To help the school children experience something of rural life in the past, the society arranged for the participating school groups to visit the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum in Cultra, Co. Down.
Our Visit to Cultra
We went to Cultra with the school. It was good because we saw a lot of piglets and hens. Clayton found a horseshoe. We went to one of the National Schools. It was good, but I would not have wanted to go there. The tables and the chairs were stuck onto each other. The Police Station had tiny, steep stairs. We also saw a man weaving a basket.
By Kenneth (Glenarm P.S.)
Our Trip to Cultra
On Wednesday 2nd May our class was excited and prepared for our school trip. As part of our Glens of Antrim Historical Society project we were going to Cultra to find out what life would have been like one hundred years ago.
We had chosen to study the clachan ‘Straidkilly’ and we wanted to get a better impression of what the houses would have looked like at the time.
We saw lots of interesting features but there was one small house which caught my eye most.
There was a well built thatched roof on top which would have kept you fairly warm inside. Every perosn would have had to sleep in one room in usually one bed! There would have been one bucket of turf for the fire and a churn for buttermilk. Main foods were soda for a snack and potatoes or soup for meals. The beds and chairs would have been quite uncomfortable as they were made entirely from wood. Many floors were also made from wood and no carpets to cover them.
The houses were quite small and it is difficult to imagine a family with around ten children living there.
The trip to Cultra was very enjoyable and it definitely helped to give us a clearer impression of what life was like long ago.
By Ciaran (St. John’s, Carnlough)
Below are some of photos of the school trips to Cultra.