The Old Factory by Elizabeth Molloy

The old factory I am writing about is where I live in Victoria Bridge. It still stands but is derelict. It used to be a glass factory and once it was a box factory. I think it was also once a railway station and also a Nestlé factory. There was lots of things in this factory.

I will be finding out a lot more about this factory, no one ever says anything about this place as its in Victoria Bridge, but in the past few years Victoria Bridge has expanded. My family has been in Victoria for 25 years or over. Anyway this factory has a lot of past in it and is part of social history because this is where people worked and met and it is industrial history because of the building.

The kinds of history I am interested in - by Roseanne Molloy

I am interested in finding out about local history. I recently saw a history project done on a walkway known as the Bridle Path (by Raphoe History Links Group), This caught my attention.

I thought it would be cool to see if Strabane and surrounding areas has something like this to do. It could be interesting doing a walkway because you have to get out and about to find an old walkway, then you have to find out how long it was in use, what grew along the pathway, if there was any wildlife along the walkway and who used it.

We could have the opportunity to repair the walkway and bring it back to life, but to make it wheelchair friendly spoiling the natural beauty of the pathway. Doing a project like this means I will be mixing different kinds of history and bringing them together.

I identify these different types of history as:

1. Social: Because people may have used the walkway in the past either by foot or by horseback.
2. Natural: Due to the flowers and the trees that might have grown there and the wildlife that you might have seen along the walkway.
3. Architectural: The opportunity to repair and rebuild the walkway. Bringing it back to its natural beauty and making it accessible for everyone to enjoy.