Two new interpretative centres are set to be created - one in Belfast and one in Loughall, County Antrim - under new plans unveiled by the Orange Order to examine the history of the organisation in Northern Ireland.

An application has already been submitted to a European Funding Programme in order to help fund the £4m scheme, which will lead to the development of new museums at the Order's Schomberg House headquarters in Belfast and Sloan's House in Loughall. Planning consent has been obtained for the Schomberg House facility, while plans for an interpretative centre at Sloan's House are currently being considered. Consultants have also been used to draw up plans to enhance the Orange Order's collection of artefacts and documents.

Potential exhibits could include a new replica model of the sculpture of King William on Clifton Street Orange Hall in Belfast as a focal point at the Schomberg House site, while an early 20th century Orange Hall would be created inside the building to act as an entrance to the museum area. Loughall proposals include tableaux to depict the signing of the first Orange Lodge warrants in 1795, while the Cavan County and Monaghan County Museums and the Millmount Museum in Drogheda will partner with the County Antrim Site. The Somme Centre and the White House at Whiteabbey will team up with the Belfast museum.

Dr David Hume, the Orange Order's director of services, said: "It is a central plank of the submission that the Orange Order has a key role in society and that unless there is engagement with the Order from the wider community, there will continue to be misunderstandings leading to conflict and lack of respect for different cultures. "We know there is a massive appetite from all sections of the community for our history and these interpretive centres will become the focal point for anyone who has a sense of history and tradition and wants to learn more."