By NEIL GREENLEES

The tourists enjoying their carriage tour of the Isle of Man.

...but we still don't know who the people are

THE old photograph we published of people enjoying an outing by horse drawn carriage has attracted a lot of interest - and a theory about where it was taken.

Lisburn carriage restorer Eugene Lackin, who lives at Cross Lane, identified the vehicle as being one which was peculiar to the Isle of Man and was used to take visitors on tours of its beautiful scenery.

Eugene said the carriage was not a landau but a wagonette.

These normally had rear doors but this one was modified to suit its use as a tourist transport.

Mr. Lackin was also certain the photograph was taken prior to 1900.

But while the location in the picture has been established there's still a mystery over the people enjoying their tour by carriage.

In those days a holiday in the Isle of Man would have been quite an adventure for a Lisburn family involving a five hour crossing on a vessel belonging to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.

It would also have been quite expensive at a time when there was no paid holiday entitlement so it's likely the family were reasonably well to do.

The photograph was discovered behind wallpaper by decorators as they prepared the interior of a house at Wallace Avenue for its new owners.

It was in an extremely fragile condition with parts missing and torn edges and was passed to another resident of Wallace Avenue Miss K Barr who is the sister of the former Rector of Derriaghy well known local historian Dean Norman Barr.

Dean Barr's wife Florence made a computer scan of the picture which was then presented to Lisburn Museum. However, to date no-one has been able to identify anyone in the photograph.

If you can provide any information about the picture please get in touch with Neil Greenlees at the Ulster Star, telephone 9267 9111.

Or you can e-mail neil.greenlees@jpress.co.uk

Ulster Star
15/02/2008