Newry and Mourne Museum Re-Opens

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: Columba O'Hare; Category: News; Published: 07 July 2021

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Staff at Newry and Mourne Museum are delighted that they are able to welcome back visitors old and new to experience the story of the Newry and Mourne area. The Museum is now re-opened according to government guidelines and, during your visit, safety will be paramount; wearing of masks is mandatory, social distancing is practised, hand sanitisers are available and a one-way system is in operation through the building. New measures have also been introduced to provide ventilation in our galleries and corridors.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the introduction decimal currency. This decimal converter was used in the Victoria (McCann’s) Bakery. Shops and businesses sometimes produced their own decimal conversion tables as a form of advertising such as this one from Turkington’s men’s wear shop. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection — This year marks the 50th anniversary of the introduction of decimal currency. This decimal converter was used in the Victoria (McCann’s) Bakery. Shops and businesses sometimes produced their own decimal conversion tables as a form of advertising such as this one from Turkington’s men’s wear shop. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection

As always entry is free with no need to book in advance, although the number of visitors is limited to thirty in the building at any one time. On arrival you will be welcomed by one of our Museum Assistants who will take you contact details for track and trace.

Dating from the 1950s, this copper knapsack sprayer was used to spray potatoes and other crops on a farm near Newry. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection

You will be given the option of looking at the galleries and exhibitions at your leisure or making use of one of our audio guides which give a highly informative and entertaining tour of the Museum.

Dating from the days when everyone wore a hat, this hat brush was sold by Foster & Co (later Foster & Newell), a drapery store in Newry. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection

Another option is booking in advance (by calling the number below) one of our free tours led by one of our Museum Assistants. During this approximately forty-five minute tour you will learn the fascinating stories behind many of the artefacts on display.

A jug advertising W. Hadzor who was a wine and spirit dealer in Warrenpoint during the 1830s. The Hadzor family were also tenants of the Earl of Kilmorey in Ballyholland, outside Newry. Pictured on the left is a leaflet, dating from 1815, giving details of a private lottery. Private lotteries run by businesses were very popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection

Our three main galleries which tell the story of Newry, south Armagh and south Down are all open.

A 19th century loaf stamp used in the Victoria (McCann’s) Bakery. The stamp imprinted the loaf with ‘McCann’. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection

Gallery 1 looks at the area from prehistory up to the late 16^th century. This gallery also gives an insight into what life was like in Bagenal’s Castle and you will see the kitchen fireplace with its original bread oven, a doorway with its drawbar hole and a basement dating from the 18^th century when the Castle was converted into a merchant’s house.

A late 19th century hydrometer (used for measuring the level of alcohol in spirits) from McVeigh’s public house which was in High Street in Newry and a soup plate, c.1900, from the White Cross Hotel in Margaret Street. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection

Gallery 2 explores the development of the area in the 18^th and 19^th centuries including the Canal, the emergence of Newry as a mercantile centre, landlords, the Great Famine and local business and commerce.

A poster, dating from c.1900, advertising R.J. Sloane’s drapery store in Kilkeel. The poster includes a poem encouraging people to buy their shoes and boots at Sloane’s. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection

Gallery 3, located on the top floor of the 19^th century warehouse which adjoins Bagenal’s Castle, looks at the impact of 20^th century political, social and economic events on life in Newry and Mourne. Artefacts on display relate to Home Rule, the First and Second World Wars, life in the 1950s and 1960s and the Troubles. Local business, the performing arts and farming and fishing are also covered.

Advertising leaflet for Green Bushe’s Dairy, near Bessbrook. Before the introduction of large commercial creameries, there were many small, family-run dairies in towns and rural areas. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection

During your visit why not have a look at some of the more unusual artefacts on display, some of which illustrate this article. They have just an important role in telling the story of the area as many of our more iconic artefacts.

Autograph books were compiled by many people in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This one belonged to Margaret Anderson from Kilkeel, who was a nurse in World War I and contains autographs, poems and drawings by her patients. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection

Our two temporary exhibitions which were open before the first lock down in March 2020 are still on display. War Declared: The Local Impact of World War II, which was very popular before the Pandemic, will be remain open until early Spring next year. Our other temporary exhibition, The Reside Collection: Exploring Aspects of Local History, looking at highlights from our archival collection, will close on 19^th September 2021. A new exhibition, The Legacy: Newry and Mourne 1920 – 1930, opens in mid-October which will look at Partition in the area.

The contents of our Costume Case in Gallery 3 will also see a change during the Summer. Two World War II uniforms will go on display; a US Army uniform worn by James Quinn who emigrated to America from Kilkeel in 1927 and a uniform worn by Bramwell Baird from Newry who joined the RAF at the age of seventeen.