Portadown’s Triumphal Arches

Through the CATCH Funding programme, made possible by National Lottery Heritage Fund, Portadown Heritage Tours was able to provide grant support to three of the towns triumphal arches. Portadown proudly holds the title of ‘The Orange Citadel’. Within the citadel there are nine arches displayed during the summer months. The arches are all maintained by small committees made up of local residents from the areas. Each have their own skills for maintaining the Arches and this is a unique heritage.  Those skills are passed down the generations. Portadown is unique with nine arches and they are an important part of the towns local heritage. We where pleased to be able to develop that heritage and provide much needed support through a progressive project.

Arches Community Engagement

The Successful Arch Committee recipients: Queen Street, Mourneview Street and Parkmount, all developed heritage projects that provided community engagement and contributed towards community relations. Their projects where aimed to tell the stories of the men of the street who served with the 1913 4th Portadown Battalion Ulster Volunteer Force and also during the Great War. Using innovative means, in order to tell the stories of these men, they used the already existing structure of the arches in order to create a community remembrance space and somewhere the forgotten stories of these men could be displayed once again.

  

 

Arch Project Outcomes

The forgotten stories have been brought to the forefront again through educational resources and community pop up exhibitions. The names have also been added through updated structures to the arches. These educational resources are to help educate local residents on the historical value of the arches in changing demographic areas.

Thank you to National Lottery Players and National Lottery Heritage Fund.