieutenant is a ceremonial local government position. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II, when they we ...

, the 5th Earl of Enniskillen, on 28 May 1960. After the county council was abolished in 1973, the building became the regional office of several government departments. However, by the mid-1990s, although still in use by the

Northern Ireland Office The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; ga, Oifig Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for N ...

, the occupancy of the building had significantly reduced. It then continued to be used at a low level of occupancy by the new Northern Ireland Assembly. Following the formation of

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council Fermanagh and Omagh District Council ( ga, Comhairle Ceantair Fhear Manach agus na hÓmaí; Ulster-Scots: ''Districk Cooncil o Fermanagh an Omey'') is a local authority in Northern Ireland and was established on 1 April 2015. It replaced Ferman ...

in April 2015, the council established a dedicated planning office in the building with the intention of making town planning services more easily accessible to local people. In March 2017, the building was deemed surplus to requirements by the Northern Ireland Assembly and was marketed for sale. It was acquired by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council who re-designated it as a "Connect Centre" in April 2018. The council then initiated an extensive programme of refurbishment works in July 2018 before re-opening the building as a "Services Hub" and also as a Register Office for birth and deaths and as a venue for marriages and civil partnerships in February 2020.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in County Fermanagh

Government buildings completed in 1960