My g g grandfather, William Clague / Clegg 1819-1891 was born in Onchan (parents Thomas Clague and Eleanor Gelling) and spent a large part of his adult life in Liverpool where he was a successful builder. He spent his retirement years back on the IOM in Douglas. For a few years in the late 1850s and early 1860s he had returned to the island where he was described as "farmer of 60 acres" in the 1861 census, and "farmer of Clybane" in the Braddan Parish Register for the baptisms of those of his children who were born on the island.

I put the word "Clybane" into a Google search, and clicked on a site which has photos of views on the IOM. I was amazed to see a photo of a large house which is identical to one which was sent to me by a cousin labelled as "unknown house from Dot's album." This photo was taken circa 1920 by a granddaughter (b 1895 ) of William Clague. She lived on the mainland and used to visit relatives on the IOM. We had suspected that the house had some particular significance. It's a very distinctive building, with huge chimneys that take up most of the gable ends of both sides of the building, and attic windows which are in the chimneys.

The question is this------did she take the photo knowing that it was connected to her grandfather (ie did he build it / live in it ?), or was it wishful thinking on her part (ie had he actually lived in a modest house nearby ?)

Does anyone know when Clybane House was built ? It looks rather sad in the photo on the website, as though it's seen better days. How do I find out more about it ?

Jean C