Celebrations Set For The Shrigley 200th Anniversary

Shrigley to celebrates the 200th anniversary of its foundation this weekend with a series of events

The Shrigley community festival opens on Friday 9th August and continues through to Sunday 11th August.

The organisers have been planning events for more than a year but they faced an usual problem – there is no longer a community centre or village hall so they had to improvise by erecting a special marquee for the giant party.

The chairman of Shrigley 200, Fr Brian Watters, said: “We are thrilled to have received support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

“Thanks to funding raised by National Lottery players we have been able to put together a programme of 14 different events over the weekend reaching out to every age group, and helping us tell the story of Shrigley and its importance in so many different ways.

“We have already staged a number of events and projects, and our history-based bi-centenary celebrations will continue throughout the year.”  

On Saturday a massive permanent photo wall mural – featuring more than 100 photographs of life in the village, its tannery, and its people – will be unveiled.

The project has been overseen by local woman Joanne McCrum, and features a short history of the village which was founded in 1824 by John Martin. He built a paternalistic, model village around his linen mill, at the time one of the biggest in Great Britain.

The photos have been selected following consultations with the local community at a series of meetings and drop ins, and recall Shrigley as a place of industrial innovation and importance.

The official unveiling at 12 noon is open to everyone and will be carried out by Mr Mukesh Sharma MBE DL, Chair of The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Northern Ireland Committee.

Mr Sharma said: “We are really pleased to be able to support this series of history-based events celebrating the 200th anniversary of Shrigley’s foundation in 1824.

“Thanks to National Lottery players, residents and those visiting and connected to the village will be able to delve into the heritage of the area with new information boards and a photo mural providing a lasting legacy to the project.”

Events begin on Saturday with a sports morning for primary school-aged children at 10am. The prizes will be handed over by Mrs Patricia Oakes, whose husband, Essie, organised this event over many years.

The highlight of the afternoon will be a ‘Back to Shrigley Day’ for people with a connection to the village from all over the world, returning to the village. 

Families will have the opportunity to plot on a memory map, dating back to 1966 before the bulldozers moved in, who lived where in the old village.

There are prizes for the most unusual Shrigley-linked item brought to the event, and for the person who travels furthest to attend the celebrations.

People returning are being asked to make use of a specially created Shrigley 200 selfie frame.

The stand out event is an appearance by the Swing Time Starlets on Saturday night at 7.15pm. Villagers are being asked to relive the dance hall era of Shrigley’s Martin Hall with this all-professional close harmony, vintage trio as they perform songs from wartime, Holywood’s Golden Age of swing and retro pop. 

This concert will take place in the open to allow as many people as possible to hear the Starlets.

Sticking with the history theme and one of the novel events allows young boys and girls to follow in the footsteps of the village’s international footballer Hugh Henry Davey in a competition to find Shrigley’s football penalty kings and queens. The prizes will be handed over by Mr Elvis Kirk. There’s also a gaming bus for teenagers.

Another musical evening will see Shrigley-born Ian Singelton perform at Shrigley sings in a night of nostalgia on Friday night while on Sunday evening there is an evening of community bingo in the marquee when local councillor Terry Andrews will be the caller.

The lost village of Main Street, Bank Row and River Row, the mill workers and tannery workers will feature in two history walking trails of old Shrigley on Friday and Sunday.

The original village was swept away between 1968 and 1970 and people will be asked on the walking trail how well they know the original village? Where was Bank Row? Pump Loney? and Shrigley National School?

“We are grateful for the support we have received from local businesses including Elvis Kirk Skip Hire, Northern Ireland Plastics, Henderson’s EuroSpar Killyleagh and Killyleagh Community Shop.” explained secretary of Shrigley 200 Chris Hagan.

“Our aim, with the support of villagers, has been to rekindle Shrigley’s pride and its connection to its amazing past. 

“We have drawn together a programme which we believe reflects The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s vision for heritage to be valued, and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. ”

Baroness Margaret Ritchie, the former South Down MP and representative for the village, is to officially launch a new history of the village on Friday night.

The organisers say they want everyone to join the giant birthday party and are advising those coming that parking in Shrigley could be a problem for some of the events.

The main road through the village will be coned off by the PSNI and there are limited parking spaces. They ask if people are coming from Killyleagh that they please consider walking.

If people are parking in Shrigley there are areas at the former Bank Row, the Park River and on the road between the gates of NI Plastics and Elvis Kirk skip hire and within the village but please do not block entrances.