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Down County Museum, Downpatrick
Down County Museum, Downpatrick
Based in the restored buildings of the 18th century County Gaol of Down, Down County Museum was founded in 1981. It collects, documents, conserves and exhibits artefacts on the archaeology, history and culture of County Down. The Museum holds 12,000 objects and 50,000 photographs.
Opening Hours
Museum entry is free of charge and is open from:
10am to 4.30pm Tuesday to Saturday
Downpatrick Gaol was opened in 1796 and until its closure in 1830 housed many thousands of prisoners. The prison jailed people for small crimes and held rebels from the 1798 battles of Saintfield and Ballynahinch. Among them was United Irishman, Thomas Russell, executed for his role in the rebellion of 1803. Hundreds of prisoners were also kept here before being sent to the colonies in New South Wales, Australia. You can find details of some of the prisoners on the Museum website. Now visitors can see how the prisoners lived, visit cells with displays on individual prisoners, and walk through the courtyards. Today they are likely to be the scene of lively events and re-enactments at weekends and seasonal festivals.
The Museum’s permanent exhibitions include ‘Down Through Time’ in the Governor’s Residence. This displays over 1,100 objects on the history of the County from 9,000 years ago. There are also displays on Downpatrick High Cross, farming and fishing and the story of the Gaol’s prisoners.
A programme of temporary exhibitions includes displays of art, crafts, social history, political history and archaeology of the region. This is drawn from the museum’s own collections, or, occasionally on loan from other organisations.
Contact Details:
To find out more visit our website at www.visitmournemountains.co.uk/museums
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https://www.instagram.com/nmdmuseums/
https://twitter.com/nmdmuseums/
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