An unexpected discovery was made during renovation works to restore a building in Armagh city centre, as part of the Armagh City Townscape Heritage Scheme. During the removal of a door at a property in Upper English Street, workers made a remarkable discovery of posters dating back to the 1840s!
Thirteen posters make up this significant historic find at no.16 Upper English Street and all were printed in 1845 by John McWatters and The Guardian Office, both of whom were based in English Street, close to the property.
The posters have now been carefully conserved and brought back to life for an exhibition – ‘Posters from the Past’ – at Armagh County Museum, giving visitors an insight into Armagh’s commerce and culture over 180 years ago!
Lord Mayor Councillor Sarah Duffy said: “Thanks to the foresight of the workers involved, we were able to act fast to conserve these historical posters, which give us a glimpse into the life and times of Armagh in the 1840s. Conservation projects like this are an important celebration and education into the past and allow us to cherish bygone days.”
Built in the early 19th century, the properties at 14 and 16 Upper English Street have had various uses, incorporating both accommodation and shops including a bookseller and bookbinder, bakery, tobacconist, grocers and dressmakers.
Printing has a long history in Armagh and locally produced letterpress posters and handbills were used to communicate and advertise during the nineteenth century. Today, their eye-catching design using various typefaces and elaborate language make them as attractive and interesting as ever.
Seven of the posters are theatrical playbills advertising performances at Armagh’s Tontine Rooms. This concert hall in English Street was established in the 1790s and for nearly 120 years was the social hub for the city hosting theatrical entertainment and balls until 1908 when the City Hall replaced it. Other posters reaffirm Armagh’s status at the time, as a garrison town and ecclesiastical capital, advertising house furnishings suitable for the professional classes, valuable properties and agricultural supplies.
Sean Barden, curator at Armagh County Museum said: “It is remarkable that the posters survived and were preserved at all. When they reached Sean Madden’s conservation studio, he found that nearly two centuries of dirt and mould had caused a lot of damage to the structure of the paper fibres.
“Over several months, Sean worked to clean the surface dirt. He carefully washed each delicate poster and used chemicals to neutralise the acidity before they went through a process of ‘light bleaching’ where sunlight was used to restore the original colour of the paper. Japanese tissue paper was then used to painstakingly repair and strengthen the posters before each was mounted and framed.”
Dr Paul Mullan, Northern Ireland Director at The National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “When restoring and revitalising heritage buildings, discoveries like these posters give us a connection to the past and a wonderful snapshot of the comings and goings on English Street – theatre performances, house moves and auction sales. The Armagh County Museum exhibition gives locals and visitors the opportunity to see the results of the delicate conservation of the posters whilst work continues to bring the property where they were found back into use.
“Thanks to National Lottery players we have been able to invest in several Townscape Heritage projects in the area and have made a further commitment over the next ten years to invest in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area through our Heritage Places initiative.”
Speaking about the historical find, Martin McCague of Drumarg Properties who owns the building said: “It was amazing to find these historical posters with such rich social history, dating back to what was happening in Armagh at that time and I’m delighted they have been conserved for future generations.”
The Armagh City Townscape Heritage Scheme (TH) is a National Lottery Heritage Funded Regeneration Programme. To date, 10 projects have been completed, with total grant investment including monies from Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund (£3.8m) and private property owners’ contributions (£8.1m).
The exhibition ‘Poster from the Past’ will run at the Armagh County Museum until the end of December 2025. Admission is free.
