Our farming related objects were collected largely during the 1980s, in the early stages of the Museum's development. It was felt necessary to make the collection at that time because many items were just about to disappear with the last of the 'horsepower' generation.
Some of these objects gain their significance from particular local associations, such as a wooden plough from the Mournes, while others are rare survivals in a regional and even national context, for example County Down trottle cars. The invention of a County Down engineer, the Ferguson tractor and linkage system, revolutionised world farming so it is particularly fitting that we have one of his tractors in our museum.
As a whole, the collection is significant as a record of the equipment used on a County Down farm from the late nineteenth to mid twentieth century. More importantly, when accompanied by images from our extensive photographic archive, the objects document the lives of farmers in our county. DJ McNeill's photographs are a particularly important resource.
Very few other local museums, and none in County Down, have collection this type of material. Elsewhere, other collections of this type are often left as a number of random objects which are not assessed and interpreted in relation to their particular area and circumstances.
If you would like further information about the farming collection or are interested in seeing objects which are not on display, please contact us.
