IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Thomas Street, CRAIGAVON, BT62 3AF

Wall and corner protector, made by the Union Foundry, Belfast http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=26279270 , at the Thomas Street end of Portmore Street.

This hall adjoined the church and also Thomas Primary School. Later the school was no longer needed and new spacious halls were built, using some of these former buildings.

No Fred Dibnah here. The chimney has to be taken down layer by layer manually before the wall in front could be knocked down to allow development of the site. See Image and Image

This must be the last of the factory chimneys left in Portadown. The factory, originally "Dyers and Finishers", later became the Ulster Laces. It was situated in Thomas Street. The houses, which were on the main street, with the factory behind, have been demolished. This is what is happening everywhere now. The houses were great 3 storey residential buildings which could have been modernised and kept a sense of community in Thomas Street. See Image

This two story building of 1904 was designed and built by locals, using money provided by the Scottish-American millionaire Andrew Carnegie who financed free library/reading rooms all over the British Isles.

The Northern Ireland Fire Authority was formed in 1950 from an amalgamation of The Northern fire authority with its headquarters in Ballymena, the Western fire authority with its headquarters in Londonderry and the Southern fire authority with its headquarters in Portadown. These authorities had been formed in 1947 after the N.F.S. (N.I) had been stood down. Fire Force Commander of the newly formed Northern Ireland Fire Authority was George Murphy who was, until 1950, the Fire Services Inspector for the Ministry of Home Affairs. When George Murphy retired in 1972, the Authority appointed George Morrison as Fire Force Commander. He held this office until the Northern Ireland Fire Authority amalgamated with the Belfast Fire Brigade in 1973. The newly formed brigade, now entitled, "Fire Authority for Northern Ireland" appointed George Morrison as The Chief Fire Officer. The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service Board (FRSB) replaced the FIRE Authority for Northern Ireland (FANI) on 1st July 2006. The Board is responsible for Fire and Rescue Services in Northern Ireland. Its statutory duties are the promotion of fire safety, fire fighting, rescuing people trapped in road traffic accidents, protecting and rescuing people from other hazards, acting as the enforcement authority for new safety requirements and emergency planning

This church stands on the corner of Thomas Street and Portmore Street. The facade of this church dates from 1862 and has a Portico of four columns. Just past this church, on the left, towards the town centre, is the old Methodist church dating from 1832. It is now a listed building.

This is part of the new hall which was built on the site of the old Thomas Street Primary School, situated on the corner of Portmore Street and Edward Street. This was the main entrance to the school and the original railings have been preserved.

Portadown Town Hall, built in 1890, was once the seat of local government until the building of the Craigavon Civic Centre. It is still used for performances and exhibitions-and since 1923, for the annual Festival of Music and Drama.