Comhairle Ceantair an Iúir, Mhúrn agus an Dúin Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Iarsmalann an Iúir agus Mhúrn Newry and Mourne Museum Newry & Mourne Museum Welcome to Newry and Mourne Museum Tours FREE guided tours of the main exhibitions are available each Sunday at 3pm. Numbers are limited to 20 and pre booking of places is advisable. Newry and Mourne Museum was For more information originally housed within Newry Arts please contact Centre and first opened its doors to the 028 3031 3178 or public on 31 May 1986. By March 2007 028 3031 3182. it had outgrown its home and moved to Bagenal’s Castle where it remains to Audio Guides this day. For visitors who just wish to take a stroll The Castle’s exact location was lost through the galleries, over the years due to constant the Museum provides adaptation of the building, not least free audio guides when the premises were purchased in both English and by Arthur McCann Ltd in 1894 and Irish. The audio converted into a bakery. guides provide more information on the Rediscovered in 1996 when McCann’s Castle and exhibits. sold the site, the Castle has been sympathetically restored. During the Opening Times restoration process, drawings from a Monday – Saturday survey of the Castle completed c.1568 10am – 4.30pm allowed archaeologists to uncover many Sundays original features of the Castle and these 1.30pm – 5pm have been interpreted for the visitor. The main exhibitions in the Museum include prehistoric material, Newry as a merchant town, the working life of the area and modern experiences of living in Admission to a border area. Changes are made to the the Museum is main exhibitions on an annual basis. free of charge www.newrymournedown.org Exhibitions Gallery 1 1 The story of Newry and Mourne is told from the prehistoric period up to the 16th century. Artefacts on display include a grave slab from a pre-Norman monastic foundation in the area and a stone carved with a human head and heraldic animal from the medieval Cistercian abbey at Newry. Gallery 2 2 The commercial and cultural heritage of Newry and Mourne in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries is explored here. Highlights include a long case clock made by John Gelston in Newry c.1770 and the robes of the Order of St. Patrick worn by the Third Earl of Kilmorey. Gallery 3 3 An eclectic range of artefacts is used to trace the impact of national and international political events on Newry as a border town in the 20th century. Sections of the gallery are devoted to the business, cultural and domestic life of the area. In addition to the three main galleries, there are two temporary galleries, which have a vibrant programme of exhibitions. Newry & Mourne Museum History of Bagenal’s Castle and McCann’s Bakery The Castle Built in the environs of the site Army in Ireland, Sir Nicholas of a 12th century Cistercian Bagenal and, subsequently his abbey, Bagenal’s Castle is an son, Henry, played an important early example of a fortified and influential role in late residence. Documentary 16th century Irish government evidence also indicates that and politics. Henry, who took the Castle was surrounded by a leading part in the military a bawn (a walled enclosure campaigns against Hugh containing outbuildings) as well O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, during as a garden and an orchard. the Nine Years War, was killed when English forces were It was built by Sir Nicholas defeated at the Battle of Yellow Bagenal, an English settler from Ford in 1598. Staffordshire, who was granted the confiscated estates of the After the ravages of the Nine Cistercian abbey at Newry, Years War, Bagenal’s Castle was along with land at Greencastle re-established as the centre of and Carlingford, by King Edward the Bagenal estates as part of VI in 1552. the Ulster Plantation. After it was attacked during the 1641 Appointed Marshall of the Rebellion, historical evidence www.newrymournedown.org The Bakery for the Castle becomes scarce The warehouse adjoining making it difficult to know how Bagenal’s Castle on the north far the Bagenals maintained side was added in the early the Castle as an important 19th century. In 1894 the residence. complex became the home of McCann’s bakery and employed By the time of his death generations of local families in 1712, Nicholas Bagenal until it ceased operating in the (great-grandson of Sir Nicholas late 1990s. Bagenal) had a well-appointed house in London and his On the top storey of the county Down estates passed warehouse, the original floor to his cousin, Robert Nedham. and roof have been preserved A map accompanying a lease along with some machinery from Robert Nedham to from McCann’s bakery. There Robert Hutcheson, a Newry are also displays of artefacts merchant, in 1746 shows that from the bakery throughout the the Nedhams may have been building. attempting to re-establish the Castle as a centre of commercial enterprise. Subsequent to this lease the Castle was converted into two dwelling houses. Features relating to this phase of the building’s history include a bread oven, fireplaces, windows with their original glazing bar holes and an 18th century basement. Newry & Mourne Museum Education Services School Programmes The Museum provides workshops that utilise artefacts from the Collection which are based on the history of Newry and Mourne. Some of the topics include: Build your own Castle Workshop Students will learn more about who lived in the Castle, the servants that were employed plus have a chance to build their own castle. Dress up Costumes Children can try on some of the costumes on display and enjoy role play fun. Living History Workshops These have been devised for schools so that pupils can learn more about the past in an interactive and enjoyable way. They include: • The Workhouse: Students are transported to the time of Irish Famine and are transformed into paupers entering the Newry Union Workhouse in 1847 for the first time. • The Victorian School Room: Pupils will appreciate education in the 21st century after they experience the strict discipline and rigorous lessons of a 19th century classroom, where they may even face the threat of the cane! • World War Two: Pupils will learn how to be Fire Guard Messengers. They will be instructed on blackouts, gas masks, and what to do during an air raid. Events and activities only cost £1 per child. Workshops can be arranged according to your school or organisation £1 timetable. For bookings and more information please email: [email protected] www.newrymournedown.org Archaeology Workshop Families Students will become archaeologists for the day. They will examine changes Seasonal arts and over time, handle artefacts plus have crafts activities for the opportunity to create their own families are available piece of ‘Neolithic’ pottery. throughout the year. There are plenty of Toy Workshop activities on offer Designed for the younger pupil, during these sessions children will learn about toys from the including the ever past and around the world, plus make popular Museum their own to take home. Treasure Hunt and the Children’s Comic. Historic Walking Tours We also organise historic walking Events tours of Newry town. To complement this activity we can also provide a There are a number virtual tour of 19th century Newry, of workshops, courses using maps and photographs from the and lectures organised Collection. throughout the year on different topics Seasonal Activities and themes including There are activities for schools at the history and Halloween, Christmas and Easter, heritage of the region. themed on the temporary exhibitions To find out what is that run throughout the year. scheduled and to join our mailing list, please fell free to contact us at any time. Current and upcoming event information will also be published on our /newryandmourneArtsMuseum Facebook page. Newry & Mourne Museum Outreach Services Reminiscence Touring Exhibition Loan Box Programme The boxes are designed Travelling exhibitions are also available to include multi-sensory free of charge from the Museum. The items to help stimulate current exhibitions available, which memories and encourage each comprise of five pop-up stands, are: reminiscence. Newry and Mourne in the Great War This service is free and the Tells the local story of the impact of boxes can be borrowed the First World War, with references to for a two week period. Bessbrook, Jerrettspass, Kilkeel, Newry, Museum staff can provide Newtownhamilton, Rostrevor and brief instruction on how Warrenpoint. they can be used. They The Great Famine include information and Provides an overview of how the famine items relating to: affected the local area, with reference • The 1940s and 1950s to Newry, Forkhill, Warrenpoint, • School Life Downpatrick and Crossgar. • Household 1916 and After • Earning a Crust Themes explored include local figures • Rural Life associated with the Easter Rising of • Grooming and Fashion 1916, how it was reported in local • The 1970s and 1980s newspapers and its impact on local • Christmas politics. Farming in the Local Area Looks at the development of farming, highlighting agricultural shows and farming co-operative information from Newry, Loughbrickland, Rathfriland and south Armagh. www.newrymournedown.org Research Resources The Museum has archival collections which are available to research in the Museum Reading Room. The Reside Collection the Collection relates to local A wide ranging collection and family history in the Kilkeel shedding light on many aspects area. This includes photographs, of local history in the Newry postcards, receipts from local area from 1715 to the 1990s. businesses, newspaper cuttings The papers include estate and detailed notes on family records such as rental books, history.