Museums always get a thumbs up from me, and this one is no exception. Located in the Town Hall…read more(which was originally known as Bangor Castle, though it's not really quite that grand), the Museum depicts life in Bangor from prehistoric times right through until present day.
It's usually closed on Mondays, but due to this particular one being a Bank Holiday and officially still summertime, it was open. The friendly chap at the door handed us a leaflet, which outlined the different exhibits and layout of the museum, informing us that one of the exhibits was momentarily closed, but would be open within the next few days.
[Unfortunately, to avoid this, we had to go back on ourselves, walk half way round the world to get to the next exhibit, and lose ourselves slightly in the mix...a minor blip though].
The museum starts off by depicting Bangor's early Christian beginnings, with reference to the Christian Heritage Trail in the town. With a few artifacts, such as the Bangor Bell (from the ninth century) and a thirteenth century coffin lid from Holywood Priory, it's pretty interesting. Beyond this lies an exhibition on famous names in North Down - the likes of Ward and Rathgael are mentioned.
At this point, the exhibition takes a turn outside, where a replica of a monk's cell lies. It's an impressive ensemble, with just about enough room to squeeze under the roof and into the hut. Nice.
The next focus was on Bangor as a holiday town. It was this exhibit that was mainly closed due to maintenance, so there wasn't too much to see, except an interesting fruit machine taken from Barry's amusements, which closed in 1983.
After that, we turned upstairs to a section on ancient monuments, followed by a Viking exhibit and longhouse. The latter was very impressive - lots of wood, hay, cowhides etc. My sister spotted an interesting fact about Scrabo, and told me that apparently there were Viking coins found around that area at one stage.
After this was a short exhibit on Sir John Newell Jordan, or rather his impressive collection of finds from the Far East, to which he was a "eminent diplomat", and indeed envoy.
The next exhibit was downstairs and out through a couple of doors. The cinema room was lined with old posters, and arranged in an authentic fashion, with a film about how WWII affected Bangor. We sat down to watch this, and found it extremely interesting. Pictures of how badly Bangor was hit in Blitz really brought the history home, and the stories of those who lived through it were very poignant.
The last exhibition is linked to the North Down Coastal path - a fifteen mile walk from Seapark to beyond Groomsport and Orlock. I'll have to attempt it one day...
All in all, an interesting and informative museum, set in the most beautiful building, and surrounded by stunning grounds. Plus it's free!
