Hi Frances, thank you for the information. I was aware of his being unfrocked in 1827, but I wasn't aware of where I could find the documentation on the circumstances. He was ordained in 1804 and I've often wondered what could have caused him, after serving the church for 23 years, to go from being a spiritual man to a man imbibing spirits.

There is a link on your Manx Notebook website, www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/fulltext/tg1863/pl_guide.htm , to an April 1826 legal proceedings, The Keys vs. Rev. J. Gelling, which involved a grammar school. In that information on the legal proceedings, it is mentioned that in March of 1826, the Rev. John Cottier put up his estate, Ballayemmy, as bond and mortgage for the school.

Would you have any information in your files on whether or not the Rev. John Cottier lost his estate because of that 1826 case involving the Keys and Rev. J Gelling? If he did, I would imagine that the loss of his home could have been a reason for his seeking of liquid pain relief, which led to his defrocking.