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No.5 Vicars' Hill, Armagh Opened by Minister Arlene Foster
No.5 Vicars' Hill, Armagh Opened by Minister Arlene Foster: a new interpretive centre at Armagh’s former Registry
The Archbishop of Armagh, The Most Revd Alan Harper, OBE, welcomes Minister Arlene Foster to No.5 Vicar's Hill (photo: Ian Maginness)
Tourism Minister Arlene Foster officially opened a new interpretative and historical centre in Armagh on Monday 14 March, as part of the city’s St Patrick’s Festival celebrations.
Known as ‘No 5’, the interpretative centre on Vicars’ Hill is housed in the city’s former Registry. The 18th century building has been fully restored and will display coins, prints and antiquities formerly held in Armagh Public Library, which owns the building. Historic church and public records for Armagh Cathedral and Dioceses will also be kept there.
The Minister said: “Armagh is one of the key clusters along the Saint Patrick’s Trail. The Registry is an excellent example of the rich culture and heritage that the city has to offer. The completion of ‘No 5’, together with the other attractions in Armagh, will encourage visitors to come to the area, stay a while, and hopefully return in the future.
“Culture and heritage tourism has been identified as a key product development area in Northern Ireland, and ‘No 5’ is an excellent example of a project that brings the theory to life. Along with improved accessibility to the Library’s collections, visitors to this new tourist attraction can find out more about the priceless collections and curiosities of Archbishops Robinson and Beresford.”
The Registry Project has been funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) as part of the St Patrick/Christian Heritage Signature Project. NITB provided £181,459 towards the project and the Heritage Lottery Fund contributed £304,500. Armagh Public Library has contributed £30,000.
Jane Williams, member of the HLF Committee for Northern Ireland (pictured above with the Archbishop, Minister Foster and Dean Patrick Rooke), said: “It is wonderful to be here today to celebrate the success of this truly transformative project. The restoration of this historic building has created a focal point and hub for both the local community and visitors to the area and provided access to the gems of the Library’s collections for the first time. We are delighted to support this project which has ensured the preservation of No 5 for generations to come and has added to the wealth of heritage assets within Armagh.”
Arlene Foster added: “The Northern Ireland Tourist Board provided over £181,000 to support the Registry Project through the Tourism Development Scheme and I commend the other funders – the Heritage Lottery Fund and Armagh Public Library – for their commitment.
“The provision of on-site catalogue access will give visitors the chance to research family or history, music, architecture or art. This project has succeeded in showcasing a rich history we can all be proud of, while accommodating the ever evolving, more sophisticated needs of our visitors.”
The Minister was welcomed to ‘No 5’ by Archbishop Alan Harper, Chairman of the Governors and Guardians of Armagh Public Library, who gave the following speech:
Welcome by The Most Revd Alan Harper, OBE:
It is a particular pleasure for me, as chairman of the Governors and Guardians of the Armagh Public Library to welcome all our distinguished guests, but especially the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment, Mrs Arlene Foster, to the opening ceremony of the project at No 5 Vicars’ Hill.
Under the visionary leadership of the Dean of Armagh, the Very Revd Patrick Rooke, who is Keeper of the Library, and through the unstinting efforts of Ms Carol Conlin, the overall Project Manager, a many facetted transformation has been achieved which only those who knew the situation before work began will be able truly to appreciate:
• Behind the most modest of facades, a hidden gem of an 18th century building, at one stage close to total dereliction, has been magnificently restored and made accessible to all comers;
• A diverse collection of documents, prints and antiquities assembled by former Primates, and for over a century housed in the Armagh Public Library, has received for the first time a display fitting its quality and importance;
• An insight into the immense contribution made by Primate Robinson (Lord Rokeby) to the intellectual, cultural and community life of the City of Armagh, as well as of its built heritage, has found a home and an interpretation;
• And a new window has been opened on the life of the Church in this, the city which was of all places most dear to St Patrick.
Please also be aware that those who enter No 5 are encountering not a plastic heritage, this is no “Hiberno- Disney”, this is the real thing, a fragment of the rich and authentic heritage asset which is the fair city of Armagh.
Our partners in this endeavour, to whom we are immensely grateful, include the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and the Heritage Lottery Fund. They have understood the importance of this project and the priority of authenticity in presenting the tourism and heritage product. The Armagh City and District Council have also been immensely enthusiastic partners in helping us to complete this element of a much wider project to enhance the visitor potential of the Hill of Armagh. I want publicly to thank all our partners for their commitment and contributions.
When, in a short time you are able to take in all that has been achieved you will also appreciate the skill, expertise and artistry of the contractors who have restored a semi-derelict 18th century Provincial Registry into a space replete with fascination for visitors of all ages, from primary school to the University of the Third Age. They have done us, their clients, proud and I want to salute the excellence of all that they have achieved.
The former Dean of Armagh, Herbert Cassidy with the Assistant Keeper, Ms Carol Conlin and Armagh Public Library staff (photo: Ian Maginness)