Exploring the History & Heritage of Tyrone and The Sperrins Millennium Sculpture Strabane Canal Artigarvan & Leckpatrick Moor Lough Lough Ash Plumbridge & The Glenelly Valley The Wilson Ancestral Home Sion Mills Castlederg Killeter Village Ardstraw Graveyard Stewart Castle Harry Avery’s Castle Patrick Street Graveyard, Strabane pPB-1 Heritage Trail Time stands still; time marches on. It’s everywhere you look. In our majestic mountains and rivers, our quiet forests and rolling fields, in our lively towns and scenic villages: history is here, alive and well. Some of that history is ancient and mysterious, its archaeology shaping our landscape, even the very tales we tell ourselves. But there are other, more recent histories too – of industry and innovation; of fascinating social change and of a vibrant, living culture. Get the full Local visitor App experience: information: Here then is the story of Tyrone and the Sperrins - Download it to your iphone The Alley Artsan and extraordinary journey through many worlds, from or android smartphone Conference Centre 1A Railway Sdistanttreet, Str pre-historyabane all the way to the present day. and discover even more Co. Tyrone, BT82 8EF about the History & Heritage It’s a magical, unforgettable experience. of Tyrone and The Sperrins. Email: [email protected] Web:www.discovertyroneandsperrins.com Tel: (028) 71Join38 4444 us and discover that as time marches on, time also stands still… p2-3 x the sites The sites are categorised 1 Millennium Sculpture 6 by heritage type as below 2 Strabane Canal 8 Pre-history 3 Artigarvan & Leckpatrick 10 4 Moor Lough 12 Ulster-Scots 5 Lough Ash 14 Cultural 6 Plumbridge & 16 The Glenelly Valley Industrial 7 The Wilson Ancestral Home, 20 Dergalt Architectural 8 Sion Mills & The Stables 22 9 Castlederg 24 Christian 10 Killeter Village 26 Environmental 11 Ardstraw Graveyard 28 12 Stewart Castle, Newtownstewart 30 13 Harry Avery’s Castle, Newtownstewart 32 14 Patrick Street Graveyard, Strabane 34 Heritage Guide Map p18-19 (centre spread) p4-5 Site 21 Where Dreams Go Millennium Sculpture N14 Rd er R265 th Located Lifford Road, Strabane ea yh all R236 B Rd 2 land Raphoe Donemana/Dunamanagh L o ng N14 d 3 Berryhill R CO. DONEGAL Ballymagorry 5 Artigarvan L isnara g h R R265 d 4 1 Lifford 14 Strabane S po u t 7 Rd d R y e Stranorlar Castlefinn rn U Ballybofey N15 Clady 8 Sion Mills 6 y R Plumbridge Glenell oad Victoria Bridge C u lv a c 11 u ll io n R d d e R Ardstraw idg br d m Plu R n 12 Killym a ore Rd e l DID YOU know? c l i K 13 d d In 1956, Brian O’Nolan was also R e R Newtownstewart oy an C kanb ab roc 9 Str co-producer for RTÉ of 3 Radio Gortin d R Ballets – a dancet performance r u Castlederg o Two dancers stand poised, ready to begin. c s on radio. To daten it has never THE SPERRINS o r a On the Strabane side is a musician holding Within the town been re-broadcast.B a fiddle; on the Lifford side a drummer. itself are several Largybeg Killeter Wood Forest Between them, linking the musical 10 other notable Killen Bessy Bell Gortin Glen ensemble, stands a musician with a fife. pieces: the Abercorn Forest Park Killeter Square boat sculpture ad Ulster American Ro n (titled BolaghtDeparture), a life- Since its installation to mark the new millennium,ga Folk Park on llym Ba Strabane’s landmark sculpture - Let the sizeLough Lee sculpture of the Strabane-born comic Dance Begin - has become one of the most genius of Irish literature Flann O’ Brien (Brian photographed pieces of public art in Ireland. O’Nolan). And, in another nod to the author of An Béal Bocht (‘The Poor Mouth’), outside the The figures, known locally as ‘The Tinnies’, have Alley Theatre we have ‘Where Dreams Go’ been followed across the region by additional – known locally as Ambrose The Pig. creative works of art in Sion Mills, Castlederg, Dunamanagh, Newtownstewart and Plumbridge under the Heritage, Environment, Art and Rural Tourism project (HEART). p6-7 Site 2 Strabane Canal Located off Greenlaw Road, Ballymagorry N14 Canal Basin 1900s Rd er R265 th ea yh all R236 B Rd 2 land Raphoe Donemana/Dunamanagh L o ng N14 d 3 Berryhill R CO. DONEGAL Ballymagorry 5 Artigarvan L isnara g h R R265 d 4 1 Lifford 14 Strabane S po u t 7 Rd d R y e Stranorlar Castlefinn rn U Ballybofey N15 Clady 8 Sion Mills 6 y R Plumbridge Glenell oad Victoria Bridge C u lv a c 11 u ll io n R DID YOU know? d d e R Ardstraw idg br d m Since ancient times, the River Foyle has been an Though just Plu R Since 2006 new life has been n 12 Killym a ore Rd e l c l i breathed into the stretch important navigation route and central to the K over four miles 13 d d of canal between Devine’s R e R Newtownstewart oy long, thean canal’s C kanb development of Strabane and the wider region. ab roc 9 Str and Crampsie’s locks near Gortin d strategic location R t Ballymagorry. r This section u Castlederg o c s In 1796 the commercial importance of Strabane enabled it to now serves asn an important THE SPERRINS o r a was enhanced further with the opening of bring considerable natural heritageB amenity for Largybegthe public. the canal.Killeter At a time when travel by road was prosperity to Wood Forest difficult this had the effect of creating a more 10 the area in the first Killen Bessy Bell Gortin Glen Forest Park accessible link between Strabane town centre and Killeter quarter of the nineteenth international markets. Coal, timber, steel and century. However, in 1847 a ad Ulster American Ro n Bolaght ga Folk Park iron were among the items imported,on railway opened from Derry to Strabane, llym Ba while a wide range of agricultural Lough Leeand a network of connecting lines soon produce (wheat, flax, butter, developed. The effect on canal trade was eggs and beef) was exported. dramatic, and its decline inevitable. p8-9 Site 3 Artigarvan & Leckpatrick N14 Rd er R265 th ea yh all R236 B Rd 2 land Raphoe Donemana/Dunamanagh L o ng N14 d 3 Berryhill R CO. DONEGAL Ballymagorry 5 Artigarvan L isnara g h R R265 d 4 1 Lifford 14 Strabane S po u t 7 Rd d R y e Stranorlar Castlefinn rn U Ballybofey Dr GeorgeN15 Sigerson Clady 8 Sion Mills 6 y R Plumbridge Glenell oad Victoria DIDBridge YOU know? The aforementioned spade foundry was established by C u lv a c 11 u William Sigerson, the father ll io n R d d of Dr George Sigerson, a e R Ardstraw idg br d m Plu R major figure in Irish literature n 12 Killym a ore Rd e Other notable nearby Around two miles from Ballymagorry on the banks l c l i K and the man behind13 the d of the Glenmornan river is the village of Artigarvan. features in thed area R e R coveted intervarsityNewtownstewart GAA oy an C kanb ab roc 9 Str include the Rocking trophy. Gortin d R t r u CastledergStone, a collapsed portal o This river was once one of the busiest in c s n THE SPERRINS o r a Ulster, providing power for corn mills, bleach mills, tomb constructed perhaps B a sawmill, a paper mill and a spade foundry. 5000 years ago; Leckpatrick Largybeg Killeter Wood Forest graveyard, which hints at 10 Killen Bessy Bell Gortin Glen Spanning the Glenmornan, within Artigarvan itself associations with Saint Forest Park Killeter is Malison Bridge, which is notable for a remarkable Patrick; and Holy Hill (also ad Ulster American Ro Hollyhill) House - a listed stone that has been built into it. The stone nbears Bolaght ga Folk Park on llym the name of Robert Algeo and an inscriptionBa building dating from the Lough Lee from 1625. Algeo was an important figure in the early 18th Century. Scottish settlement in Strabane barony in the early seventeenth century. How the stone found its way to its present location is something of a mystery, as is its true significance. p10-11 Site 4 Moor Lough N14 Rd er R265 th ea yh all R236 B Rd 2 land Raphoe Donemana/Dunamanagh L o ng N14 d 3 Berryhill R CO. DONEGAL Ballymagorry 5 Artigarvan L isnara g h R R265 d 4 1 Lifford 14 Strabane S po u t 7 Rd d R y e Stranorlar Castlefinn rn U Ballybofey N15 Clady 8 Sion Mills 6 y R Plumbridge Glenell oad Victoria Bridge Moor Lough Heather C u lv a c 11 u ll io n R d d e R Ardstraw idg br d m Plu R n 12 Killym a ore Rd e l c l i K 13 d d R e R Newtownstewart oy an C kanb ab roc 9 Str Moor Lough provides one of the best ways Gortin d R t r u to immerse yourself in the natural landscape Castlederg o c s n THE SPERRINS o r a of the Sperrins. Once a source of water B for Strabane canal, this upland lake is now Largybeg Killeter Wood Forest something of a game angler’s paradise, while DID YOU know? 10 Killen Bessy Bell The Moorlough Shore is a Gortin Glen the shoreline offers a delightful walking circuit.