Robyn Atcheson - Historian

22/08/2026

It's been a busy month for this historian.

This weekend in particular. Two tours yesterday. Two today. (Photos from today)

Four events. Two days. Two graveyards.

One very tired historian

21/08/2026

Today was our last Junior Historians Club of the summer! 😥

Our highlights today include:

Why would there be urns/vases on top of graves?
"To put myrrh in"

How did doctors know what was happening inside our bodies before xrays?
"Urine"

Very good knowledge of leeches today & excellent symbol hunting skills.

Every single time I'm impressed with what Junior Historians bring & how their brains work - it's been a great way to spend the summer.

AND, just like Arnie,
Junior Historians Club will be back...

20/08/2026

Thanks to Love Heritage NI for the shout out!

I'll be giving a talk for EHOD on Saturday 12th September about workhouses of Ulster & sharing about my campaign to memorialise workhouse burial grounds.

And... It's free!

15/08/2026

Today's Junior Historians Club was a little bit more gory than normal as I think we definitely had some Junior Historians who loved medical history and learning things about human bodies and diseases.

Highlights include:

"Was there any victims of Justinian disease here?"

"I was reading about smallpox..."

"What happens to the food in their stomach when the person dies?"

But the prize goes to the excellent response to our headless man monument -

"Maybe Henry VIII came back to life and had his head chopped off 'cause he liked to cut people's heads off"

13/08/2026

I'll be back for European Heritage Open Days this year! Love Heritage NI

This year's theme is 'Heritage at Risk' and I'll be giving a FREE public talk on the workhouses of Ulster on Saturday 12th September at 1pm at PRONI.

My talk focuses on the risk of forgetting this part of our heritage and the challenges of remembering difficult histories through looking at workhouses.

Did the later use of these buildings change how they were thought of in local communities? Did their stories become erased completely?

Free event but booking is essential.
https://shorturl.at/CUwZn

12/08/2026

All of our team, the Friends of Friar's Bush would like to sincerely thank everyone involved in making Fleadh Cheoil 26 such a massive success, especially The Duncairn (and Una in particular) who did incredible work with a tiny team and Belfast City Council for their continued support and ongoing maintenance efforts.

Over the course of the week we welcomed over 250 people through the gates on our award-winning guided walking tours and we were very excited to share our passion for history with you all.

See you again next year! Until then, if you can't wait, we have professionally guided tours every Saturday come rain or shine which you can book via www.friarsbush.org

07/08/2026

My tour Pox, Plagues & Paupers: Horrible Histories of Belfast sold out last week for its Féile an Phobail outing.

So tonight, I am putting it on again at 7pm - smallpox, cholera, syphilis, amputation, bodysnatching - what else do you need of a Friday night?

PLUS - for one night only, every guest gets a free themed gift!!

Explore the gruesome past of Belfast through stories of disease, poverty, and epidemics in this tour "Pox, Plagues and Paupers".