Tuesday 21 February 2017

GRONI relocates to Belfast suburb of Stranmillis

The General Register Office of Northern Ireland (GRONI), along with its Public Search Room, has moved to leafy Stranmillis, about one and a half miles away from its former city centre home in Chichester Street, Belfast.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Colby+House,+Stranmillis+Ct,+Belfast+BT9+5BF/@54.577198,-5.9336536,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x486108e8f8387af5:0xa8f816079abe0bee!8m2!3d54.5769026!4d-5.9326075
GRONI's full database (to current date)
is available at GRONI and PRONI.

The well-organised move went according to plan, with the office closing as normal at 4pm on Tuesday 14 February and re-opening on Wednesday 15 February in the newly-built Colby House. It was business-as-usual from the word-go, with four researchers waiting for the doors to open at 9:30am eager to check out the new facilities in the bright, squeaky clean and thoroughly modern new offices. Regular visitors will be pleased to know that the new Search Room is not only more spacious, it is climate controlled, so no more freezing in Winter and roasting in Summer! Free parking is another improvement for researchers.

As previously, twelve computer terminals are available for researchers to search GRONI's database. Unlike the online (public) database (here), which restricts access to BMD records according to the 100-75-50 year rule, researchers to the Public Search Room can gain access to birth, marriage and death records right up to current registrations. (This same lack of restriction applies to the four GRONI terminals in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland in Belfast's Titanic Quarter.)

You'll find full details of GRONI's research facilities, opening hours, booking arrangements, ID requirements and fees on GRONI's online pages, and scrolling down.

The new address is:

General Register Office Northern Ireland
Colby House
Stranmillis Court (off Stranmillis Road)
Belfast BT9 5RR