~ Telling Ballintoy’s
Hidden History ~
Ballintoy
Archaeological and Historical Society has uncovered many exciting stories about
Templastragh Church, Ballintoy Castle and White Park School during the course
of Ballintoy’s Hidden History project. We wanted to give local people the opportunity to hear these
stories, so we decided to hold free guided tours of the sites.
We invited
local people to join us on the tours, which departed from St Joseph’s Hall,
Ballintoy, at 10am, 12 noon and 2pm on Saturday 7 September 2013. We were
delighted with the response we received and were particularly pleased that
people, including some children, who had not previously participated in our
project decided to come on a tour. We are always delighted to welcome new
people!
Given the considerable distance between the
sites, participants on the tour were transported by minibus. The tours were led
by Miriam Thompson and Robert Corbett, ably assisted by John Thompson, all of
whom are members of our Society. At each site, the tour guides outlined what we
have discovered about the history and archaeology of the area during the course
of our research. Everyone present was
impressed with the amount of archaeological information and local stories we
have unearthed. At the end of each tour, we all enjoyed a cup of tea or coffee
and a biscuit in Joseph’s Hall. This gave us the opportunity to continue our
conversations about various aspects of our local heritage and collect more
stories that are in danger of being forgotten.
Despite the
wet and windy conditions that prevailed for most of the day, the tours proved
to be a very popular, worthwhile and enjoyable. You never know, we might even do something
similar next year!
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A tour party at Templastragh Church
We’ll keep
you posted!
