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Wednesday 12pm - 5pm Thursday 12pm - 5pm Friday 12pm - 5pm Saturday 12pm - 5pm Sunday 12pm - 5pm

Sion Stables

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Sion Stables

Sion Stables Museum celebrating heritage of Sion Mills as a historic linen village. Seminar room & museum tel. 078 9453 4553

Sion Stables is a sensitively restored 19th-century stable block, sensitively converted into a museum with an education suite and home to the Hidden Pearl Restaurant and Guides Choice Angling Shop.

26/02/2025

A brilliant photo of the Derg Mill from our archives. Did any of your family or friends share their experiences of working in the Derg Mill?

19/02/2025

Don't forget to join us tomorrow Thursday 20th at 7.30pm, when Roisin Doherty, Curator of the Tower Museum will be joining us for a special talk entitled “The vital role of a Museum in celebrating our heritage”

Ever since the Museum opened in 2015 it has proved not only to be a place of interest for people to visit, but a wonderfully effective tool in telling the story of the village and its hinterland. It is housed within the Stables building and was established by Sion Mills Buildings Preservation Trust as a vital part of its outreach to the community and an attraction for tourists.

The Museum is uniquely placed to care for, preserve and display a shared heritage with items of historical importance which might otherwise be hidden in private possession or lost altogether. And not only does it act as guardian of collections that belong to everyone but all of this is made available to the public free of charge.

Sion Mills Buildings Preservation Trust recently carried out significant improvements to the Museum, with enhancement of the ways in which artefacts are displayed and annotated, the provision of a reading desk for those wishing to read literature about the history of Sion Mills as well as the commissioning of a new introductory video.

Following the talk with Roisin, we will be facilitating a special guided tour of the Museum.

📣Spread the word - admission is free and refreshments will be provided

17/02/2025

The presentation will be delivered by Strabane native Roisin Doherty, curator of the Tower Museum in Derry

12/02/2025

Recognise this bridge? It might not be familiar to may as this was the Sion House bridge on the upper avenue.

05/02/2025

🗓️Save the date - on Thursday 20th February at 7.30pm Roisin Doherty, Curator of the Tower Museum will be joining us for a special talk entitled “The vital role of a Museum in celebrating our heritage”

Sion Mills is one of the few towns in north west Ulster to have its own Museum. And ever since the Museum opened in 2015 it has proved not only to be a place of interest for people to visit, but a wonderfully effective tool in telling the story of the village and its hinterland.

By means of artifacts, text and audio – visuals it traces the history of the village and describes the factors which have shaped its physical, social, cultural and spiritual character down the years.

Central to the role of the Museum is the care and preservation of our common heritage which, of course, is linked to our sense of identity and pride in the history of the village and the surrounding area. All of this helps us to understand where we have got to as a society and prompts a deeper appreciation of how we live now in comparison with past generations.

It goes without saying that the Museum has a vital function in terms of public education, not least in sharing the knowledge we have about how our community and infrastructure evolved and adapted to change down through the generations. Accordingly, the Museum seeks to reach out to Schools and places of learning as well as cultural and heritage bodies over a wide area.

The Museum is uniquely placed to care for, preserve and display a shared heritage with items of historical importance which might otherwise be hidden in private possession or lost altogether. And not only does it act as guardian of collections that belong to everyone but all of this is made available to the public free of charge.

Book in your diary to join us at the Heritage Education Centre at The Stables, followed by a guided tour of the Museum.

📣Spread the word - admission is free and refreshments will be provided

29/01/2025

A wonderful moment captured in time of some of the children from Sion Mills in the early 1900s pictured here on the main road in Sion Mills.

22/01/2025

Forget Downton Abbey... Sion Mills hot on the social scene back in the 1800's 🔥

Sion Mills was considered an integral part of the County Tyrone social scene as the Herdman family hosted regular parties and soirées. In January 1870 over 100 invited guests attended a masquerade ball at Carricklee. The House was so lavishly decorated that it was compared to a 'palace of enchantment', while the guests were entertains by the Sion Mills band.

Pictured here is a gathering of the Herman family and friends are pictured outside Sion House around 1895.

17/01/2025

A wonderful piece from our archive connection Sion Mills with New York 🗽

Dating back to January 1951 this letter is one example of the communication between a linen buyer in New York and Herdman regarding production and the impact of flu on the swindling workforce available.

With no email, most communication was dependent on letters, telegrams and physical visits between New York and Sion Mills to support business relations.

08/01/2025

📆 Book in your calendar for 2025.

We're delighted to share the rest of out Winter / Spring schedule for Celebrating our Heritage talks and events.

This year we also have a new opportunity to join an organised visit to Donegal Famine Heritage Centre on 22nd March. Drop a comment below or send a DM if you want to find out more or reserve a place.

31/12/2024

Whilst the popularity and attitudes towards hunting have changed in the last century, the sight of seeing a Hunt meeting in Sion Mills certainly was something to remember.

Here the Strabane Hunt are pictured in the 1950s opposite the Church of the Good Shepherd by New Street, with many of the familiar trees still present today lining the road in the background.

Master of the Hunt Pat Herdman pictured in the second image.

28/12/2024

Unfortunately our beloved Mill has been the victim of many fires over the course of almost 200 years. Back in the early hours of 28 December 1825 (almost 200 years ago today) the mill was destroyed by fire - with little doubt that the cause was malicious. Despite a reward offered for anyone with information to come forward, the cause was never resolved.

The rebuilt Sion Mills was then advertised for rent in the Strabane Morning Post in January 1833: "Flour and Oat Mills. To be let, the Mills of Sion, Situate within two miles of Strabane..."

It was this building that would be converted into a 'new' flax spinning mill by the Herdmans brothers.

24/12/2024

There's nowhere quite like home at Christmas.

A beautiful picture of Camus from December 2010 - so beautiful it looks like it belongs on a Christmas card 🎄Do you remember the big freeze in 2010?

Sending all of the Sion Mills community festive wishes - we hope you have a peaceful and safe Christmas and New Year.

18/12/2024

Could you image in the railway line re-opened in Sion Mills?

Back in 1855, on 28th December James Herdman travelled by train from Belfast to Sion Mills via Coleraine and Derry. The entire journey was completed in 5 1/2 hrs which in modern standards is a pretty long journey, although back then was a major saving in time although it cost a hefty 13 shillings and thruppence.

In fact without James Herdman's involvement in the railway line the project would have resulted in laying tracks on the far side of the River Mourne, effectively bypassing Sion Mills. The Herdsman involvement and investment meant the railway line and station in Sion Mills opened in 1852 and ran faithfully serving the firm and local community until 1965.

06/12/2024

🎄🔔🎶 Don't forget to join us for carols at The Stables tomorrow, Saturday 7th December at 3.30pm

This annual event, which embraces people of all ages, has proved to be a significant social occasion over the years and is enhanced by its setting within a lovingly restored historic building.

Refreshments will be served at 3.30 pm in the Heritage Education Centre and then, at 4.00 pm, those attending will make their way to the Stables for the singing.

Spread the word - everyone is welcome to join us for this annual festive event to commence the Christmas season 🎶

04/12/2024

As children prepare for Christmas shows, we were reminded of the many wonderful performances directed and starring many of our own mill workers. In a photograph from our archive, the cast from one such Recreation Hall performance are photographed in the Mill Yard.

27/11/2024

📆 Save the Date

As Christmas approaches, Sion Mills Buildings Preservation Trust are preparing for the annual Advent Community Carol Singing at The Stables. on Saturday 7th December at 3.30 pm.

🎄Led by the local Clergy of the village, this event, brings people of all ages together in our annual Christmas celebration. The traditional Christmas ambience is enhanced by holding the event in an actual stables building, albeit lovingly restored and now the venue for Sion Mills Heritage Museum.

Refreshments will be served at 3.30 pm in the Heritage Education Centre and then, at 4.00 pm, those attending will make their way to the Stables for the singing.

Every welcome, pease spread the word 🎶

20/11/2024

Don't forget to join us tomorrow (Thursday 21st November) at 7.30pm for the next in our series of talks featuring special guest Ms Bernadette Walsh, Archivist from Derry City & Strabane District Council who will be talking about The Herdman Archive.

Very few towns have a comprehensive archive containing documents and other artifacts detailing the history of their local communities. Thanks to the Herdman family’s sense of place and genuine interest in history, Sion Mills possesses a huge collection of historical documents, providing a continuous record from the 1830’s right down to the beginning of the 21st century. It is also probably the most extensive and comprehensive industrial archive in the whole country.

The Herdmans were meticulous record keepers and evidently also appreciated the historical importance of careful preservation of documents for the benefit of research in future generations. The extensive Herdman Archive is not only a mine of information about the operation and development of the flax spinning mill that the family administered over several generations but also contains detail reports on a very wide spectrum of human interest, including: details of events within the Herdman family; careful accounts of social, cultural and entertainment events; records pertaining to current affairs and political and civic events at home and abroad; accounts of developments in education with special emphasis on the social importance of integrated education which the Herdmans championed; extensive coverage of sporting fixtures and even observations on the weather.

The Herdman Archive also contains valuable primary- source material pertaining to major events which had a significant impact on the course of history such as the Great Famine and the two World Wars.

The sheer value of this Archive throws into sharp relief the huge importance of a careful stewardship of documentary records from day to day. Such record keeping and cataloging is crucial, and not only provides a reliable and continuous account of the development of a community but instils a sense of pride and belonging amongst the people who make up the community.

Spread the word, everyone welcome!

13/11/2024

Could you imagine Sion Mills without the sluice gates and weir?

We've very grateful to previous Mill employees and the community capturing Sion Mills' development over the years - here photographs from our archive of replacement of the sluice gates in the early 1990's.

Address

120A Melmount Road
Strabane
BT829ET

Opening Hours

Wednesday	12pm - 5pm
Thursday	12pm - 5pm
Friday	12pm - 5pm
Saturday	12pm - 5pm
Sunday	12pm - 5pm

Website

http://sionstables.com/

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