0:00:02 > 0:00:03CHORAL MUSIC
0:00:17 > 0:00:20Armagh, or Ard Mhacha, as it was originally known,
0:00:20 > 0:00:25was repeatedly a hilltop settlement as far back as 3000 BC.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27But of course, it first came to prominence
0:00:27 > 0:00:32when St Patrick founded his church here, back in 445 AD,
0:00:32 > 0:00:35becoming the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland
0:00:35 > 0:00:38which it remains, nearly 1,600 years on.
0:00:38 > 0:00:43But in that time, it has been razed and rebuilt several times.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47Much has already been said about Armagh and St Patrick,
0:00:47 > 0:00:49but what we're interested in today is another,
0:00:49 > 0:00:52perhaps not so familiar, part of the Armagh story.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56We're concentrating on the mid-18th to 19th century
0:00:56 > 0:00:59and the legacy of a man whose vision it was
0:00:59 > 0:01:04to transform Armagh into a cosmopolitan university city.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06His name was Richard Robinson
0:01:06 > 0:01:09and we'll see how much of what happened then
0:01:09 > 0:01:14can truly be described as a Great British Story.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52For part of my childhood, I was raised in Armagh city.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54My mum was from Yorkshire but my dad was from Northern Ireland
0:01:54 > 0:01:58and I went to St Malachy's Primary school here until the age of 10.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02I had some really great times here, some really fond memories
0:02:02 > 0:02:04and I remember always being impressed
0:02:04 > 0:02:07by the many fine buildings that were dotted around the city.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09And then I used to wonder
0:02:09 > 0:02:12why it looks so much grander than so many other towns.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14Now, as we're about to find out,
0:02:14 > 0:02:18its echoes of the Georgian eloquence of Bath or Dublin
0:02:18 > 0:02:20is down in part to one man,
0:02:20 > 0:02:25and that is Richard Robinson, the Church of Ireland Primate from 1765.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28So, who was he?
0:02:28 > 0:02:31Well, I'm keen to uncover the history of the man
0:02:31 > 0:02:33who shaped the city I once called home.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37And where better to start than here, Armagh's public library
0:02:37 > 0:02:41or as it's more commonly known, the Robinson Library?
0:02:51 > 0:02:55'Carol Conlon is assistant keeper at the research library,
0:02:55 > 0:02:57'which also enjoys museum status.'
0:02:57 > 0:03:00- Hello, Carol.- Hello, Dermot. - Good to see you.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03You know I'm mad to know about Richard Robinson,
0:03:03 > 0:03:05and I know you're the person with all the answers.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10Simple question first of all - how did he come to be in Armagh?
0:03:10 > 0:03:14Richard Robinson was an Englishman who chose to go into the church
0:03:14 > 0:03:18and he came over to Ireland. He arrived first in Dublin
0:03:18 > 0:03:23and then his career in the church in Ireland took off extremely well
0:03:23 > 0:03:25and by the time he was 56,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28he became Primate of the established church.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31He finds Armagh, the city, in a very poor state.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34I mean, it has had such a troubled history,
0:03:34 > 0:03:37with many invasions, destructions and so on.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41What he chose not to do was follow his immediate predecessors,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44which was to turn round and go back to Dublin
0:03:44 > 0:03:46or to live possibly in Drogheda.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50He felt because it was the ecclesiastical capital
0:03:50 > 0:03:53that he should reside in Armagh.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56But also, he wanted a university to be established,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59a second university on the island of Ireland,
0:03:59 > 0:04:01and he chose Armagh to be the one.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15He didn't just talk about it, he had buildings established,
0:04:15 > 0:04:17this one being one of the first to be used
0:04:17 > 0:04:20by all the different departments or faculties
0:04:20 > 0:04:22in the life of the University.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24He also had the Armagh Observatory built,
0:04:24 > 0:04:27which was to be the faculty of science.
0:04:27 > 0:04:32And the Royal School he had moved from rather cramped conditions
0:04:32 > 0:04:35to a very fine building which it still uses today.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39You have very much the style of an Oxford college.
0:04:39 > 0:04:44Then the old hospital, called the infirmary in his day.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47That was to be the teaching hospital and the faculty of medicine.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49Areas like the Commons,
0:04:49 > 0:04:52which is still clearly visible to this day,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55that had been used for racing, for gambling and so on
0:04:55 > 0:04:59and of course, as a good primate he was going to sort that out
0:04:59 > 0:05:00and not have that available again.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03It was renamed the Mall.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06We have it to this day for everybody to use.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09The requirement is, it's free access. He required that to remain such.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14He also had built the registry, a year after this library,
0:05:14 > 0:05:19and that's in a row of lovely 18th-century houses here,
0:05:19 > 0:05:22very close to the cathedral.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25Number 5 Vicar's Hill looks like any of the dwelling houses
0:05:25 > 0:05:28from the outside, very modest looking.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Inside, far from it.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35Wonderful building which houses some of the very fine collections
0:05:35 > 0:05:37which Robinson donated to the library.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42So, Carol, why do you think he did it all?
0:05:42 > 0:05:47Do you think there was perhaps an element of vanity about it?
0:05:47 > 0:05:49I like to think it was of the time.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52It was the 18th century, the Age of Enlightenment,
0:05:52 > 0:05:56a great deal going on in European countries and in England
0:05:56 > 0:05:59and that he didn't want Ireland to be left out.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02He certainly didn't want Armagh to be left out.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07Even after his death, other architects, other archbishops,
0:06:07 > 0:06:11other people who had the wealth built on what was done.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13That's why many of the wonderful buildings we have still
0:06:13 > 0:06:18in Armagh either were built in his time or as a direct result.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20OK, Carol, thanks for that.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Well, I'm off to feast my eyes on some of those buildings.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44The palace was the first building Robinson commissioned.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47It was designed by his favoured architect, Thomas Cooley,
0:06:47 > 0:06:49and completed in 1770.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53A third storey and private chapel were added later.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55A 114-foot obelisk in the grounds
0:06:55 > 0:06:57is a monument to the Duke of Northumberland,
0:06:57 > 0:06:59who helped him become primate.
0:06:59 > 0:07:04The palace was inhabited by successive primates until 1975,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07when it was sold to Armagh Council, who occupy it today.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Well Paul, this is a modest little place to call home(!)
0:07:12 > 0:07:15I suppose Richard Robinson was very comfortable here.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17Why did he have it built?
0:07:17 > 0:07:21When he came to Armagh, there was already a house provided for him
0:07:21 > 0:07:22but it was in a poor state.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24He didn't think it was something
0:07:24 > 0:07:27of grand enough standing or status for himself.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31As you see today, the third storey and also a portico
0:07:31 > 0:07:35have since been added to it, about 50 years later.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38- Inside, a lot of it's still intact. Shall we have a look?- Yes, indeed.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49Well, Paul, who have we got here?
0:07:49 > 0:07:54I see, good King George and Queen Charlotte.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Well, they were painted by an artist called Allan Ramsay,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00a famous artist from the Georgian era.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02I suppose one of the most striking aspects
0:08:02 > 0:08:05is if you look closely at the facial part,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08you'll notice there is like a box around it?
0:08:08 > 0:08:11- Oh, yes.- And it was only for that part
0:08:11 > 0:08:14that Allan Ramsay was responsible.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16As for the remaining part, it would have been a lesser artist
0:08:16 > 0:08:19who would have completed the painting and of course, King George III
0:08:19 > 0:08:23and Queen Charlotte wouldn't have been there for that part either.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26- So it's the original body double? - It's the original body double!
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Well, Paul, this is quite a room.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41I see a big beam up there. Was it two rooms originally?
0:08:41 > 0:08:43Originally it was.
0:08:43 > 0:08:48When Robinson was here, on this side, he had his withdrawing room
0:08:48 > 0:08:51and then here, he would have had his study or his library.
0:08:51 > 0:08:57OK, so he'd sit in this part in his library, he'd look out
0:08:57 > 0:09:00those magnificent windows and what would he have seen at that time?
0:09:00 > 0:09:03The first thing he probably saw as he looked up to the left
0:09:03 > 0:09:07was Gallows Hill, probably something quite unpleasant for himself
0:09:07 > 0:09:10and also for his guests.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12As a man of the cloth, I think it did upset him
0:09:12 > 0:09:15because later on, he had the gallows moved to the gaol.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19I mean, Gallows Hill is where public executions and took place
0:09:19 > 0:09:22and public executions meant there were big crowds as well?
0:09:22 > 0:09:23Big crowds would have been coming up.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27The execution would have been almost a family day out.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31But as I say, as a man of the cloth, this was pretty gruesome
0:09:31 > 0:09:36for someone like him to be witnessing on a fairly regular basis.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40He had rather a unusual view about the smell of food?
0:09:40 > 0:09:45Originally, the palace kitchens were in the basement
0:09:45 > 0:09:48but the odours coming from the kitchens came up into the reception.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Later, the kitchens were moved outside
0:09:50 > 0:09:53and they were adjacent to what we call the servants' tunnel.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56As they were coming up through the tunnel,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59any servant who carried the food had to whistle.
0:09:59 > 0:10:00If they weren't whistling,
0:10:00 > 0:10:03it was considered they were eating the Archbishop's food!
0:10:03 > 0:10:05So he was a greedy man, too!
0:10:05 > 0:10:08OK, but he was also a pious man who's got the chapel,
0:10:08 > 0:10:09which is worth a look, isn't it?
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Absolutely. I think we should go and have a look at it.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31Goodness, but this is fantastic! Just look at that ceiling!
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Tell me about it.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36The building itself was built for Archbishop Robinson
0:10:36 > 0:10:41shortly after he became Archbishop, and it took five years to complete.
0:10:41 > 0:10:42Those who would have attended
0:10:42 > 0:10:45would have either come by special invitation,
0:10:45 > 0:10:48or there were those who were working on the palace and the main grounds.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54When one came in here, one knew exactly where they were to be seated
0:10:54 > 0:10:56according to their status in society.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01Just over here you've got the Archbishop's throne,
0:11:01 > 0:11:03supported by Corinthian columns.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06Above it, a carving of the Archbishop's mitre.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10What about the windows? When we were outside,
0:11:10 > 0:11:13there seemed to be a lot more glass than is on display on the inside.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15It's to do with the Georgian symmetry
0:11:15 > 0:11:20and if you go down the outside on the north and the south-facing side,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23you'll count, of course, the same number of windows.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25But these ones are blocked off
0:11:25 > 0:11:27to prevent the cold winds and draughts
0:11:27 > 0:11:29coming through in the winter months.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46Another of Robinson's buildings is the Royal School.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49It originates from 1608, when King James I
0:11:49 > 0:11:52commissioned five Royal schools,
0:11:52 > 0:11:56mainly to educate the children of Plantation settlers.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58Today it sits on College Hill,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01having been moved from an earlier site by Robinson,
0:12:01 > 0:12:03who had the new school built here in 1774,
0:12:03 > 0:12:06where it became known as the Eton of Ireland.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11So this was going to be the seat of the University here.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13Do you know why that never happened?
0:12:13 > 0:12:15Probably for many reasons.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17The politics of the time,
0:12:17 > 0:12:22Trinity had already been established in 1598, I think,
0:12:22 > 0:12:24and it would have drawn away from Trinity.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28This, I suppose, would have been the social sciences seat.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31The university didn't come off, but we've got the school.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35- Well, no better man to show me round. Can I have a look? - Come on in.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44Well, Paul, is this more or less as it was in Robinson's time?
0:12:44 > 0:12:46Yes, this is as it was.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50In fact, this would have been the boarding area and the schoolhouse,
0:12:50 > 0:12:52where the headmaster lived.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54These buildings are still used for boarding.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56This was a garrison school.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59To populate Ireland under the Plantation,
0:12:59 > 0:13:04schools of this proportion were built all along the border.
0:13:04 > 0:13:09You've got Raphoe and Prior, Dungannon, Pretora and Cavan,
0:13:09 > 0:13:12which are all royal schools.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16They drew largely, I suppose,
0:13:16 > 0:13:19from an Anglican background from all over Ireland
0:13:19 > 0:13:24and the children would have had to travel considerable distances to get here, in fact.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26And how did they do that? By coach?
0:13:26 > 0:13:29They would come up by horse and carriage.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33There was one called the Armagh Lark, and it would take 12 hours,
0:13:33 > 0:13:36believe it or not, to get up from Dublin.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39It would be an exhausting journey and also a dangerous one,
0:13:39 > 0:13:40because there were highwaymen,
0:13:40 > 0:13:44so the kids would come in bedraggled and exhausted
0:13:44 > 0:13:47and it would have been quite a feat for them.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50On two occasions, the headmasters were actually barred out.
0:13:50 > 0:13:55Kids at the end of Lent would have barred the master out
0:13:55 > 0:13:59and then welcomed him in with a Latin phrase
0:13:59 > 0:14:03but the boys of Armagh took it a bit more seriously than that.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08In 1788, when there was a head called Dr Carpendale,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11he banned the Wednesday afternoon holiday,
0:14:11 > 0:14:15which was viewed as an ancient right in the school,
0:14:15 > 0:14:19and they hacked away the stairs and locked themselves in the dorm,
0:14:19 > 0:14:24shipped in food and grog and beer and wine and so on
0:14:24 > 0:14:28and they were taking pot-shots at people.
0:14:28 > 0:14:34One pot-shot actually hit the bed head of Dr Carpendale's wife,
0:14:34 > 0:14:37so he wrote a letter demanding a truce.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39A truce was duly given.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43They didn't get the holiday but they weren't flogged.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45Tell me about some of the great and the good
0:14:45 > 0:14:47who've been to the Royal School.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50Well, there'd have been two foreign ministers, Lecky, the historian.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54Dr Gillespie, who was Nelson's surgeon,
0:14:54 > 0:14:58allegedly advised him not to go to the Battle of Trafalgar.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02Tommy Bowe is the latest, I suppose, Irish international.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06We also had one guy, William McCrum, who invented the penalty kick.
0:15:06 > 0:15:12McCrum's idea came in as rule 13 of the game, so there you go.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22Armagh Observatory was another of Robinson's grand buildings
0:15:22 > 0:15:25and was intended as the school of science for the proposed university.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29It's the only site in the world to have an unbroken record
0:15:29 > 0:15:34of climate conditions since it opened in 1789.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51This is Market Street, commercial centre of the city,
0:15:51 > 0:15:55and site of the once thriving weekly market since medieval times.
0:15:55 > 0:16:00Now in 1770, Robinson commissioned a census by William Lodge
0:16:00 > 0:16:03and it lists the various establishments and in this area,
0:16:03 > 0:16:07we had apothecaries, watchmakers, weavers, innkeepers,
0:16:07 > 0:16:12braziers, britches makers and barbers, to name just a few.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16Also in this area stood the original sessions or courthouse and jail,
0:16:16 > 0:16:20although there is a dispute about where these actually stood.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24The popular legend goes that the prison was just down there.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32Before Robinson had the new gaol built on the Mall,
0:16:32 > 0:16:34people say that this is where it was.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36Today it houses a pub called The Hole In The Wall,
0:16:36 > 0:16:39apparently a reference to the jail's nickname
0:16:39 > 0:16:42because the story goes that at the time, prisoners had to be fed
0:16:42 > 0:16:43by their friends and family,
0:16:43 > 0:16:47so this is where they'd come to throw food to the starving inmates -
0:16:47 > 0:16:49through the aforementioned hole in the wall.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51Now is that true?
0:16:51 > 0:16:55Well, probably not but the speculation is that it was close by,
0:16:55 > 0:16:57but it's probably long since gone.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00But hey, this version is more entertaining for the tourists!
0:17:01 > 0:17:03When a prisoner was to be executed,
0:17:03 > 0:17:07they'd be marched up this street towards the cathedral and then
0:17:07 > 0:17:10on to Gallows Hill, which was on the outskirts of the city at the time.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14He'd be accompanied by a large group of locals
0:17:14 > 0:17:17beating staffs on the ground, making a huge racket.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19It really must have been quite a sight.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22The executions themselves were a public spectacle.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25People would assemble on Gallows Hill with their families
0:17:25 > 0:17:27and a picnic for a day out.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31The Gallows themselves were decorated with a black iron skull
0:17:31 > 0:17:32for dramatic effect.
0:17:36 > 0:17:37After the execution was over,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40the body would be allowed to hang for several hours
0:17:40 > 0:17:44as a warning to others about attempting to break the law.
0:17:50 > 0:17:55Robinson had a new jail built on the south end of the Mall in 1780.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57Again, designed by Cooley.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Executions originally took place at the front
0:18:00 > 0:18:03before being moved within the prison walls later.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07It was extended twice to accommodate ever-growing numbers,
0:18:07 > 0:18:09particularly during the famine.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13It eventually became a women's prison, in use until 1986.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17Gabriel, no doubt this is a foreboding place.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20Just tell me what life was like for the inmates
0:18:20 > 0:18:22when this was first built.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26It was a smaller jail but there was probably a very harsh jail.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29It started off with nine bays in 1780
0:18:29 > 0:18:32and there were four bays for men and four for women.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36The women in the prison here in Armagh did washing of clothes
0:18:36 > 0:18:38and cleaning of the buildings
0:18:38 > 0:18:42and the men did breaking of stones out in the prison yard
0:18:42 > 0:18:46and they did whitewashing of the walls.
0:18:46 > 0:18:47And if they didn't do their work,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50or if they broke the rules in any other way, they were punished.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54One of the punishments was a thing called the tread wheel.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57It was a big wheel with planks that ran across
0:18:57 > 0:18:59and the planks were eight inches apart,
0:18:59 > 0:19:03and 16 prisoners would have been lined up in bare feet.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06They had to jump up on the planks and they had to do it synchronised.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10If you missed your beat you came down with your shins on the planks.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13So in most jails, these tread wheels were used
0:19:13 > 0:19:15to grind meal or pump water.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17In Armagh, it was just pure punishment.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26We're standing on what later became known as B Wing,
0:19:26 > 0:19:30and it was opened in 1846.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34We must remember, that was just at the apex of the famine.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42The cell, I suppose, ideally was built for one or two prisoners.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44During the famine in 1846-47,
0:19:44 > 0:19:48there could have been anything up to 10 prisoners in a cell.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52It really would have been a hellhole, would be the best way to describe it.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56Famine fever, typhus and cholera, they would have been dirty,
0:19:56 > 0:19:59they would have been covered in lice and the disease
0:19:59 > 0:20:03would have been transferred one to the other with the lice.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07I wouldn't think they had beds.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09They were probably lying in their rags on the floor.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14So a terrible place, people dying with disease.
0:20:14 > 0:20:1633 people died in the year 1847,
0:20:16 > 0:20:20died with disease, not with execution.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22Definition of crime then was different.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24It was a criminal offence to be a debtor, wasn't it?
0:20:24 > 0:20:28It was a criminal offence to steal cabbage out of a field, even,
0:20:28 > 0:20:31so the slightest of crime, you could've ended up here.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47Well, life was understandably hard for lawbreakers
0:20:47 > 0:20:49but imagine finding yourself being incarcerated
0:20:49 > 0:20:53just for the so-called crime of falling on hard times.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55Well, before the welfare state was created,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57you could find yourself in such a position
0:20:57 > 0:20:59by ending up in the workhouse.
0:20:59 > 0:21:04These institutions were designed as a last resort for the destitute
0:21:04 > 0:21:07and Armagh's workhouse opened in 1842
0:21:07 > 0:21:10on the site of what is now Tower Hill Hospital.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17This was the largest workhouse in Ulster,
0:21:17 > 0:21:21with accommodation for 1,000 inmates.
0:21:21 > 0:21:26The regime was extremely repressive to deter people from entering.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28Overcrowding and fever were rife during the famine years,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31when up to 500 people died.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34They were buried anonymously in mass graves on the site.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39The attic sleeping quarters remain unchanged,
0:21:39 > 0:21:43giving us a glimpse into the miserable living conditions.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48Mary, workhouses were designed to be awful places.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52You had to be absolutely desperate to end up in one.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55Yes, they certainly weren't refuges. They were last resorts.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58The conditions in workhouses were to be
0:21:58 > 0:22:01worse than the worst conditions outside.
0:22:01 > 0:22:06They came about at a time when there was terrible poverty in Ireland
0:22:06 > 0:22:08throughout the whole island.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11In a sense, they were an English solution to an Irish problem,
0:22:11 > 0:22:17because they were built to the same design as workhouses in England
0:22:17 > 0:22:19under the poor law there,
0:22:19 > 0:22:23but the problem in Ireland was, there was no work for people
0:22:23 > 0:22:25and the population had increased.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27We're talking about the 1840s.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31Now, what happened in Ireland, as we all know in the 1840s,
0:22:31 > 0:22:35was the famine and these workhouses must have been turning people away?
0:22:35 > 0:22:38People never wanted to go into the workhouses.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41There was a terrible stigma attached to the workhouse.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45People only entered the workhouse as a last resort.
0:22:45 > 0:22:50- The whole family had to go.- So the family, entire family, turned up.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53What happened to them then? What was the process?
0:22:53 > 0:22:56They were separated. Men and women were separate
0:22:56 > 0:22:59and the children were separated from their parents as well.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03Everybody had to work in the workhouse.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07- The work was dull and monotonous. - What kind of stuff did they do?
0:23:07 > 0:23:11They spun flax and wool and they picked oakum -
0:23:11 > 0:23:15a particularly nasty type of work removing tar from old ropes.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18- From the Navy? - Yes, and broke stones.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22Conditions were really dire.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26They didn't have beds. They slept on pallets
0:23:26 > 0:23:30and the food was just enough to keep people alive.
0:23:30 > 0:23:36It was a very strict regime and any deviation was punished.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40These are some extracts from the minutes.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43"James McLaughlin, burning his shoes,
0:23:43 > 0:23:47"to be flogged by schoolmaster when out of hospital."
0:23:47 > 0:23:50So obviously, he got burnt and ended up in hospital but nonetheless,
0:23:50 > 0:23:51he was still going to be punished.
0:23:51 > 0:23:56"Bridget McNamee, disturbing the nursery, to break stones for a week.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58"James McKinney, neglecting his work,
0:23:58 > 0:24:01"no supper for a week and 24 lashes."
0:24:01 > 0:24:03Well how did you get out of the workhouse,
0:24:03 > 0:24:05were you allowed to leave?
0:24:05 > 0:24:08- You were free to leave at any stage. - But could you come back then?
0:24:08 > 0:24:12In England, you had relief as a right.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16Here, it was certainly not a right, it was a concession.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19It was at the discretion of the board of guardians.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41Created shortly after his death,
0:24:41 > 0:24:45this painting from 1810 depicts some of Robinson's legacy,
0:24:45 > 0:24:50including the Royal School, the gaol and the newly transformed Mall.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53He added a steeple to the cathedral,
0:24:53 > 0:24:57which was eventually removed because it was unstable.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02He also built a barracks, a new market area
0:25:02 > 0:25:07and instigated sewers, wells and the paving of streets.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10Tenants who didn't improve their homes
0:25:10 > 0:25:13would not have their leases renewed.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16Described as a master builder,
0:25:16 > 0:25:19it's estimated that Robinson spent up to £40,000 -
0:25:19 > 0:25:23a fortune at the time - transforming the city.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29After Robinson died in 1794,
0:25:29 > 0:25:33his ethos of bettering the city continued, most notably,
0:25:33 > 0:25:36through a man called Leonard - or Lenny - Dobbin.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38He was a property developer
0:25:38 > 0:25:42who bought this poor area of the city round about 1800
0:25:42 > 0:25:45and then following Robinson's example, developed it
0:25:45 > 0:25:50into this beautiful curved terrace which he called Dobbin Street.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58He also developed a new indoor linen market in the area,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01which was quite an innovation,
0:26:01 > 0:26:04and it seems he took a lot of business away from Market Street,
0:26:04 > 0:26:07which was the main trading centre since medieval times.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10Dobbin Street was clearly the up-and-coming part of town.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20Dobbin became the city's MP in 1833
0:26:20 > 0:26:23and had this beautiful Georgian mansion built for himself
0:26:23 > 0:26:27by one of Robinson's favourite architects, Francis Johnston.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30Today it's sheltered accommodation, called Patrick's Fold,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33which is rather appropriate, as it allegedly sits on the site
0:26:33 > 0:26:37of the first church established in Armagh by St Patrick
0:26:37 > 0:26:40more than 1,500 years ago.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52CHORAL MUSIC
0:27:02 > 0:27:05And so Armagh continued to develop.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09Inspired by Robinson's example, many fine Georgian buildings
0:27:09 > 0:27:13appeared throughout the city, particularly around the Mall,
0:27:13 > 0:27:18such as the courthouse in 1809 and the County Museum in 1834.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24The Mall itself remains a green haven for the public,
0:27:24 > 0:27:26as Robinson originally attended.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32He's not revered by everyone, but Richard Robinson's arrival
0:27:32 > 0:27:36marked a major turning point in Armagh's history.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Arguably its greatest town planner,
0:27:38 > 0:27:41no doubt he would have been satisfied with the way it's evolved.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43And despite some recent eyesores,
0:27:43 > 0:27:45its Georgian splendour still resonates.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49He's buried here, in the crypt in St Patrick's Cathedral,
0:27:49 > 0:27:53leaving £5,000 in his will for the founding of the university.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56Despite the fact that that never happened in the end,
0:27:56 > 0:28:02Robinson's legacy in Armagh can truly be described as a Great British Story.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11And so we come to the end of our journey.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14Armagh's history is so rich that it's difficult to do it justice
0:28:14 > 0:28:17in such a short space of time.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21But stories telling the history of your place are easy to uncover.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24There are people like those I've met in almost every town,
0:28:24 > 0:28:27who are passionate about local history
0:28:27 > 0:28:29and keen to share it with you.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32So get out there and discover the history of your place -
0:28:32 > 0:28:34it's over to you.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd