Summer is in full swing, and the sun has been out in force over the last couple of weeks. It is a great time to make the most of the weather and, for those interested in photography, to get some good shots of our built heritage. Behind the scenes UAH have been working on the following:

Heritage at Risk 

The HARNI officer has been finalising statistics for the end of the financial year to get an idea of the issue of buildings at risk. The register continues to grow at pace with now 1040 structures on the register. Worryingly this is around 9% of our finite and precious listed building stock. Not to be disheartened there have been some positive success stories and instances where buildings are now being looked after, after decades of neglect (Image below showing a vernacular cottage near Maghera where the owner has now cleared vegetation and looking to the next stages). It is important to remember that all the buildings on the register have a unique story, history and their own unique problems. Talking to owners is a fundamental part of the project to gauge their needs, pass on information and contacts and reassure them that there are case studies out there that prove that buildings can be saved. Funding remains challenging being the most often topic discussed. The budget and lack of NI government make any chance of funding this year unlikely.

Hands-On Heritage

The Hands-On Heritage project officer has been working to finalise the key elements of the project, and has been liaising closely with various community groups, history societies, and enthusiastic individuals to create lists of locally significant heritage assets.

Hands-On Heritage will be “relaunched” imminently. Keep an eye out here and on our social media channels – particularly the Hands-On Heritage Twitter page – to find out more about the tools we have produced to help you record, highlight, and protect Northern Ireland’s historic environment.

AGM

The AGM was held on Thursday 8th June at 7pm in the Old Museum Building. The meeting was chaired by UAH President Primrose Wilson, with Chairman Dr David Johnson reflecting on a year of much change. A year in review was shown before the AGM got underway looking at the events that occurred during the year.

Future Events

On Saturday 16th June UAH members are visiting Moneymore for a guided tour of the buildings of Moneymore, a Conservation Area. After this they plan to visit Lissan House near Cookstown. Tickets are still available here.

The heritage at risk officer is hoping to host a heritage at risk hike in July, check out the events page and the social media pages for updates regarding this.

UAH will be helping to deliver training in Newry to tour guides and students looking at the architecture of the city and in particular the architects, Duff, Watson and Barre.

Back to News