Virtual Museum

Folk dancing at Ballinderry, 1933 (ILC&LM Collection) The Lambeg Irish Folk Dancing Society was formed in the early twentieth century

Point paper, Royal St. George’s Golf Club, Sandwich, by Coulsons of Lisburn, c.1930 (LMILC.2002.338.66, given by Lisburn Historical Society)

‘Boy with rabbit’, watercolour by Samuel McCloy (1831-1904) (LMILC.1997.99.56, given by Barbara Lamb)

Young Street, Lisburn, c.1910 (ILC&LM Collection)

American soldiers, possibly in Lisburn, c. 1943 (LMILC.2024.204.08, gifted by Margaret Tanuvasa) We believe this photo of local women with

Postcard, ‘Greetings on St. Patrick’s Day’ (LMILC.1990.135) This postcard features a spinner. Did you know that we have live spinning

  WVS uniform, c.1941 (LMILC.1989.81, gifted) Our exhibition marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day in 2024 included a Women’s Voluntary

Postcard, ‘Greetings from the heart of Lisburn’, 1910 (LMILC.2003.95, gifted) The woman who sent this postcard to her ‘valentine’ in

Willow pattern point paper, by Tommy Donnelly, 1996 (LMILC.2004.389) A point paper is a design made on graph paper, and

Holocaust Memorial Day is held on 27 January. First marked in the UK in 2001, it allows people to remember

ARP cigarette cards, W.D. & H.O. Wills, 1938 (LMILC.1994.122, gifted by Lila Reid) Cigarette cards were a type of trading

Lisburn ARP Rescue Squad, Wallace Avenue, c.1944 (ILC&LM Collection) The ARP had several squads that carried out their own specific

ARP warden’s helmet, c. 1940 (LMILC.1990.202, gifted) The ARP (Air Raid Precautions) was established before the outbreak of the Second

Embroidered alphabet and numbers sampler, 1810 (LMILC.2009.96, gifted by Carl and Patricia McHargue) This sampler was found by the donors

Santa Claus has a long-standing association with Lisburn. He has visited for many decades to ask the children if they

Bachelors Walk, Lisburn, 1980s (ILC&LM Collection) This was outside a shop called Motor and Sport, which offered a savings and

Postcard, ‘Christmas Greeting’, Station Square and Court House, Lisburn, 1908 (LMILC.2023.345, gifted by Margaret Hanthorne)

The Christmas tree in Market Square, Lisburn, c.1980s (ILC&LM Collection).

The old terrace at Chapel Hill, c.1950s (ILC&LM Collection, gifted by Lisburn Historical Society) This terrace was located above St.

Thomas E. Dewey, Governor of New York and Republican presidential nominee, admiring Sinton’s tie at the Republican National Convention in

Lisburn Standard, 17 October 1924 We often associate Halloween food with pumpkin pie and toffee apples, but did you know

Some of the players at the fundraising cricket match in Wallace Park. Left to right: W. Adams (Lancashire County Cricket

‘Lady with cat’, unsigned, McCloy Collection (LMILC.1997.99.15, gifted by the Lamb family) A portrait of a woman and her feline

Colourised OS map of Old Warren, 1833, showing the plantations of the 3rd Marquess of Hertford, the landlord at the

Quay Street, Lisburn, including the Lisburn Amateur Boxing clubroom, c. 1950 (ILC&LM Collection) Some people told us that their memories

Mrs Betty McCrory receiving a gift from the Very Rev. Dr William Boyd, senior minister of 1st Lisburn Presbyterian Church,

Bridge Street, c.1970 (ILC&LM Collection) What are your memories? How have things changed? Let us know.

Warren Cottage, Lisburn, c. 1980s (ILC&LM Collection) Warren Cottage was located opposite Warren View terrace on the Hillsborough Road, Lisburn.

Railway Street from North Circular Road, 1969 (Lisburn Historical Society Collection, ILC&LM) What are your memories of getting the train

Postcard of ‘The Longstone, Lisburn’, 1906 (LMILC.2023.145, gifted by Margaret Hanthorne) The Longstone area of Lisburn gets its name from

The armorial bearings of Sir Richard Wallace (LMILC.1990.220, purchased 1990)   The coat of arms of Lisburn’s landlord from 1870-90,

Some members of the Women’s Auxiliary Services in Warren Gardens, Lisburn, 1941 (ILC&LM Collection). The full list of names from

Sgt. David Maginnity (c.1824-64), in the uniform of the old mounted police. By kind permission of Ron Frew. Sgt. David

Sheep shearing at Annahilt, near Hillsborough, c. 1930s (LMILC.2004.469, purchased 2004) Sheep farmers normally ‘shear’ or ‘clip’ the wool from

Lisburn Temperance Silver Band, c. 1926 (ILC&LM Collection, gifted by Lisburn Historical Society) Lisburn Silver Band was formed c. 1900,

Private F. Ferris (left) of Lisburn, Co. Antrim, cleaning his Thompson submachine gun during a break in fighting on the

Lisburn Leisure Park under construction, 1997 (ILC&LM Collection)

Laganbank Road, Lisburn, late 1980s (ILC&LM Collection)

Prisoners of war in what is believed to be Göttingen POW camp, Germany. Thomas McCormick is seated on the left.

  Flax of different dates of sowing, Glenmore, 1927 (ILC&LM Collection) Traditionally, flax was sown in Ireland in early May

Last year, we were delighted to host a 360° video inside our weaving workshop about Thomas Beggs, an Ulster-Scots weaver

W. A. Green, ‘Gorse and fern “to keep the fairies out”, a May Eve custom’ (© the artist’s estate. Image

Group of men, Ballinderry, early 1900s (ILC&LM Collection) We know little about this group of men, other than that they

  Hans Petticrew’s store, 57 Bow Street, Lisburn, early 1900s (ILC&LM Collection). Could Hans Petticrew be the man standing in

Piper Hill, Lisburn. Ink and colour wash drawing by Jim Dunlop, c. 1970 (LMILC.2013.211, gifted). Viewed from Hill Street, the

Petticrew Bros., 21 Bow Street, Lisburn, c. 1900. The two members of staff are likely the brothers who founded the

Advertisement for a replica display, at Hanningtons of Brighton, of Old Bleach linens prepared for Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House (Brighton

Model of the Mary Edson, by Werner Geyer, 2023 (ILC&LM Collection) The following poem was written by William McComb (1793-1873)

A child and dog on a farm near Annahilt, Hillsborough, c. 1930 (LMILC.2004.469, purchased 2004) This child took the term

  Product label, William Barbour & Sons Ltd. (LMILC.1998.44.9, gifted) The symbol of an open, red, left hand was synonymous

Maria Pirrie Gordon (1842-1921). Oil on canvas by Frank McKelvey (1895-1974). LMILC.2010.147. Maria Pirrie Gordon (née Barbour) was like so

      Hugh McCall, The cotton famine of 1862-’63 (Belfast, 1881) – ILC&LM Collection The cotton famine of the

  Ulster Star, 22 February 1964 In 1964, a group of Lisburn students organised a ‘Miss Leap Year’ competition in aid

Warren View, Hillsborough Road, Lisburn, c. 1960s (ILC&LM Collection) Thank you to everyone who contacted us about an unknown terrace

This Virtual Museum post is by Cameron Gilchrist, a student at the South Eastern Regional College, Lisburn. He is on

Ferguson radio, model 383A, 1956 (LMILC.2018.395, donated 2018) This radio was manufactured in 1956 by the Ferguson Radio Corporation Ltd.

Rolls-Royce factory, Dundonald, shortly before closing in 1977 (Belfast News-Letter, 7 February 1977) The Rolls-Royce factory at Dundonald was short-lived,

Terraced houses, unknown location, c. 1950s (ILC&LM Collection) We are uncertain of this photo’s location, though we believe it was

A. T. Stewart’s residence, Fifth Avenue and 34th Street, Manhattan, New York, c. 1900 (Image credit: New York Public Library)

Lisburn historian, Fred Kee, ringing the old Grain Market bell, 1971. Watching on are officers of the Lisburn Historical Society

Robert Burns, by Samuel Cousins, 1830, after Alexander Nasmyth, 1787 (image credit: Yale Center for British Art) Robert Burns (1759-96)

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

Ordnance Survey map, second edition (1846-62), showing in the top left the location of Lisburn’s Grain Market, which was also

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

Smithfield has been a market-trading location in Lisburn as far back as the 1830s.  East of the site was the

The following poem was published in the Lisburn Standard newspaper in December 1905: Jack Frost Jack Frost, he is with

Largymore New National School, Lisburn, c. 1906 (Margaret Hanthorne Collection, ILC&LM) It’s back to school for most pupils this week.

Hilden Mill in the Snow, by Neil Shawcross MBE, RHA, RUA, c. 1985 (oil on canvas, ILC&LM Collection, copyright Neil

Christmas card from Egypt, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, c. 1940s (ILCLM, W.S. Corken Papers, Folder 2, Box 1) Most Christmas

Selection of stuffed toy Wombles, by Anna Cheyne, c. 1970s (ILC&LM Collection) Do you remember ‘The Wombles’? Wouldn’t these toys

Christmas is almost upon us, and we hope that your tree is looking a little more festive than this one

A.T. Stewart, c.1876 (ILC&LM Collection) The department store is something that we take for granted, whether it be part of

Woolworths in Lisburn opened in 1928 on Bow Street, the town’s main thoroughfare.  Expanding following a major refurbishment in 1966,

You may have heard of the ominous sounding Egyptian ‘Book of the Dead’, but do you know what it actually

In late July 2023 a statue of the famous 19th-century social reformer and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass was unveiled in Lombard

Did you know that a County Down-based Church of Ireland clergyman had a significant role in our understanding of hieroglyphs?

Rectangular drawing and writing boards were important educational tools in ancient Egypt. Made from wood and covered with a thin

Did you know that your local museum has a sample of Tutankhamun’s linen on display? Do you know how it

Worshiping the dead was an important feature of ancient Egyptian society. While pyramids and elaborately decorated tombs were prominent memorials

Author, traveller, and one-time MP for Lisburn, Sir James Emerson Tennent (1804–69) was a prominent early member of the Belfast

Private Alec Martin (1895-1915) was born in Magheragall, near Lisburn. In 1913, seeking new opportunities he emigrated to New Zealand.

One of the most significant archaeological discoveries of modern times was made on July 15, 1799. What is known as

What connects a gold watch from our collection and the classic novel, Moby-Dick? During the devastating ‘cotton famine’ of 1861-5,

Do you know what a Shabti doll is? Would you like to know how three of them ended up in