Hidden Heritage

Strangford Lough Office will be embarking on a project to provide farmers, landowners and local people with an opportunity to be at the core of research and communication relevant to their land and townland, and provide local communities with information on their townlands produced through their community.

Townlands reflect traditional economic and social units within the rural community and they evoke a sense of belonging and identity to an area. Farmers, landowners and their management of the land are crucial to maintaining the area's landscape and biodiversity. Many local farms have exceptionally fine but hidden views and hold sites of heritage interest. Farmers may be managing Areas of Special Scientific Interest, their style of farming may have a big impact on the drumlin and they continue to use practices handed down through generations. In addition there are many local people with a direct connection to the recent past of these units, and carry with them stories that relate to the social, industrial and agricultural fabric of the areas.

At the centre of the project will be local farmers and people with a rich recollection of stories that relate to townland clusters around Strangford Lough. They will work with a local researcher to map townlands in the area and describe townlands came about.

Explore farming and industrial practice associated with Strangford Lough and the drumlin landscape and the stories of human endeavour on the Lough.