Union table ‘is hidden away in a warehouse’
THE table on which the Act of Union is believed to have been signed into law more than 200 years ago is languishing in a warehouse, the News Letter can reveal.
The historic mahogany table is one of several unionist artefacts owned by the Stormont Assembly which have been put into storage at a “secure commercial storage facility” in Mallusk.
Last night the MLA who uncovered the news, TUV leader Jim Allister, said that it seemed incredible that such a historically significant table could be “hidden away”.
A Stormont guidebook stored in the Assembly library and believed to have been published in the 1980s records that at that point the table was present in the Great Hall in Parliament Buildings.
It said: “Also to be seen is a polished mahogany table upon which it is believed the Royal Assent to the Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland was signed in 1800 by Lord Cornwallis, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
“The table is thought to have been part of the furnishings of the old Irish House of Lords, which was abolished by the Act of Union. It was purchased by the Northern Ireland Government in 1957.”
Mr Allister said that through a series of Assembly questions he had established that several items which may be considered British or unionist had been removed from Stormont, including the Assembly’s portrait of the Queen by the Irish painter Lydia de Burgh, which has been lent to Hillsborough Castle.
“Some time ago I drew attention to the fact that a large number of pictures of Royalty — including one of Her Majesty the Queen — are no longer on display in Parliament Buildings,” the North Antrim MLA said.
“This being the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year I believe that Stormont should seek the return of Lydia de Burgh’s portrait of Her Majesty so that it can be suitably displayed.
“As a result of further Assembly Questions I have established that other works of art belonging to the Assembly [including portraits of former Prime Ministers JM Andrews and Viscount Craigavon as well as one of Sir Henry Wilson who was involved in the famous Curragh Incident in March 1914] are stored in a ‘secure commercial storage facility in Mallusk’.
“Since I began asking about the fate of Stormont’s artwork I discovered that previously the Great Hall contained a mahogany table on which the Royal Assent to the Act of Union was signed in 1800.
“When I asked where the table currently is I was informed that it too is in a storage facility in Mallusk.
“It seems incredible to me that an object of such historic significance could be hidden away in such a fashion.
“And mystery still surrounds the vase made to commemorate the Coronation in 1953 which used to stand in Stormont’s Great Hall.”
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Weather for Belfast
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Light showers
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