Love Heritage NI

04/11/2026

𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐚 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬

We're pleased to advise that 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐚 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 following its temporary closure due to storm-related tree damage.

Assessments and any necessary remedial works have now been completed, and the site is once again open for the public to enjoy.

We would like to thank visitors for their patience and understanding during the closure period and look forward to welcoming you back to this remarkable historic site.

https://tinyurl.com/3kjfhfyc

𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬

04/11/2026

We’re delighted to see 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐥𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 open today, marking PRONI’s first international exhibition. 👏

𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬

03/11/2026

🪨𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐲𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐚 𝐂𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐧

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝟓,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐲𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐚 𝐂𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐍𝐞𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝.

Known locally as 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠’𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐧𝐠, this impressive court tomb has survived despite suffering significant damage over the centuries. Some of its stones are believed to have been reused during the construction of the Newry Canal. Today, visitors can still see its distinctive U-shaped forecourt, which once led into a gallery of three chambers built from massive stone slabs.

Archaeological excavations in 1937 uncovered cremated bone, flint tools, Neolithic pottery and Bronze Age pottery, providing valuable evidence of the communities who used and revisited this remarkable monument over thousands of years.

📍 Location: Clontygora Road, Newry, Co. Armagh, BT35 8SW

🔗https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/articles/historic-places-visit
🔗 https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/services/historic-environment-map-viewer

𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬

03/11/2026

❗𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 - 𝐃𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐦 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩, 𝐭𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟒𝐭𝐡, 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫.

Visitors are still welcome to enjoy this spectacular historic site.

We apologies for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬

03/11/2026

Looking forward to this great event organised by Ulster Archaeological Society and the Centre for Community Archaeology at Queens University Belfast. We're delighted that four of our colleagues will be contributing as speakers, sharing their expertise and insights into Northern Ireland's historic environment. Best wishes for a successful event.

𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬

02/11/2026

⏳ 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝟐 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗲𝘅𝗵𝗶𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ‘𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗹𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮.

***Morning Closure Notice***

PRONI will be opening late on the morning of Wednesday 4 November. Doors will open at 12 noon for normal service.

Communities NI

02/11/2026

𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐔𝐥𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 (𝐔𝐀𝐇), 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐀𝐭 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐈𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 (𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈) 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭.

02/11/2026

𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬

𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐆𝐏𝐒, 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐡 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

Standing near Armagh Observatory, the 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 consist of a striking stone arch dating from the 1790s and an iron obelisk added in 1864. Together with a Southern Marker at Ballyheridan, they provided fixed points on the horizon that helped astronomers check and calibrate their instruments, ensuring precise observations of the night sky.

Believed to be the work of architect Francis Johnston, with the obelisk cast by Armagh's Gardner Foundry, these markers are the only known surviving examples of their kind in Ireland. Today they stand as a reminder of Northern Ireland's scientific heritage and Armagh's long-standing contribution to astronomical research.

📍 (Near) Armagh Observatory, North Meridian Mark, Cabragh Road, Armagh, County Armagh, BT61 7NP

Open to the public: By arrangement (charges may apply).

For information on this and all our sites see:

🔗 https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/articles/historic-places-visit

🔗 https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/services/historic-environment-map-viewer

01/11/2026

🛤 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐀 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐜.𝟏𝟖𝟔𝟐 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐲.

The bridge is an exceptionally beautiful, structurally accomplished structure in ribbed ashlar stonework in the Scottish Baronial style. It contains the Dufferin family heraldic shield surmounted by a coronet and flanked to each side by a lion rampant. The single-arch masonry bridge was built on the estate of the 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava as part of the Belfast, Holywood and Bangor Railway to carry the railway line over Clandeboye Avenue.

‘Per Vias Rectas’ which translates to ‘by the right ways’ is the inscription now barely decipherable on the south face of the bridge at Helen’s Bay.

Its distinctive style, careful ex*****on and high-quality sandstone embellishments, mark it out as one of the most notable railway bridges in Northern Ireland- hence the high grade of listing.

The ribbed ashlar stonework is of particular technical merit. The spandrels are of random rubble blackstone. Set over the crown of the arch is a large recessed triangular panel delineated by two courses of ashlar sandstone, which are continuations of the top two arch voussoirs.

It is of importance as an unusual and outstanding example of mid-19th century railway architecture owing to the fact that its design was dictated by the Marquess and not the railway company. The avenue is of note as part of the extensive landscape planning associated with Clandeboye.

The bridge has group value with the railway station and related railway structures (HB23/15/039A-F) in the vicinity.

Our files on these buildings record the extensive and imaginative uses of the attendant railway structures over the years with the ‘Heritage Repairs’ company under the supervision of John Lewis-Crosby. We also have a great series of record photos in the HERoNI archive in the Mc Cutcheon Collection. The avenue leading to the Bangor Road is also on our Register of Historic Parks, Gardens and Demesnes. The railway complex and Helen’s Walk are well worth a visit!
We have engaged with colleagues in Translink to develop a Heritage Policy for their management of their extensive estate.

𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬