Flax Visitor Centre
Upperlands BT46 5RN
The Dick Clark Model Collection
(Links within our Dick Clark mini site are located at the bottom of each Dick Clark page.)
The Flax Centre is now home to one of the finest collections of model houses in Northern Ireland.
Accurately researched and lovingly crafted by Dick Clark, a member of the village's Clark family, The Dick Clark collection traces the development of settlement from Mesolithic to 20th Century times.
Dick took huge pleasure in displaying his models all around the country, with a number of charities benefiting from their popularity.
His broad education and post war employment with the Coleraine (Precision) Instrument Company developed his eye for detail, analytical skills and craftsmanship.
On his retirement he would revel in travel, photographing and measuring various buildings and structures as he went. On his return would set about building detailed models from photos, measurements and memory.
The collection tells a number of stories and recalls scenes from the past in Irish history that impacted on the rural, social and industrial development of the country and influenced the life that many experienced from Upperlands to Waterford, in between and beyond.
There is a particular focus on the houses in which families lived, worked, developed and left behind. From deserted cottages to fully inhabited mansions, gate houses to tower houses, caravans to shops and churches.Our permanent collection, is a true crowd pleaser, best seen in reality.
On re-opening, we hope that displaying models around "themes' will foster a deeper understanding of the development of Irish settlement as well as admiration for the craft of a true Upperlands Legend. (Commentary almost entirely by Maurice McNicholl)
Dick Clark Models mini-site planned links:
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19th / 20 Century Rural Ireland: Farm Houses
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The "Big House" a Georgian Mansion
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Gate Lodges
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Portrush Railway Station
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Dunluce Castle, Portrush
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Caravans
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Shops and Shopping
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On the Water
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You're Having a Laugh!