Arthur Cottage

Arthur Cottage in the village of Cullybackey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, is the ancestral home of Chester Alan Arthur, the 21st President of the United States.cite web | title=Arthur Cottage, Cullybackey | work=Antrim.net | url=http://www.antrim.net/cullybackey/arthur.htm | accessdate=2008-07-12] It is situated 4 miles from Ballymena, only a short walk from the village of Cullybackey. [cite web | title=Arthur Cottage | work=Ballymena Borough Council Tourism | url=http://www.ballymena.gov.uk/arthurcottage.asp | accessdate=2008-07-12] The thatched cottage and interpretive centre detail the story of President Arthur and his road to the Presidency.cite web | title=Arthur Cottage | work=Discover Northern Ireland | url=http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/product.aspx?ProductID=8218 | accessdate=2008-07-12]

Features

It sits in an elevated position on Gourley’s Hill. It is constructed of local stone and its walls are some 20 inches thick; bog oak beams support the thatched roof of local flax. It is earthen-floored with a cobble–stoned hearth. The simple rectangular cottage consists of two rooms, each the full width of the building. One room is a kitchen/living room, while the other serves as a bedroom (with access to a second bed in the loft above it). Latter additions to the building were removed to restore the cottage to its original condition.

Arthur Family

President Arthur’s grandparents, Alan Arthur (born 1761) and Eliza Arthur (nee Meharg) lived in Cullybackey at Arthur Cottage. Their son, William (the President's Father) was born on the 5 December 1797 in the Cottage and emigrated, with other members of the family, to North America between 1816 and 1820. There he met and married Malvina Stone and earned his living as a Baptist Minister. Chester Alan Arthur was born on 5 October 1830 at Fairfield, Vermont. He became President on 20 September 1881. The President's sister, Mary, and his schoolboy son, Chester Alan Jnr., visited the Arthur homestead in 1882 and made contact with various members of the Arthur family who were living in the district. [cite web | title=The Arthur Family | work=Antrim.net | url=http://www.antrim.net/cullybackey/arthur_2.htm | accessdate=2008-07-12]

Access

The Cottage is open to the public from May to September. There are regular period-costume and craft days to show what life would have been like in the house when it was occupied 200 years ago, as well as music and story-telling events. Traditional soda bread and pancake baking demonstrations by women dressed in period costume also take place on organised days.

References