[From Quiggin's Guide, 1841]
EXCURSION TO THE SOUTH.
PASSING Douglas Bridge, the Nunnery, and the Roman Catholic Chapel
about half a mile, the road branching off on the left is called Old
Castletown Road, that straight forward is the new one; keeping which,
you pass through Kewague; after which on the first hill near the
second mile-stone is Middle, the neat little villa of Major Tobin; at
a short distance beyond the third mile-stone, on the left, is
Cronkbane, the residence of T. Tattersall, Esq., of Liverpool, from
which there is fine picturesque and landscape scenery; at the forth
mile-stone is Mount Murray, the seat of Colonel Murray, nephew to the
late Duke of Atholl; and a little further on, to the left, is the
recently erected residence of Major Stewart; about two miles beyond
which the old road again joins the new one.
On the old road, at the first branch off, you pass Ellenbrook,
which is on the left; and in the hollow on the right, Oak Hill, the
villa of Mrs. Bell, now occupied by J. H. Garvin, Esq. A.M., as a
private boarding school for young gentlemen; on the top of the hill,
Hampton Court, — Highton, Esq.; opposite, on the left, is
Ballashamrock, the property of M. H. Quayle, Esq.; further on, near
the sea, is Seafield, the property of Captain Bacon; and on the right
is Outland, in a field adjoining which stand erect the jaw-bones of a
once gigantic whale; on the coast, to the left of a creek named
Grenack, is an oblory tumulus called Cronk ny Marroo, or the Hill of
the Dead; near which is the bay and beach of Port
Soderick,—[a nice distance from Douglas for an excursion by
water, sailing to which you would pass Wallberry, where there is a
beautiful natural bridge; and at the entrance of the beach, on the
left hand side, is a cavern of very great extent.] Passing Kirk
Santon, the main-road is joined, about one mile from
BALLASALLA,
the most extensive and populous village in the Island, the scenery
in its vicinity is richly diversified and picturesque; the venerable
remains of Rushen
Abbey are seen on the river, and form an interesting feature in
the view. This retreat was founded by Olave, King of Man, in 1104,
but the church, though begun at the same time, by Ewan, first Abbot
of Furness, to whom Olave gave certain emoluments for that purpose,
was neither finished nor consecrated till 1134. The monks were twelve
in number besides the abbot of the Cistercian order. They practised
great austerities, neither wearing shoes nor linen, nor eating flesh.
In 1316, this place was plundered by Richard de Mandeville who
carried off the treasure to Ireland. It was finally suppressed with
the monasteries in England, in the reign of Henry VIII. A monument
with crosia and sword of state lies in one of the gardens. A third of
the tithe of the Island was, in process of time, added to the
revenues of the establishment. After a lapse of years, the rigid
austerity of the primitive monks melted away. Their successors became
proud and luxurious. The abbot was a baron, and had power to shelter
a criminal from the sentence of the Lord’s Court, and try him by
his own vassals. On leaving the village, after passing Mrs.
Fellows’ mansion on the left, and Ballasalla House, the property
of Sir George Drinkwater, on the right, the ride is terminated by
arriving at the George Hotel, Mr. Kneen’s.
CASTLETOWN
Castletown, anciently
called Rushen, being the seat of government, is considered the
capital of the Island; the streets are regular and airy, and in the
centre is a spacious area forming the market-place, with a convenient
market-house, and a large room over it, built in 1830. Through the
town runs a small river over which is a drawbridge for foot
passengers, and higher up a bridge of stone for carriages. The
castle, which is of great strength, and the principal fortress in the
Island, is considered as bearing a striking resemblance to the Castle
of Elsinore, in Denmark. It was erected in 947*, by Guttred, the
second Danish prince in succession from King Orry. The Castle is
quadrangular, with square towers on the sides, the largest more than
80 feet high; it is surrounded by a lofty embattled wall and fosse,
and defended by a glacis of stone, said to have been added by
Cardinal Wolsey, during the time that he was guardian to Edward, Earl
of Derby, and was the principal residence of that family during the
civil wars; but when the republican army, under Colonels Birch and
Duckenfield, with ten armed vessels, invaded the Island, this
fortress was surrendered at the first summons, and though Lady Derby
was highly enraged, her captivity was softened by the civility and
generosity of the officers. When she left the Island she carried off
the archives which were deposited in the castle, and are supposed to
have been lost. It was formerly the Governor’s residence, and
contains several modern apartments. The business of the Rolls office
and the law courts is transacted, and all the records kept within the
walls. The keep, which is built of hard limestone, forms the only
prison in the Island; it was formerly a very dreary dungeon, in which
prisoners were crowded together in dark and damp chambers; but in
1815 it underwent considerable alterations, and is divided into three
classes, one for debtors, and the other for male and female
criminals. From the summit of the tower there is an extensive
view.
Being
the seat of government, a company of soldiers is always stationed in
Castletown. Near the castle is a neat building in which the business
of the House of Keys is
transacted. The chapel, erected in 1698 by Bishop Wilson, was taken
down in 1826, and the present handsome edifice, dedicated to
St. Mary, has been
built at an expense of £1,600, the incorporated society for
building and enlarging churches and chapels having granted £300.
The interior is well arranged, and contains 1,100 sittings, of which
300 are free. When the old chapel was pulled down, three Roman coins
of Germanicus Agrippina were found carefully deposited in a small
hollow scooped out of free-stone near the place where the ancient
cross stood. The parochial
church is a mile and a half from the town, and contains about 530
sittings, dedicated to St. Lupita, the sister of St. Patrick. The
Wesleyan Methodists
have a neat chapel in Arbory-street, capable of accommodating 500
persons; the Independents meet over the market house, but have no
regular ministry; and the Primitive Methodists have a chapel near the
stone bridge. To each of the Methodist chapels a Sunday school is
attached. The Roman Catholics have built, near the entrance of the
town, a small chapel, but in which service has never yet been
performed, very few families of that persuasion residing in the
neighbourhood: the cost of the building was raised in Ireland.
* This date was found cut in a beam of oak when repairing
the east tower in 1815.
SCHOOLS.
The Free Grammar School of Castletown is conducted by the Rev. G.
S. Parsons, A.M., who generally has from 10 to 15 free scholars. A
salary of about £70 is attached.
The Taubman School has about 40 scholars, 25 of whom are free;
salary £20—James Cain, master.
Catherine Halsall’s School has about 40 scholars, 20 of whom
are free—salary £10— The petty School has 16 scholars,
with a salary of £8 is.
The National Schools are supported by subscription; they contain
106 boys and 90 girls—Mr. Jones, master —salary £30.
Mistress £30.
Leaving Castletown to proceed to the College, by taking the turn
on the right, instead of going by the main road, you pass a ruin
called Mount Strange, once the summer-house of the Derby family, and
near which Captain Christian was shot for surrendering the Island to
Cromwell’s army. [This ruin is given in the foreground of
the view of Castletown.]
was founded in 1830 by the Hon. Cornelius Smelt,
Lieutenant-Governor, the Bishop of the diocese, and other trustees of
property granted by Bishop Barrow in 1668 for the education of young
men to supply the Manks churches, and other pious and charitable
purposes, and which his late Majesty William IV. was graciously
pleased to permit to bear his name. The buildings, partly in the
early English, amid partly in the Elizabethan style, form a spacious
cruciform structure, 210 feet in length from east to west, and 135
feet from north to south: from the intersection raises~ an embattled
tower, 115 feet high, strengthened with buttresses, surmounted by an
octagonal lantern turret, intended for an observatory, having in each
of its faces an elegant lofty window, and crowned with a parapet. The
expense of building the chapel was defrayed from funds collected in
England for the erection of new churches in the Island. There is also
a public lecture room, a large hall for a library,
four large class rooms, and houses for the masters containing
numerous apartments for the accommodation of pupils, and every
requisite arrangement for the purposes of the institution. The
principal and other masters must be members of the church of England
and graduates of the universities. The masters are allowed to receive
pupils as boarders. The college was opened in 1833. The pupils
already admitted are numerous. His Excellency The Governor, the Lord
Bishop, and the Attorney General have each founded prizes to be
contended for at the midsummer vacation.
DERBYHAVEN
is a small village about a quarter of a mile from the college, and
is principally known for possessing an excellent harbour. A fort was
erected at its entrance by the Earls of Derby for defending it, the
tower of which has fallen to ruins. A part of the old
chapel still remains, from which a light is shown during the
herring fishery. The Roman Catholics still use this spot in which to
inter their dead. Langness, an extensive neck of low land, adjoins,
on which is a land mark to warn mariners of their danger.
ENVIRONS OF CASTLETOWN.
The neighbouring country around Castletown is level and fertile,
and the parish in which it is situated, contains some of the richest
soil in the Island. At the outskirts of the town you pass a
wind-mill, the only one on the Island, at present rented by Mr. Cain.
The first residence of note is Ballakeighin, Mrs. Quilham’s, on
the right; and then Balladoole, Capt. Wood’s, on the left. Near
this estate is Poolvash, where is a fine quarry of Manks
marble, much used for chimney-pieces, and from which the steps of
St. Paul’s, London, were taken, and presented by Bishop Wilson,
to the Dean and Chapter. The limestone beds here are very extensive,
and great quantities are burnt for manure. At this place is a large
current of saltwater issuing from the rocks above highwater mark; it
is as salt as sea water, and the current is never diminished by the
driest seasons. The source from which it proceeds has never been
discovered. On the rising ground between Balladoole and the sea are
the ruins of an old chapel called Kiel Vael. Proceeding westward, you
pass Kentraugh, the seat of Edw. M. Gawne, Esq., of the House
of Keys. The gardens here are very extensive, and hothouse fruit
raised to great perfection: there is a large rabbit warren opposite
the house -. which commands fine sea views, and over-looks both
Poolvash and Port St.. Mary’s bays. A little further is Mount
Gawne, belonging to Mrs. Connell, Taking the shore road you soon
arrive at
PORT -ST. MARY.
which is a small fishing town, The harbour has beer lunch
improved by the exertion of the late Mr. E. Gawne. Considerable
quantities of lime are burnt in the neighbourhood and exported to
various parts of the Island. ‘When not employed in agricultimie
the inhabitants spend most of their time in fishiing for cod and
lobsters, which latter are exported principally to Dublin; near to
this port is the bold promontory of Spanish head, which, being rent
in some places by tremendous chasms three hundred feet in height, is
well worthy the attention of the traveller; the fissures are several
feet wide in the solid rock, and in many parts the bottom cannot be
seen.—Leaving Port St. Mary, keeping to the left, you shortly
reach
PORT ERIN,
which derives its name from being opposite Ireland. it is a small
fishing village with an excellent bay. The copper
and lead mines of Bradda Head are about one mile distant, and run
nearly north and south, near to the sea shore, and have been proved
by Cornish miners, to
be as strong as any lode ever discovered in Cornwall, with a large
body of gossan upon the top of them. The company to whom they belong
seldom work them, their attention being principally directed to The
Foxdale mines. Boats are generally taken at; this place by those who
wish to make an excursion to
THE CALF,
the large of the rocky islets surrounding the coast it is nearly
five miles in circumference, and comprises an area of more thou 600
acres; in the middle of the Calf Sound is- an Island called
Kitterland, whereon-sheep are fed. On the western side, the cliffs
rise, in perpendicular masses, to the height of 400 feet, and its
summit, which commands an extensive view of the Welsh, Scotch, and
Irish mountains, is 500 feet above the level of the sea. On the
south-side of the Calf is a very large mass of rock called the Burrow
or Barrow, in its form resembling- a lofty tower, and separated from
the other masses by an opening of romantic ap pearance: near it is
another called the Eye, perforated by a natural arch resembling the
eye of a needle, from which circumstance it has its name. These
precipices are tenanted by a great variety of water-fowl, sitting in
tiers and adorning with their white breasts the dark and towering
rocks. On the edge of an awful precipice, is the remains of’ a
hermitage, said to have been the retreat of a person in Queen
Elizabeth’s reign, who imposed on himself a residence in this
dreary solitude as a penance for having killed a beautiful woman in a
fit of jealousy. A sea-bird, called a
puffin, formerly hatched its young in the rabbit burrows; being
extremely fat and of a pecular flavour, they were held in great
esteem by some persons as a delicacy; but these birds have
disappeared, not an individual is now bred in the Island. Two
handsome light-houses
have been erected here for the protection of vessels navigating the
Irish seas; they are distant from each other 560 feet, the lower is
305, and the upper 396 feet above the level of the sea; they are
furnished with double revolving lights, which make the revolution in
two minutes, like stars of the first magnitude, and at their greatest
splendour may be seen at the distance of seven leagues—the
bearing of the upper light is north-east, half east from the
dangerous sunken rocks called the Chickens, from which it is nearly a
mile and a half distant.
The Calf Island is the property of Mrs. Drinkwater. The tenant
makes the principal part of his rent by the sale of rabbits, which
are numerous, there being be tween 1500 and 2000 killed in the winter
season.
The distance from Port Erin is about three miles; the shore to it
is bold and steep. The soil is not very fertile, but everything bears
the character of the sub lime, tending to raise the bolder emotions
of the mind. The tide runs with fearful rapidity through the chan nel
between the main land and the Calf. In fine wea ther the visitor will
be delighted with a trip to this interesting spot.
In returning, the traveller should visit Fairy Hill, a little west
from Rushen Church, one of
the finest barrows on the Island, situated in a low morass. The hill
is a truncated cone 40 feet high, and 150 yards in circumference,
surrounded by a deep and wide ditch; on the summit is a circular
excavation, with a regular parapet. According to the ancient modes of
warfare, it must have been almost impregnable, all access to which
might have been prevented by inundating the morass. Within a mile of
this hill are the Giant’s Quoiting Stones, two huge masses of
unhewn clay slate, about ten feet high, three wide, and two
thick.
Proceeding to Peel, or returning to Castletown, you take the road
by Colby, and pass Ballagawne, Edw. Gawne, Esq.; Bell-abbey, M.
Dawson, Esq., and the village of Colby- with its glen, a mile up from
which are some interesting Drudical remains of semi-circles formed by
moss-grown stones, erect and of considerable magnitude, and some
tumuli; then the parish Church
of Arbory, and close by the handsome villa of Parville, G. Quirk,
Esq., Receiver-general of the Island, and then Crescent Cottage, T.
Moore, Esq. and turn into the main road to Peel or Castletown; but
the traveller is recommended to stop at Castletown for the night, and
start to Peel next morning, as the preceding excursion will fully
occupy one day.
