Museums, archives and heritage in County Londonderry/Derry

Londonderry – a maritime county, Ulster province; bounded N. by Lough Foyle and the Atlantic Ocean, E. by co. Antrim and Lough Neagh, S. by co. Tyrone, and W. by county Donegal; greatest length, N. and S., 40 miles; greatest breadth, E. and W., 35 miles; average breadth, 20 miles; coast-line, about 30 miles; area, 522,315 acres (9480 water), or 25 per cent, of the total area of Ireland; population 164,991, of whom 44.4 per cent are Roman Catholics, 19.1 Protestant Episcopalians, 33.2 Presbyterians, and 0.9 Methodists. The surface is low along the N. and E. for a width of about 6 miles, hilly in the middle, and mountainous in the S., where the highest summit, Sawel, rises to an altitude of 2236 ft. The rivers from W. to E. are – Foyle, Faughan, Glen, Roe, Claudy, Moyola, and Bann, the last tracing nearly the whole of the E. boundary. The soil is for the most part fertile; the sub-strata consist of mica-slate, basalt, limestone, and sandstone. The chief crops are flax, oats, barley, and potatoes. The staple manufacture is linen. The fisheries on the coast and inland are important. About three-fourths of the whole county are owned by the Irish Society and the Twelve Trades’ Companies of the City of London. The county comprises 6 baronies – Coleraine, Keenaght, Loughinsholin, North-East Liberties of Coleraine, North-West Liberties of Londonderry, and Tirkeeran; 43 parishes; the parliamentary and municipal borough of Londonderry, and the towns of Coleraine and Limavady.

– John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887)

Amelia Earhart Cottage

Ballyarnett Country Park

Ballyarnett BT48 7UF

028 7135 4040

goo.gl/5Ig4cf

The Amelia Earhart Cottage is a small interpretative centre, built on the site where Amelia Earhart landed in 1932 when she completed her pioneering solo flight across the Atlantic. The cottage is located on the outskirts of Londonderry within the Ballyarnett parklands and is accessible by appointment.

Causeway Museum Service

Coleraine BC Headquarters, 66 Portstewart Road

Coleraine BT52 1EY

028 7034 7234

www.niarchive.org

Causeway Museum Service provides museum services across Coleraine, Limavady and Moyle council areas.

Coleraine Museum

Coleraine Town Hall, The Diamond

Coleraine BT52 1EY

028 7034 7234

www.colerainebc.gov.uk/show.php?id=253

Causeway Museum Service is developing and providing museum services within the four local authorities of Coleraine, Ballymoney, Moyle and Limavady. In Coleraine the Causeway Museum Service provides temporary exhibitions in Coleraine Town Hall.

Derry City Heritage & Museum Service

Harbour Museum, Harbour Square

Derry BT48 6AF

028 7137 7331

goo.gl/OIE8yJ

The aim of our Heritage & Museum Service is to promote greater awareness and education of the history and cultural heritage of the Derry City Council area. Our museums also provide a forum for the understanding of the diverse cultural traditions that exist within the area.

Ebrington Barracks & Square

Derry

goo.gl/PG6znS

Ebrington is a 26-acre site with 19 remaining buildings, 14 of which are listed. The site features a 19th century star fort, connected to the historic walled city by the iconic Peace Bridge, an Ilex project which was opened to the public in June 2011. Ebrington Square has been transformed as a new public realm and a multi-purpose event space.

Foyle Valley Railway Museum

Foyle Road

Derry BT48 6SQ

01504 265234

goo.gl/RQ07Yv

Foyle Valley Railway Centre is dedicated to telling the rich railway history of the city and surrounding area. At the heart of the exhibition is a recreated railway station platform and within the displays visitors can find out about the various railway companies which once operated out of the city.

Garvagh Museum & Heritage Centre

142a Main St

Garvagh BT51

garvaghmuseum.com

Garvagh Museum is unique in Northern Ireland in that it is a rural folk museum in the Bann Valley. It had its origins when artefacts collected from the town and district were housed in a small building adjoining Garvagh Secondary School.

Limavady Museum

24 Main Street

Limavady BT49 0FJ

www.facebook.com/limavadymuseum

Limavady Museum’s collections are displayed at the Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre in Limavady as well as Green Lane Museum in Roe Valley Country Park. The Roe Valley Arts & Cultural Centre has a dedicated heritage space- the Ritter Gallery- where temporary exhibitions of local and regional significance run throughout the year. The centre also has a purpose-built museum store, where the majority of the collection is now housed.

Springhill – National Trust

20 Springhill Road, Moneymore

Magherafelt BT45 7NQ

028 8674 8210

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/springhill

An atmospheric 17th-century ‘plantation’ home, and one of the prettiest houses in Ulster. The house tour takes in the exceptional library, Conyngham family furniture, gun room, nursery, resident ghost and the unusual and colourful costume exhibition which has some fine 17th-century Irish pieces.

Tower Museum

Union Hall Place

Derry BT48 6LU

02871 372411

www.derrycity.gov.uk/museums

The Tower Museum contains two permanent exhibitions and hosts a number of touring exhibitions throughout the year. The ‘story of Derry’ exhibition outlines the city’s history from its earliest formation to the present day.