Visit
Ireland’s rich linen heritage is woven into the landscape. Grand houses, living museums, preserved buildings, archives and collections are easily accessible to visit and explore across the counties.
Discover the stories of linen in beautiful & fascinating locations.
Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum
Explore Ireland’s industrial heritage in the award-winning, permanent exhibition, ‘Flax to Fabric: the Story of Irish Linen’. Through live spinning and weaving demonstrations, expert guides tell the rich history of linen production in Ulster, from the earliest times to the present.
Irish linen is famous worldwide; in the linen collection gallery, visitors are able to view fine samples of seventeenth-century Coulson’s damask whose linen was bought by royal houses all over Europe. Also on view is a costume collection which includes work by renowned Irish designer Sybil Connolly, whose dresses were worn by Jackie Kennedy. The gallery includes a selection of fine linen christening robes, stockings embroidered for Queen Victoria, and wares from the world-renowned Robinson & Cleaver.
LOCATION: Market Square, Lisburn, County Antrim, BT28 1AG. It is free to enter and open 9.30am – 5pm, Monday to Saturday.
Images: Lisburn Museum
Linen Hall Library
Founded as the Belfast Library and Society for Promoting Knowledge in 1788, the Linen Hall is a unique institution. It is the oldest library in the city and remains the only subscription library in Ireland, continuing to generate a proportion of its income from membership. Founding members established the society on radical and Enlightenment ideals. Over more than 200 years, the Library has retained its independence, maintaining the principle that its resources are owned by the community for the community.
LOCATION: Housed in a Victorian-era former linen warehouse it is located at 17 Donegall Square North, Belfast BT1 5GB. The Linen Hall is free for all to enter and enjoy from Monday to Friday, 9.30am – 5.30pm.
Images: Linen Hall Library
Wellbrook Beetling Mill
Wellbrook Beetling Mill, a National Trust site, nestles in an idyllic wooded glen offering lovely walks and picnic spots. This is the last working water-powered linen beetling mill, and offers a unique experience for all the family. Enjoy a guided tour of the mill, which lasts approx. 45 mins to 1 hour.
LOCATION: 20 Wellbrook Road, Corkhill, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, BT80 9RY. Open at weekends during July and August. See the National Trust website for ticket prices.
Image: ©National Trust Images/Annapurna Mellor
Ulster Folk Museum
The Ulster Folk Museum is a remarkable living museum and environmental resource situated at Cultra, three miles east of Belfast. The museum is home to a rich collection of heritage buildings and objects, which it uses to actively preserve and demonstrate traditions, stories and skills passed down through many generations of people in Ulster. This includes their beautiful Living Linen Collection.
The family friendly museum has activities and exhibits all year round. It has a café, Ballycultra Tearooms, and a gift shop.
LOCATION: Ulster Folk Museum, 53 Bangor Rd, Cultra, BT18 0EU. Open 10am–5pm, Monday – Sunday. See Ulster Folk Museum website for ticket prices.
Images: Ulster Folk Museum
Milford House
Milford House in Co. Armagh, home of the McCrum family, was once the talk of 19th century Ireland, a wonder of its age with Milford linen known throughout the world. Today the linen factory is gone, but thanks to the dedicated work of the Milford Buildings Preservation Trust, Milford, and the McCrum family legacy is being recognised as being of national importance.
Milford House offers guided tours, events, hospitality and hire, and a fascinating collection of furniture, paintings, books and ceramics.
LOCATION: Milford House, 3 Victoria St, Armagh, BT61 9DS. The house is open seven days a week for guided house tours by booking only. Tours are available 12pm–6pm each day. See the Milford House website for ticketing information.
Images: c. Milford Buildings Preservation Trust
Sion Stables
Formerly the 19th century stable block attached to the nearby Sion House, Sion Stables has won awards for the way in which this listed building has been sensitively conserved and brought to life again. The exhibits tell the story of the historic linen village and bring alive the stories of the mill-owners, the mill-workers and the production of Irish Linen.
Herdmans Flax-Spinning Mill was built in 1835 by brothers James, John & George Herdman.
LOCATION: Sion Stables, 120A Melmount Road, Sion Mills, Strabane, County Tyrone, BT82 9ET
Images: Sion Mills Buildings Preservation Trust
Ulster American Folk Park
Through emigration, Ulster people have made an impact across North America. Explore rural Ulster and the American frontier as you walk in the footsteps of the bold migrants who set sail for America.
The Ulster American Folk Park is a living museum that tells the story of Ulster people’s emigration to North America in the 18th and 19th centuries. Learn more about the traditions and working lives left behind, and the hardships endured on the journey and the pioneering spirit of building new lives in a new land. Family friendly, booking available.
LOCATION: Ulster American Folk Park, 2 Mellon Road Omagh, BT78 5QU. Open 10am–5pm, Tuesday – Sunday. See website for ticket prices.
Images: Ulster American Folk Park
Bessbrook Historic Model Village
The quaint town of Bessbrook is a very early Quaker settlement and model village. It was founded in 1845 and built around the linen industry by the Richardson family to house their workers. The layout remains as it was in that time, along with the local granite stone – of which it is made – and the original streets, terraces and squares.
Guided tours of the village can be arranged to suit the interests of visitors/school groups. A visit to No. 6 College Square east (a restored millworker's house) is included.
LOCATION: Bessbrook, Co. Armagh BT35 (located 3 miles NW of Newry).
Image: Bessbrook Historic Model Village