[From Manx Soc vol 30]

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE.

This list of the Householders in Douglas in 1730, is one of the documents in possession of the Manx Society, but it does not appear on what occasion or for what purpose it was taken. It is a curious record of all the names of the residents in the town at that period, with the number of their children, servants, and lodgers. From this may be traced many of the ancestors of those living in the town and neighbourhood at the present day, which, on reference to the church registers at Braddan and Onchan, would fill up many a broken link in the pedigree of Manx families at the present time.

It is to be regretted that the names of the various streets and lanes in the town were not given, by which the residences could have been more easily recognised, and the editor is not aware of the existence of any plan of the town before that of Taggart's in 1834, a century after that of the list here given.

The gradual, and in more recent times, the rapid, increase of inhabitants in the town of Douglas will be seen by the statements given from various sources until that of the last census in 1871. From these it will be observed there has ever been a large preponderance of females to males, owing, probably, to the latter being in many instances engaged in a seafaring life, and from home when the account was taken.

NUMBER OF SOULS IN DOUGLAS, ISLE OF MAN, from a Paper of Bishop Wilson in 1726 ¹.

Douglas 810

ACCOUNT OF THE NUMBER OF SOULS IN DOUGLAS, as returned by the Clergy in 1757 ².

Married couples 298
Widowers 41
Widows 83
Adult single men 186
Adult single women 298
Males under sixteen 302
Females under sixteen 308
1516

A RETURN Of the NUMBER Of INHABITANTS in the TOWN of DOUGLAS, made by order of EDWARD SMITH, Governor, by THOMAS W. J. WOODS, Vicar of Braddan, 29th January, 1784 .³

Married Couples 445
Widowers 116
Widows 236
Adult single men 236
Adult single women 311
Males under sixteen 522
Females under sixteen 545

Total 2411

The taking of the census every ten years commenced in the island in 1811.

In this account of the householders in Douglas in 1730, it will not be out of place to repeat the quaint description of their houses as given by Mr. William Blundell who visited the island in 1648.⁴ "The houses are of one fashion, low built, being not contiguous, much less continuous; in placing of 'em observing no order either of uniformity or proportion. The materials of these structures are of small stones and lime, as those in the country, and tliatch'd as those also, with this only difference, that these are two stories high, that is, they have an upper room above the lower, which the country houses for the most part have not ; the lower rooms they call cellars, for they have none underground ; their upper rooms they call lofts, and they are long and narrow, which they thus order, in the middle is the door; over against that on the other side there are commonly placed two beds at each end of the room, one on the other side: at the upper end of all is the chimney. Some (and but some of these lofts are ceiled overhead and plastered) of these are let out unto passengers for lodging chambers. The doors and windows of their lofts are made very low, and the walls very thick, so that these rooms commonly are not so lightsome as you may desire, but of purpose are they thus contrived and for warmth, and to keep out the bitter cold and bleak winds which in the'winter season are there very frequent and boisterous. Every townsman there, tho' never so poor, hath commonly two, but some which are the shop keepers have three, Of these houses, whereof one is for himself and his family, both for his kitchen, dining, and lodging room, for himself, wife, children, and servants ; the second house in its up er part serveth for a warehouse, underneath is a shop ; in the third house, below he placeth his barrels of beer, the barreled herrings, and powdered beef, and for all other conirnodities wherewith he trafficketh, besides all his other lumber; the loft above is furnished to let out to passengers that arrive there, or otherwise to feast his friends in and for entertainment. But of this relation you may make this observation, that though the houses, in these towns were many, yet the inhabitants are few, because of these three houses which the shopkeepers have, two of them are not inhabited, but are otherwise employed, and the owner and his family live only in the third. There are many shopkeepers in every town. There are not, nor is there any need of sicns to be hanged out, to show or demonstrate these houses to be inns or alehouses, for, for the most part every house there entertaineth lodgers, and is a kind of tavern.

Though the houses are two stories high, yet do they not go up out of the lower room into the loft above, for there are no stairs within whereby you might mount lip thither, or whereby, from above, to descend into the lower room or cellar, as they call it; but if you desire to go up into the loft above you must ascend up thither by stony steps or stairs placed to the outside of the house, so at your going in or cominc, out you pass not through any other room nor any part of the house, but out of this room above, call it a chamber or any other name you please, you descend into the open court or highways, whether it rains or snows, or in what weather soever."

Bishop Wilson, in his History of the Isle of Man,⁶ speaking of Douglas, says-" It is much the richest town, the best market, and most populous of any in the whole island; it has of late years increased in its trade ; it has done so in its buildings. There are a neat chapel, a public school. several good houses, and excellent vaults and cellars for merchants' goods; but anybody that sees it would wish that authority had interposed to have made the buildings and streets more regular."

Bishop Wilson's wish that " authority had interposed to have made the buildings and streets more regular," has at length been carried out in the recent improvements of new streets, and the erection of the " Loch Parade," which has had the effect of turning Douglas to the right about, and now facing one of the most beautiful bays in Her Majesty's dominions.

WILLIAM HARRISON.

ROCK MOUNT, June 1878.

Footnotes

1 Commissioners' Report, 1792. Appendix (B) No. 89.

2 Ibid. No. 90.

3 Ibid. No. 91.

4 Manx Society Publications, vol. xxv., p. 68 and pp. 57-76.

5 It first appeared in the 2d edition of Bishop Gibson's Camden's Britannia, 1722.

LIST OF HOUSEHOLDERS
IN THE
TOWN OF DOUGLAS, ISLE OF MAN, A.D. 1730.

[A fuller list can be found in the Register of Douglas Chapel (St Matthew's)
As in the 1754 Castletown list the order of householders reflects the geographical location of the house.]

Any comments, errors or omissions gratefully received The Editor HTML Transcription © F.Coakley , 2006