Community History Outreach Programme

The Community Outreach History programme offers people the chance to take part in leisure learning activities focusing on researching their own heritage.

The projects were piloted with three different community organizations and included object handling workshops, discussions, arts and crafts and using computers to create community history archives.

If you would like more information or assistance with starting your own community history project contact the Museums and Heritage Officer on 028 9034 0064.

Pilot Scheme 1- Rural Summer Scheme Heritage Programme

During the summer of 2000 the Heritage Service worked with the Council’s Rural Summer Scheme. Young people from Ballynure, Mallusk, Ballyrobert and Kilbride took part in the project. The Museums Officer, with the assistance of one of the summer scheme leaders, organised a heritage-based arts and crafts activity which combined using computer software to create a photographic and written archive of the summer scheme 2000 and the creation of a ‘Millennium Cloak’ using textile printing.

Face Painting at the Ballynure Summer Scheme.

The young people used cameras to record their summer scheme activities and then added written/verbal comments, personal opinions, stories etc. to the resulting photographs. They spent a morning in the Valley Leisure Centre where they scanned their photographs onto a computer in Cyber Valley and then added these to the computer archive typing in the details of the photos and their own comments.

Continuing the heritage theme the participants then spent time creating textile prints of a chosen summer scheme activity or memory and looked at the whole theme of leisure time past and present by trying out Victorian toys and games such as the Cup and Ball and the Diabolo. The prints were made into a Millennium Cloak for display at the end of scheme party. with 'The summer scheme archive produced by the participants has been recorded on CD ROM. Copies of the CD ROM are available to participants on request. Anyone interested in further information should contact the Heritage Officer on 028 9034 0064.

Pilot Scheme 2 - Broadway Workshop

Broadway Workshop is a local centre for adults with learning difficulties. During 2001 a group from the centre worked on a Community History Project with the Council's Museums and Heritage Officer. Through discussions, interviews, site visits and arts & crafts the group investigated local heritage, life in the past, and the history of Broadway Workshop itself.

Schooling in the past - the Broadway Workshop group trying out Victorian copper plate writing with dip pens and ink

The group recorded their work through writing and drawing, photography and tape recording. They visited the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum to find out about domestic life in the past and transport through the ages.They then looked at various local heritage sites such as the Rowan Monument in Doagh, Ballyclare Motte and Mossley Mill.

To complete the project a video about the project was produced by the group. A selection of their work and the video were put on display at Mossley Mill during February 2002.

Pilot Scheme 3 - Newtownabbey Women's Group

Newtownabbey Women’s Group in Rathcoole are now taking part in the Community History Outreach Project. The members are going to be looking at the history of the Women’s Group itself and recording photographs, reminiscences and stories on a computerised archive. Members have begun with sessions about Childhood where they tried out the Victorian Toys and Games, discussed their own home and school lives and used arts and crafts to express some of their findings. The project will continue by looking at the development of the Women’s Group itself and how the individual members became involved.

The Women's Group have produced a large tile mosaic with Belfast artist Jim McKevitt from Queens Street studios. The mosaic, entitled 'Mosaic Memories', is a compilation of images that the women chose to depict the areas in which they live .Images include the White House, Carnmoney Hill, the old railway bridges from Greencastle, Mossley Mill chimney and flowers in bloom from Merville Garden Village.The mosaic is now on permanent display at Whiteabbey Hospital X-ray Department.

Newtownabbey Women's Group, staff from Rathcoole Library and Carrickfergus Historical Society have completed the 'People's History Community Archiving Course'.

Gwen Fulton, Patricia Murray, Sandra Gilmour, Wilma Lennox, Mary Kinter, Kate McAllister, Doreen Corcoran and Dorothy Gordon completed the course, which was organised and led by the Ulster Peoples College, Belfast.

The course took place at Mossley Mill as part of the Council's Community History Outreach programme. It involved the participants working with the Ulster Peoples College to produce a history of Newtownabbey Womens Group.

This history will take the form of photographs, reminiscences, leaflets etc that will be transferred to CD ROM for public access.

Samantha Curry, the Council's Heritage Officer commented:

"The course has been a great success. Everyone enjoyed working with the People's College and felt they learnt a great deal and are already looking into other courses to follow on from this Community Archiving course".