Family Festival

This souvenir scrapbook of the Festival of Britain projects a vision of post-war progress and pride. Now you can catch a silent glimpse of this overlooked part of Northern Ireland’s history before industrial decline and the outbreak of violence. Sense the overload of activity as the brochures flash before you. Watch out for famous faces amid the pageantry and enjoy designs from the atomic age in Henry Lynch-Robinson’s Modernist Castlereagh Farm and Factory Building.

The Festival of Britain in Northern Ireland focused on the relationship between ‘Industry and Craftsmanship’. In 1949 the Festival Pattern Group was conceived by Irish crystallographer Dr Helen Dick Megaw bringing together scientific discovery and design. During the Festival 28 British manufacturers created products ranging from coffee pots to clocks based on crystal structures. You can see some of these objects as well as the printed programmes featured in this film in the Ulster Museum in Belfast. You can also watch on BFI Player the documentary Land of Ulster that was commissioned for the Ulster Farm and Factory exhibition. This film is from the collection of National Museums Northern Ireland.