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Prisoners of war in what is believed to be Göttingen POW camp, Germany. Thomas McCormick is seated on the left. (Image courtesy of Mr Tom McCormick) Thank you to everyone who has left their stories of Hilden Mill in the memories box of our recent exhibition. This Virtual Museum post highlights one of the many […]

  Flax of different dates of sowing, Glenmore, 1927 (ILC&LM Collection) Traditionally, flax was sown in Ireland in early May when all risk of frost had passed and under the perception that warmer weather improved germination. There was sometimes debate about whether this was the best time to sow the seed. In 1842, Cortland G.

Last year, we were delighted to host a 360° video inside our weaving workshop about Thomas Beggs, an Ulster-Scots weaver poet. The episode was presented by Lolly Spence, local historian and tour guide, and was part of a series called ‘The Woven Word’ on Ulster’s rhyming weaver poets. Thomas Beggs was born in 1789, and

W. A. Green, ‘Gorse and fern “to keep the fairies out”, a May Eve custom’ (© the artist’s estate. Image credit: National Museums NI). It is possible that this was the Bell family of Magheragall, near Lisburn, c. 1914. May Eve (30 April) used to be a popular festivity in Lisburn and the surrounding rural districts.

Group of men, Ballinderry, early 1900s (ILC&LM Collection) We know little about this group of men, other than that they were from Ballinderry. What might they have been up to, and can you spot their dog?

  Hans Petticrew’s store, 57 Bow Street, Lisburn, early 1900s (ILC&LM Collection). Could Hans Petticrew be the man standing in the doorway? Petticrew Bros. was not the only Petticrew business on Lisburn’s Bow Street. Born around 1854 near Boardmills between Lisburn and Saintfield, Hans Petticrew had opened a grocery, provision, hardware, and house furnishings store

Piper Hill, Lisburn. Ink and colour wash drawing by Jim Dunlop, c. 1970 (LMILC.2013.211, gifted). Viewed from Hill Street, the artist really captures old Lisburn in this ink and colour wash drawing of Piper Hill or Market Lane before major redevelopment of the area. The open space at the bottom of the hill, where two

Petticrew Bros., 21 Bow Street, Lisburn, c. 1900. The two members of staff are likely the brothers who founded the business, Francis and Robert. (ILC&LM Collection) Petticrew Bros. was opened in November 1893 by Robert Petticrew (b. 1866) and his younger brother, Francis (b. 1868). Originally from Drumra, in Drumbeg parish, the brothers chose Bow

Advertisement for a replica display, at Hanningtons of Brighton, of Old Bleach linens prepared for Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House (Brighton and Hove Herald, 28 March 1925) If you have visited our permanent exhibition, Flax to fabric: the story of Irish linen, you may have been intrigued by the miniature linen items on display in the

Model of the Mary Edson, by Werner Geyer, 2023 (ILC&LM Collection) The following poem was written by William McComb (1793-1873) on 13 July 1863, the date that the Mary Edson departed Belfast for New York. The ship was sent by Lisburn-born American millionaire, A. T. Stewart (1803-76), and on the return leg to the USA

A child and dog on a farm near Annahilt, Hillsborough, c. 1930 (LMILC.2004.469, purchased 2004) This child took the term ‘working’ dog to a whole new level! Although the Border Collie seems content to pull the small cart, we can’t help but think it would rather have been herding sheep, which is what the breed

  Product label, William Barbour & Sons Ltd. (LMILC.1998.44.9, gifted) The symbol of an open, red, left hand was synonymous with William Barbour & Sons Ltd. of Hilden. The trade mark appeared on their products, which included linen thread, twine, and nets, and became associated with quality. It was also incorporated into the many advertisements

Maria Pirrie Gordon (1842-1921). Oil on canvas by Frank McKelvey (1895-1974). LMILC.2010.147. Maria Pirrie Gordon (née Barbour) was like so many women in Irish society during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries – we have very little information about her life, and what little we do know is often told through the lives of

  Ulster Star, 22 February 1964 In 1964, a group of Lisburn students organised a ‘Miss Leap Year’ competition in aid of the charity Freedom from Hunger. Unlike other beauty queen titles, entrants for Miss Leap Year submitted their photograph and six finalists had their portrait displayed in a public space. Beneath each picture was a

Warren View, Hillsborough Road, Lisburn, c. 1960s (ILC&LM Collection) Thank you to everyone who contacted us about an unknown terrace we posted on our Virtual Museum. With your help, we can identify the terrace as ‘Warren View’. It was built in the late nineteenth century on the Hillsborough Road (sometimes referred to as the Dublin

This Virtual Museum post is by Cameron Gilchrist, a student at the South Eastern Regional College, Lisburn. He is on work experience placement at the Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum. Cameron is from Annahilt and found this post card in our collection very interesting. Field Service Post Card, 12 September 1917 (LMILC.2004.470, purchased 2004)

Ferguson radio, model 383A, 1956 (LMILC.2018.395, donated 2018) This radio was manufactured in 1956 by the Ferguson Radio Corporation Ltd. The model 383A was also known as the ‘fleur-de-lis’ and had three reception wavebands – long, medium, and VHF or FM. An interesting feature, which was common on old radios, is the variety of stations

Rolls-Royce factory, Dundonald, shortly before closing in 1977 (Belfast News-Letter, 7 February 1977) The Rolls-Royce factory at Dundonald was short-lived, but it impacted many people. The site was initially the factory of Resinoid and Mica Products Ltd., a plastic mouldings firm that relocated to Dundonald from Reading, England, in September 1965. It provided 300 jobs,

Terraced houses, unknown location, c. 1950s (ILC&LM Collection) We are uncertain of this photo’s location, though we believe it was taken in Lisburn or the greater Lisburn area around the 1950s. The terrace looks like it could be workers’ houses. Did you live here or remember the terrace? If you can help us identify the

A. T. Stewart’s residence, Fifth Avenue and 34th Street, Manhattan, New York, c. 1900 (Image credit: New York Public Library) The cotton famine of 1861-3 was devastating for many Lisburn families, with the cotton weavers unable to source the material on which their livelihood depended. The Lisburn-born American millionaire, Alexander Turney Stewart (1803-76), felt compassion

Lisburn historian, Fred Kee, ringing the old Grain Market bell, 1971. Watching on are officers of the Lisburn Historical Society – Samuel Smyth (hon. treasurer), Samuel Semple (chairman), Robin Kirk (curator), Harold A. Duff (hon. secretary) – and the Mayor, Cllr. Hugh G. Bass (Ulster Star, 8 May 1971) Two of our previous Virtual Museum

Robert Burns, by Samuel Cousins, 1830, after Alexander Nasmyth, 1787 (image credit: Yale Center for British Art) Robert Burns (1759-96) is famed for his poetry, but did you know that the author of works like ‘To a mouse’ (1785) or ‘Address to a Haggis’ (1786) had a brief spell in Scotland’s linen industry before finding

Royal Hillsborough, junction of Main Street and Ballynahinch Street, 1924. Postcard by Allen D. Coon (1867-1938), of Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, and Moira, Co. Down.

Ordnance Survey map, second edition (1846-62), showing in the top left the location of Lisburn’s Grain Market, which was also known as the ‘New Market’. Note its location in relation to the ‘New Church’ and compare with the photograph below. The Grain Market at Smithfield, Lisburn, was not only popular for trade. It was also

Smithfield Street looking towards Market Street, Lisburn, 1951 (ILC&LM Collection)

The following poem was published in the Lisburn Standard newspaper in December 1905: Jack Frost Jack Frost, he is with us again; He comes every winter, you know; But we’re hardy and bold, And we don’t mind the cold, And we welcome the ice and snow. Jack Frost plays a rough sort of game With

Largymore New National School, Lisburn, c. 1906 (Margaret Hanthorne Collection, ILC&LM) It’s back to school for most pupils this week. Here is a postcard of the students of Largymore New National School returning to the classroom. Do they look excited to start back, or are they not amused? The image was taken by the famed

Hilden Mill in the Snow, by Neil Shawcross MBE, RHA, RUA, c. 1985 (oil on canvas, ILC&LM Collection, copyright Neil Shawcross) The artist was inspired to paint this scene when witnessing the red-brick mass of Hilden Mill vividly set against the white of surrounding snow. Linen thread-making was established by the Barbour family near Plantation

Christmas card from Egypt, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, c. 1940s (ILCLM, W.S. Corken Papers, Folder 2, Box 1) Most Christmas cards you receive will likely have an image commonly associated with the festive season – the nativity, Santa, a snowman, and so on. What is Lisburn’s connection to this exotic-looking Christmas card? The recipient was