Maghera Heritage CentreMaghera Heritage & Culture will be hosting a Summer Barbecue in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support on Saturday 13th August 2022 from 12 noon to 2pm at our premises on 11 Main Street, Maghera.
Β£ 8 Admission paid on entry.
Donations made to Macmillan Cancer Support.
Knit & Natter group meeting Tuesday 16th August 10.30am to 12.30pm at 11 Main Street, Maghera.
Everyone Welcome.
Refreshments will be available.
We have recently been successful in securing funding for our next project Memories of Maghera.
We are extremely grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and all players of the National Lottery for making our grant of Β£55,900 possible, the project will be completed by the end of 2023.
The purpose of the grant will be to extend our display of scaled models in the Heritage Centre. These will include St. Lurach’s Church , Emigrants Cairn and Upperlands Linen Factory.
To allow the public access to our project the production of a film and a tour of the journey taken by the Emigrants on their way from Maghera to a new life in America.
The employees who worked at the Upperlands Linen Factory over the years will be interviewed and their stories of work within the factory will be recorded, transcribed and documented and placed in our archival system for future generations.
The plan for a model of Upperlands Linen Mill will be in the form of an overhead view of the factory grounds identifying the listed buildings on site. These buildings will be developed in a scaled model format to be displayed in the Heritage Centre’s exhibition gallery.
Accompanying these models will be a researched document on their history dating back to earlier times, details will be available in the form of a pop-up banner which will be on view to visitors and tourists and will be on show within our exhibition gallery.
We may consider compiling a publication on all the research carried out and this will be available and for sale within our Heritage Centre.
Anyone wishing to be part of this very interesting project on a voluntary basis please contact us at the Heritage Centre for more information.
Our Menβs Shed is now open to the public to visit and make use of the facilities which are available as seen below. We invite retired skilled tradesmen to become part of this very useful facility on your doorstep. The menβs shed is fully centrally heated and therefore can be used year round. This facility is provided in collaboration with the Irish Menβs Shed Association and financial support from the National Lottery Community Fund.
Please contact our centre for further details on 02879642677.
Outdoor Recreation Northern Ireland will be hosting a Zoom Meeting in order to discuss and propose ideas on the development of the recently purchased site in Maghera by Mid Ulster District Council.
Online Public Enagement: Wednesday 23rd February 7.30 – 9.30 pm.
Link to further information and how to register for the meeting below:
Due to the success of our knitting together project we will be hosting a course in Arm Knitting led by Lisa from Row by Roe in Limavady.
Class will commence on Monday 14th MarchΒ at 11am.
Come and knit a super squishy blanket for wrapping yourself up this winter.
Whooly Mahoosive 2kg Balls: 1 ball makes a 3ft by 5ft blanket, costs Β£50.Β The Heritage Centre will fund 50% of the material costs.
No prior knitting experience needed.
Please contact us at the Centre via social media or call our centre at 02879642677Β as booking is essential.
In collaboration with the Department of Communities we are offering a position to an unemployed 16 to 24 year old within our centre enabling them to improve their employment skills and potential to get a job or progress into further education or training.
The position is for a minimum 25 hours per week Administrative Assistant and general duties with flexible hours between 10am – 4pm Monday to Friday.
Temporary under JobStart scheme but extended employment may be available at end of contract.
Required Qualifications:
GCSE Maths and English C or above (or equivalent).
Good IT skills.
Communication skills.
Duties will include:
General Administration
Book-keeping
Filing and organising
Assist in the delivery of projects, updating weekly social media sites
Telephone Answering
Receptionist duties
Attending directors meetings
Meeting and greeting visitors to centre
Able to work within a team
If interested please email CV to : info@maghera-heritage.org.uk
We have now completed Phase One of our βHeritage on Your Doorstep: Exploring Magheraβ which focused upon the Megalithic period.
This phase included the creation of models of three Megalithic Sites in Maghera and the surrounding area which included :
Tirnony Dolman, Knockoneill Court Tomb and Tamneyrankin Court Tomb.
Currently we are preparing an application for funding to complete Phase Two of the project.
Within this phase we will transition into Medieval Period which includes Mullagh graveyard and St Lurach’s Church.
Following on from this there will be a model constructed of βThe Emigrants Cairnβ illustrating the Famine Years .
Finally we will have Clarke Linen Mill in Upperlands in model form which illustrates the industrial revolution and was a driving force on the area as a major employer both directly by those working within the mill and indirectly via agriculture.
This site is of particular interest with its links to local famous Charles Thompson whose father worked in the mill prior to the families emigration and Charlesβ rise to fame across the Atlantic.
Due to the continued rise of Covid-19 cases reported in County Derry/ Londonderry recently, we at MHS Heritage and Cultural Centre have decided to close the premises at 11 Main Street until Monday 16th August 2021.
Maghera Townlands are very much part of who we are. They lie at the centre of life in most rural communities β and have done so since at least the 12th century. Each townland has built up its own history, traditions and stories over the years. Mostly this information lives only in the memories of the local people and was never formally written down.
With the Maghera Townlands Project, MHS Heritage & Culture set out to try to capture as much of these memories as possible before they are forgotten forever. The Project was made possible by a grant from the PEACE IV Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) for which we are very grateful.
This is an invitation to everybody who is interested in contributing to the project to record information about their own townland. Use this handout to write something about local characters, traditions, buildings, ruins, traditional meeting places, ceili houses, folklore, historic events, names of local families. etc,. All information, no matter how small, is welcome. Everything will help to build a picture of our local Townlands for generations to come.