Dr Robyn Atcheson
Historian & history communicator - modern, social, medical, women's & Irish.
Feminist. Headstrong, obstinate girl.
Probably wearing pink.
- My first piece for @theconversation.com is now online! Is it weird to have a favourite natural disaster? Mine is the Night of the Big Wind. theconversation.com/how-a-feroci...
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- Reposted by Dr Robyn Atcheson🎨 Apply by 29 Sept 2025 for a £10,000 Artist Residency at Mount Stewart, Co. Down! Part of the Historic Houses, Global Crossroads research, the 6-week residency (May–June 2026) invites artists to explore global plant networks & reimagine the site’s ecological legacy🌿See link in thread.
- Another week, another workhouse! Last night I attended the unveiling of a new memorial at Magherafelt workhouse. The Loup & District Historical Society, with the expert guidance of Dr Ciaran Reilly, did an excellent job with this project.
- Alongside the stone memorial, they also installed an information panel right at the entrance to what is now Mid-Ulster Hospital. It gives a succinct overview of the site's history & shows the layout of the workhouse.
- Had a great excuse this week to revisit a workhouse. Limavady (or Newtownlimavady) was opened in 1842 as a medium model capable of holding 500 paupers. It is now better known in the area as Roe Valley Hospital where some outpatient services are still in operation. #workhouse
- Like many other Ulster workhouses, Limavady had transformed into a mainly medical institution by the 1930s and officially became Limavady District Hospital in 1932. The remaining paupers were transferred to Coleraine workhouse at this time.
- Today, it is home to the Limavady Community Development Initiative. The activity of the Initiative is very impressive with a community cafe, garden and adult and children services. When I visited yesterday I saw the kitchens which provide meals on wheels and a baby bank.
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View full threadIt is a beautiful example of a workhouse repurposed to help the local community while also acknowledging and remembering the lives of those affected by the institution. If you're in the area, definitely give it a visit. discovernorthernireland.com/things-to-do...
- You may have heard me on Radio Ulster yesterday morning chatting with Anna Curran about a very interesting Belfast woman - Flora Lewis. The full story of this woman and her life is now up on my website. #womenshistory www.robynatcheson.com/articles/flo...
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- To celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth, I chatted sex history & the Georgians earlier this year for a new podcast - Austen After Dark This is very NSFW and also NSFMF (Not Suitable For My Family) (You've been warned) open.spotify.com/episode/0zQJ...
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- Finished up exam marking today and fitted in some prep for a radio interview tomorrow. Pre-recording some women's history for BBC Radio Ulster. Looking forward to chatting about women's education in Belfast & a special mathematician.
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- Appreciation post for my wee man Ben, pictured here helping me prepare a chapter a few years ago. We had to say goodbye on Friday and I miss him so much already. My husband had him for 9 years (a rescue of indeterminate age) & I was lucky enough to become his second human.
- As a historian, I research the history I'm passionate about. My PhD was on poor relief in 19th-century Belfast and it left me with a passion for the stories of the marginalised. The poor, the sick, the have-nots.
- As a history communicator, I tell the stories that inspire me and the stories that need to be heard. I give talks and tours. I speak at festivals. I consult on history projects. And I keep track of it all on my website www.robynatcheson.com
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