Coleraine, Co. Londonderry: Past and Present 

Summary

As with many Irish towns, Coleraine commemorates the 400th anniversary of its borough status in 2013. Born of Patrician myth origins, there was evident medieval settlement, its inland port (despite access issues) being central to its success. Re-invented in the early 1600s, under James I’s ‘Plantation’ of Ulster, the Renaissance street pattern survives. Urban myths, perpetuated by the Irish Society, as to Coleraine’s imported English flat-pack timber housing frames are exploded; this is paralleled by excavation opportunities afforded by the IRA bombing campaign of ‘the Troubles’. Civic code violations (town centre leather tanning), the demolition of Ulster’s oldest surviving town-house, a ‘lost’ intra-mural citadel, and a 1730s rubbish pit, illustrate the forfeited legacy of this settlement. Today, few live within the 17th-century town walls, and the challenge remains to confront and contrast Coleraine’s heritage with perceptions of its several ‘histories’.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Cultural transformations in early modern Ireland, an archaeological perspective   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2013

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 536