The End Is Here....

Hey Bloggers!!

This is my final post in talking about the history of Lurgan.  It's been a journey gathering all this research and going out taking pictures but it's been fun.  It's been great reading your blogs and learning about your chosen topic.  I think we can all say it's been a lot of work, but hopefully an interesting one at that.  

I've recorded a short video of myself talking about my research project, keep a look out on my google account as it can't be posted on blogger.com.

That's me until another research project comes my way 

Thanks for reading my blog

:) 

The Troubles

From the past to the present:  The outbreak of the Troubles

Lurgan and the associated towns of Portadown and Craigavon made up part of what was known as the "murder triangle"; an area known for a significant number of incidents and fatalities during The Troubles.  The legacy of the Troubles is continued tension between Roman Catholics and Protestants, which has occasionally erupted into violence at flashpoint 'interface areas'.  The history of the new city of Craigavon may only start in the 1960s but the area has long been rich in cultural and industrial history. Craigavon's site encompasses the towns of Lurgan to the east and Portadown to the west with the new urban area of Brownlow in the centre. Many smaller towns and villages, each with its own history and folklore, contribute to make Craigavon the historical and culturally rich area it is today. 

Here's an interesting documentary I found on youtube talking about the outcome of the Troubles 

Linen Industry: Continued

A few more facts about the Linen Industry

In 1850 Ireland had 325,000 spindles, England had 365,000 and Scotland 303,000. Over the next fifty years, however, the number of flax spinning spindles in England decreased to near vanishing point with less than 50,000 spindles. By the end of the century Scotland had also suffered a major reduction, the number of spindles being 160, 000.  While these two countries had lost production, Ireland's share had increased and by 1875 there were 906,000 spindles working, this number having reached 935,411 by the turn of the century.  One of the reasons for this great displacement in favour of Ireland was the fact that linen was the staple industry here, whereas England and Scotland had other textile industries which allowed a higher profit and the payment of wages on a higher scale.  Lurgan has historically been an industrial town in which the linen industry predominated as a source of employment during the Industrial Revolution, and is said to have employed as many as 18,000 handloom weavers at the end of the 19th century, a figure significantly higher than the town's resident population at the time.  J.C. Becket states that 'The Linen Industry provided additional employment for cottiers and small farmers and their families, and made them less completely dependant on the land'.  Furthermore, there can be no doubt that 'the general standard of living was much higer in the north than elsewhere'.  

J.C. Beckett's book, 'The Making of Modern Ireland' was very helpful and interesting 

Linen Industry

Hey Bloggers!!

I know I've took us on a journey from different time periods but gonna go back to the early years to talk about one crucial point that had an impact on the growth of Lurgan; the rise of the linen industry

Arthur Brownlow was in fact largely responsible for the early development of linen manufacture in the area, introducing weaving to his tenants and buying their produce.  The main linen companies at the time were Bairds, McCaw and Allan, Johnston Allan, Ulster weaving and The Limited.  Kieran Clendinning further writes that the modern history of linen thread in Ireland began with the migration of John Barbour from Paisley to County Down in 1794. It was not, however, until the middle of the second decade of the 19th century that a great transformation in flax spinning took place. Prior to that time linen yarn had been spun only by hand on the old-fashioned spinning wheel.  Overall it is clear that linen manufacturing played a crucial role in the development of Lurgan, mainly due to the skills of its craftsmanship, the enterprise of its bleachers and linen-drapers, the most prominent of whom were the Quakers. 

Linen Industry:Winding yarn, York street factory. 17/2/1939

Useful weblink explaining more detail:  http://www.craigavonhistoricalsociety.org.uk/rev/clendinninglinenind.html

Lurgan Town Hall

Hey Bloggers!!

I met with the manager of Lurgan Town Hall and she provided me with lots of interesting facts

The creation of the Town Hall provides facilities for hire to meet the needs of a range of groups in the community, especially performances such as concerts, musicals, dance and drama.  Lurgan Town Hall was built in 1868 similar in contruction to the Mechanics Institute, built in 1958, but in a more restrained style.  The architect was Raffles Brown, and he had the ground floor and basement built of local blackstone with red brick dressings and tall arched windows.  The first floor was constructed of dark red brick with coupled arched windows.  The cost of the building came to £2,300.  The smaller building, now used as an Annex of the Town Hall premises, was  originally used as the local Rates Office for many years, until 1989.  It now houses the Lurgan Branch of the Citizens Advice Bureau on the ground floor with dressing rooms off the Stage upstairs

It is also popular for private functions and exhibition space.  The Auditorium can seat audiences up to 250, including Balcony of 50, or 120 at tables.  The Minor Hall can seat 120 at tables or in rows. It is suitable for exercise classes, dinners, parties, exhibitions, meetings and craft groups.  A number of smaller rooms are available for meetings, crafts groups etc accommodating between 2 and 50 people.  The building is easily identified by its traditional stonework, red railings and gates at the front entrance. It is situated just off the main high street.  

See below for lots of pictures taken inside the Town Hall 

The Town Hall Building

George William Russell, better known by the pseudonym 'AE'.  This bust, by Jerome Connor, was unveiled at the Town Hall in 1985

Dance Hall:  Forces use to come over from as far as America to see dances and take part in the music entertainment

The Balcony 

Back door:  Leads to smaller building, now used as an Annex of the Town Hall premises.  It was originally the Police Barracks until it got attacked by a bomb.  It now houses the Lurgan Branch of the Citizens Bureau on the ground floor, with dressing rooms off the stage upstairs

Claude Brownlow (1591)

The Right Honourable Lord Lurgan (1892)

Master McGrath:  won the Waterloo Cup three times, in 1892, 1869 and 1871

Video of Lurgan Park

To end our journey with Lurgan Park I've provided a video 

Sorry for the bad quality it was a windy day and couldn't see the camera well due to the sunlight

But hope it provides some entertainment!!! 

(See google account for upload as it couldn't fit on blogger.com)

'Coalbrookdale Fountain'

The 'Coalbrookdale Fountain' was originally erected in 1888 in the town centre to celebrate Queen Victoria's Jubilee but it was moved to the park in 1920 to allow the war memorial to be built there instead.  See appendix for pic.  It's pained a single dark colour in order to explain the technical difficulties in repairing and restoring this landmark.  While other similar cast iron fountains survive around the world- from Christchurch, New Zealand to Weston-super-Mare, Somerset- no other fountain is known to survive its original lamp posts.  Some Coalbrookdale fountains were brightly painted, but early photographs suggest that Lurgan's fountain was painted a single dark colour in imitation of bronze. 

Here's a useful website that give plenty of facts about the park 

http://www.lurganpark.com/

Enjoy the beautiful pictures of the Fountain :)