Ulster Architectural Heritage Society
Ulster
The Ulster Architectural Heritage Society was founded in 1967 to promote an appreciation of architectural heritage in the historic province of Ulster. Its members work to conserve the physical heritage of the nine counties from prehistoric times to the present. The society organises outings and lectures for its members and offers practical advice on the protection and conservation of buildings of architectural merit.
The Society seeks to educate the public about the built environment. One of its earliest publications, The Diamond as Big as a Square by Marcus Patton and David Evans, was designed to heighten awareness of the historic fabric of Ulster.
Since 1998 under the guidance of its education committee and with multiple support from grant-making funds and trusts, the Society has established an education programme, employing an Education Officer. The programme seeks to raise awareness of the built heritage among young people while complementing the curriculum for KS2. Working in collaboration with education and library boards and heritage agencies, the Society has developed learning tools with an holistic approach, while allowing for a local dimension.
Examples of local studies managed by the Education Officer are the town trails of the villages of Caledon, County Tyrone and Killyleagh, County Down. These have encouraged groups of pupils from diverse backgrounds to meet and engage with each other against the backdrop of their shared environment. The town trail workbooks, which the pupils complete, incorporate the curricular skills for geography, history, literacy, numeracy, art and design and science. Pupils research old photographs and maps, measure, record, discuss, draw and produce work for display. All these activities are designed to heighten cognitive skills while fostering cultural awareness.
From the Society’s perspective it is desirable to inculcate an “eye” for architectural appreciation through the skills laid down at KS2. The Educational Officer has used pupils’ work to create school-based projects and displays, encouraging input from the wider community. This emphasis on social inclusion demonstrates the Society’s awareness of the requirement to include citizenship in the new curriculum for Northern Ireland.
In addition to tailoring the resources to local need, the Education Officer has created a stand-alone package of resources for teachers, to be distributed to all Northern Ireland schools, entitled Looking Back Moving Forward – Exploring our Built Heritage. This includes information sheets for teachers, giving historical and architectural details with local points of contact. These are reinforced by the schemes of work which include key skills and concepts, activities and focused learning outcomes. AK
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