by
G. Gilbert Gresswell B.A., Vicar.
THE HISTORICAL PART of the following booklet has been selected from a large
quantity of material accumulated in spare hours during the past three years.
I acknowledge with gratitude, the help of the Manx Museum staff and the Manx
Electric Railwayoffice. Mr. and Mrs. David Boreland of Old Laxey Hill, Mr.
R. K. Partington of Ramsey Road, and Mr. Robert Corkill of Agneash have been
a great help with their personal memories reaching back over 70 years. I thank
Mr. W. R. Kermode for the loan of Dr. Bradbury's Guide to Laxey of 1876, and
Mr. W. Mears for Jenkinson's Guide
to the Isle of Man of 1874. Limited space has compelled rigid selection
of material, and I am sorry that some interesting contributions have had to
be deft out. Later on, I hope to work on a detailed thesis which may be handed
to the Manx Museum for reference. I should be glad of any corrections and of
any material that might be of use.
G. GILBERT GRESSWELL. May, 1963.
A RIVER'S MOUTH, a high bluff headland, a sandy beach, and hills swiftly sloping down to the sea — such geography has favoured human settlement from the beginning and goes far to account for the origins of Laxey. The river and the sea provided food for the taking. The cape afforded shelter and the rudiments of a harbour. The beach and the flat land offered space for boats and buildings. The slope of the hills favoured a road down from the heights on each side of the glen. Stone and timber were at hand. In such a spot people could live in some degree of safety and prosperity. There was always the hope of flotsam and jetsam, the luckless wreck and the smuggler's loot. The sea caves and the forest would hide illicit goods from the eye of the lord's agent.
The names Lax-voe, Laxa, Laxi, and Laxey, by which the settlement was known down the ages prove the abundance of salmon in sea and river. The bay also swarmed with carp, conger, gurnet, plaice, cod and mackerel, and there was an oyster bed north of the cape. By the river's side there had been a track from immemorial time, leading up to the higher lands where crops could be raised and sheep and cattle grazed. The one road on this side of the Island between Castletown and Ramsey dipped steeply from the heights of Lonan to the estuary and climbed again to the heights of Ballaragh. Until recent times Douglas itself was a similar settlement to that of Laxey, and the two villages offered convenient stages for travellers and soldiers on the east coast road. Here horses might be changed and stabled, and travellers might rest and refresh themselves at an inn. The inn, the smithy, the cottages, caves, stores and boats give a picture of what old Lax-voe looked like for centuries. To the north, above the area now known as Minorca, was, and still is, an orderly collection of great stones which might have been so arranged as far back as 1700 to 1800 years before Christ. We call it King Orry's Grave, but it is certain that it was already many centuries old before Orry appeared on the scene. Similar monuments have been found all round the coasts of Western Europe. They belong to the late Stone Age and may have had something to do with the search for metal ores by the more advanced peoples of the Middle East then emerging into the Bronze Age. They may also have religious significance, and they could have been burial grounds.
THIS FISHING, staging, and smuggling village might have remained a cluster near the beach until the coming of the holidaymaker, had it not been for the discovery of rich lodes of lead ore in the rock beneath the foothills of Snaefell. Mining for lead had been going on in the Island as early as the thirteenth century, perhaps earlier. In 1291 John Comyn, Earl of Buchan, received licence from Edward I to get lead here to cover eight towers of his castle in Galloway. Sir John Stanley gave order in Tynwald in 1422: "That my mine be set forward by my Lieutenant-Receiver and Comptroller for my best profit, and they see the miner do his duty." Bishop Wilson, who lived from 1663 to 1755, recorded that the lead mines had been wrought to good advantage, many hundreds of tons having been exported to England for smelting. But it is unlikely that any of these references applied to the Laxey area.
There is, however, a shaft of the Great Laxey Mine which was always known as "the Welsh Shaft," and the origin of this name is accounted for by an oral tradition which says that about the middle of the eighteenth century a party of Welshmen landed at Laxey in a smack and went prospecting for metal in the hills. They found a lode and employed local men as labourers. As they were short of money they left with a cargo, promising to return and pay the men when they had sold it. Perhaps they were wrecked or could not sell at sufficient profit; but they never returned. Their visit, nevertheless, had directed attention to the presence of lead ore in the district. Someone, we know not who, sought and was granted a lease to mine for lead in May, 1781. Doubtless they continued where the Welshmen had left off. Otherwise the name of this shaft is hard to account for.
Various individuals and companies mined for lead with only moderate success until the year 1850. Nothing on a large scale could be done unless the water, which flowed copiously into the valley and welled up in the diggings, could be dealt with. Capital, technical skill, engineering experience and enterprise were needed. They were supplied by a group of men who pooled their resources and founded the Laxey Mining Company. Their names were George William Dumbell, Henry Bloom Noble, James Spittail, William Beckwith, and Richard Rowe. Rowe was a Cornishman who brought a long experience of mining and mining tradition from the tin mines. They engaged a Manxman, Robert Casement, an engineer of genius, as secretary to the company. Interest was quickened when it was found that the ore contained a certain amount of silver. Perhaps there were vast fortunes beneath the fair foothills of Snaefell.
Some of the runs were worth about £30 per fathom, and richer lodes at deeper levels were believed to exist. The demand for lead was greater than the supply, and the prospect of quick returns brought miners from Cornwall, Wales and Scotland to the Laxey district. Further discoveries of lead were made between Snaefell and the Creg, and in Glen Ruy to the West of Laxey, and these began to be worked by companies or private individuals. Between 500 and 600 men were at work by 1850 and the population increased from a few hundreds to over 2,000.
Thus the upper village sprang into existence. Cottages for the miners and houses for the officials were built in Mines Road, Baldhoon Road, the Glen, Agneish and in odd sheltered places. The influx accounts for the many Cornish, Welsh, Scottish and English names, some of which still survive in the district and in the Island generally.
By 1853 operations had reached a depth of 50 fathoms or 300 feet below adit level, and the Laxey mine had four or five levels tunnelling into tthe rock. The most urgent problem now was how to deal with the water. Unless something could be done about it on a grand scale deeper excavation would be impossible. The directors met in 1853 to discuss the matter. An oral tradition has preserved the story of the meeting. When all methods known at that time had been thoroughly discussed, and it seemed that something like an impasse had been reached, Robert Casement intervened to say that he had an idea that if only a sufficient quantity of surface water could be concentrated into a head it might be made to turn a wheel capable of pumping water from depths hitherto considered impossible. He was requested to study the resources of the catchment area and get the idea on paper as quickly as possible. He surveyed the streams and contours on this side of the mountain, showed how it was feasible to conduct many water-courses into a single reservoir, pipe the water down a steep incline, and make it turn a giant wheel which would develop sufficient power to lift any amount of water from any depth which might be reached. Casement was able to demonstrate his idea to the complete satisfaction of the company, and the necessary capital was voted. Within little more than twelve months the largest water wheel in the world was constructed, and was set in motion on September 27th, 1854, in the presence of Governor Charles Hope and a vast crowd of people. It was named "Lady Isabella" after the Governor's wife.
The technical details of the wheel, and indeed of the whole mining system, have been studied by engineers, and all details may be read in the many publications gathered in the Manx Museum. In barest outline — all that is necessary here — we may repeat that the wheel has a circumference of 228 feet, is 72.4 feet in diameter, is 6 feet broad, made 24 revolutions a minute, developed 200 horse power, and could lift 250 gallons of water from a depth of 1,800 feet every minute. Its 192 buckets each had 20 gallons capacity. The axle is 17 feet long, 21 inches in diameter, and weighs 10 tons. The whole weighs about 100 tons. With a 10-foot stroke at the crank it had a vertical pump action of 8 feet. Under Casement's supervision the wheel was set so exactly that it deflected less than one-eighth of an inch from true. This masterpiece of engineering, like many others, has a beauty of its own. During the 113 years of its existence millions of tourists have been to see it, thousands of engravings and paintings made of it, and it is still the admiration of engineering historians. (In 1938 it might have been dismantled and sold for scrap, but Mr. E. C. Kneale, a Laxey builder, bought it and preserved it. For this the whole Island is grateful. The wheel has great historical interest and is one of the attractions of the Isle of Man.) The Tourist Board took it over in 1966.
With the aid of this mighty wheel, the Laxey Mining Company were able to delve deeper and deeper in the faith that richer deposits of lead lay waiting for the miner's pick and shovel. But more capital was needed; so in 1862 the directors added to their number and formed themselves into the new Great Laxey Mining Company with a capital of £60,000 in 15,000 shares of £4 each, promising dividends of between 12 and 15 per cent. The prospectus shows how far the mine had already been developed. "At 45- fathom level there is a run of ore ground laid out for 40 fathoms long worth on average £30 per fathom. In a sump now sinking below the 50- fathom level the lode is worth £100 per fathom." Soon the mine became the most extensive and productive in the British Isles. Within 30 years it had 21 levels, reached 330 fathoms below ground or 302 below adit level — a depth of nearly 2,000 feet. Some levels pierced more than two miles into the mountain. The Snaefell mine had ten levels, the lowest at 1,000 feet.
The water which flowed from the many streamlets into the reservoir was made to work hard all the way from its mountain site to the moment it entered the sea. The whole Glen was a hive of activity. Wagons conveyed the ore on rails from the various heads to the washing floors between Captain's Hill and the Ramsey road. Here were the giant crushing plants, the "iboodles" twenty feet in diameter, which washed the lighter material away and left the lead on the bottom and the blende on top. The deposit could be cut with a knife like a cake. Five-ton wagons then took it to the quay where it was shot into the holds of ships and taken to South Wales for smelting. Some of these vessels were owned by the company, some were chartered. The "Reliance," one of the Company's ships, ran on to Grasholm Island in fog and was lost — September 29th, 1880. Another, on charter, was wrecked on Laxey Quay in 1888.
For some years after the new company was formed in 1862, prospects remained bright, even dazzling. In '63 the value of the ore won amounted to £400,000. Owing to the presence of silver in it the price paid was smelted market price. £28,000 was paid out to shareholders that year. This may seem good to us, but it was not up to expectation, and nothing like what was to come. In '64 a new lode, far richer than anything yet found in the British Isles, was opened, and £120,000 was paid out. Shares rose to £14.10.0 each on the London market. The ceiling was reached in 1868 — the year of the "big find" — when a dividend of 50 per cent. was declared and shares rose to £20 each.
Handsome profits, however, did not automatically secure the popularity of the directors, for at the shareholders' meeting of 1867 one Thomas Thompson laid charges of corruption against the chairman, G. W. Dumbell, who strenuously denied them. Perhaps the wonderful results of 1868 allayed any suspicion, and nothing more is heard for seven years. By 1874 there were 700 shareholders, 200 of whom, we are told, were women and clergymen. In that year, Richard Sherwood, a lawyer and later Deemster, laid charges of corruption and mismanagement against the directors, who, he alleged, had been feathering their own nests at the expense of the shareholders in matters of banking, rents, and shipping. Careful research would be needed now to verify the truth or falsity of these charges, but some colour might have been given to them by the fact that Mr. Dumbell was the banker of the company, owned property in Laxey, and doubtless had investments in the shipping. There were few financial pies in the Island in which he had no finger. But against the allegations we must put the fact that Dumbell continued to influence the Island's life prosperously until his death in 1887; and it is unlikely that a man of doubtful integrity would have been trusted so long with so much.
Sherwood demanded an investigation, and although his resolution was carried by the shareholders it was defeated by the directors. Mr. Dumbell stuck it out against enmity and calumny. He needed all the courage he could muster, for in 1879 came the long and bitter strike which brought the mine to a standstill and cost the company many thousands of pounds.
To understand the issues involved it is necessary to gain some insight into the life of the miner of those days. A miner was a man who could claim some experience and skill in his craft. He was engaged by the captain of the mine by contract, an oral agreement entered in the captain's book, and reviewed at the end of each month. The company rented a certain letting to the miner carefully defined in the contract for which he would be paid so much per fathom of ore won. The miner must provide his own candles, dynamite, and tools, and pay any labourers he needed out of his contract yield. The company kept a vigilant watch on the yield of any particular drive and renewed the contracts accordingly, always taking care to offer no more than the yield might warrant.
The mines were worked round the clock on two shifts from 6 a.m. on Mon- days to noon on Saturdays. Descent into the Great Laxey mine was by four ladder-ways at different points and by water hoist. You entered the ladder- shaft by a "scuttle" two feet square, and the shaft widened to about eight feet square. The water hoist was worked by gravity. You stepped on to a baulk on its left hand side, were lowered several feet, stepped off, then on to the next baulk as it moved up. Coming up you took the right hand side. Most had to use the ladders, or they would be too far from their working. The ladders ranged from 80 to 100 feet in length, were almost vertical, and had a resting place at the foot of each. It took the better part of an hour ito descend to the lowest level. You then lit more candles in addition to the one you had stuck in your hard hat, bored for dynamiting, clayed in your dynamite, set fuses of straw filled with powder, lighted them with paper soaked in tallow, and ran for shelter. When the smoke had cleared some- what you shovelled the rock to the lifting shaft. You ate your lunch when you liked. After ten hours in the dopths, unless you were near the hoist, you climbed nearly 2,000 feet of ladder — a distance equal to a walk from the beach halfway up Snaefell. Home might then be some miles away, and you walked it.
In 1874, or thereabouts, the directors stated that the average earnings of all underground men was 26s. a week. On the face of it this compared well with the minimum wages of those days, 15s. or less; but this included candles, dynamite, and tools. Some fortunate men received far more than the average, partly owing to their skill, partly to the luck of the game, but most had far less. Payments were made monthly, and it often happened that when a miner had paid his expenses he would have only a few shillings with which to face the next four or five weeks. A few miners could buy their own cottages and live comfortably, whilst others were in a chronic state of debt and poverty. After paying their tick at the shops they immediately began to incur debt again.
In 1878 the directors proposed a new system of contract payment which the miners could not accept. They deeply resented the proposal, though on what grounds is not clear. They petitioned the company to continue on the old terms. The directors replied that they would consult their English directors; but before a reply could be had, the miners went on strike — Monday, March 24th, 1879. The company regarded this as a breach of contract, but refrained from prosecution. After sixteen weeks of idleness and a loss to the company of £6,000, the directors tried to break the strike by importing miners from Wales. On a Wednesday afternoon nineteen Welshmen landed at Douglas, were given a good tea and conveyed to Laxey. Here they were met by the strikers, who explained the situation to them and persuaded them to return home, which they did on the Friday with fares paid by the Laxey men. This proceeding angered the directors and stiffened their determination. The stoppage dragged on for several more weeks and the miners were forced to return to work on terms even less favourable than before. We can imagine the bitterness of their defeat. The rewards for the directors and investors were handsome, but those of the men who endured the toil and discipline of the mine were barely sufficient to keep them alive.
Things might have been better had the prophecies of G. W. Dumbell been fulfilled. In 1869 he foretold that the productivity of the mine would increase and continue for many generations.
Events contradicted him. From that year onward the yield declined. Shares fell, wages fell, confidence waned — gradually but steadily; so that by 1902 the company could declare a profit of no more than £300. Even this was misleading, for more than half of this sum was money taken for admission to the wheel, which, until then, had been paid into the Poor Miners' Relief Fund. Every penny was needed; the levels were being flooded, equipment was in a bad way. Nothing less than a complete modernisation of method and lay-out could reverse the decline; but there was no confidence, and therefore no capital.
To continue the story to the end — the mine did manage to drag on a miserable existence for another thirty-one years. A new lease on reduced royalties was obtained and some new money was found; but new and rich lodes of lead were not found. In 1922 the mine was advertised for auction, but Robert Williamson bought it privately before the date of sale and made a gallant effort to save it for the sake of the village. But within a few weeks a fire destroyed the washing floor and put out of work the fourteen miners still working below ground. By 1928 the position was so desperate that the Government lent Williamson £4,000 in the hope that he might find a lode worth working, but nothing had been found by 1933. So the mine was closed and is now in ruins.
The closure ended a chapter in the history of Laxey which lasted 152 years, industrialised it, increased its population five or six times over, and left it with giant heaps of spoil which disfigured its beauty, until, during the Second World War, they were needed to form base for the airports. Had it not been for the rise of the holiday industry, the development of transport, and a handful of small industries, we may assume that it would have reverted to the small settlement of former ages.
We must not leave the subject of the mining without reference to a tragic happening which took place at the Snaefell mine on Monday, May 10th, 1897. This mine had ten levels, the lowest at 171 fathoms, or 1,026 feet. The day-shift men assembled at the head at 6 a.m. and went down one by one on the ladder, the rest waiting their turn. For some time everything seemed normal, but then there was a sudden commotion as of men scrambling and gasping up the ladder. A terror-stricken face appeared at the mouth of the shaft and the man had to be hauled out, for he was fast losing consciousness. Two or three more managed to get to the top. They said that either the mine was on fire or the air had become poisonous for some reason. They had felt themselves losing strength, became dizzy, had to fight for breath. Nine or ten men managed to get out, but over twenty were still down.
Mine-captain Kewley, a man still remembered for his fine character and mining skill, kept a level head, organised a rescue party which he himself led, and descended the ladder. The shaft had three sections, one for the "kibble" for bringing up the ore, one for ventilation, a third for the ladder. The ventilation shaft brought up nothing but foul air and the rescue party were quickly baffled and forced to get out again, some of them almost unconscious. It was known that no men were on the first two levels, and that four were on the 60-fathom level. All efforts were concentrated on reaching that level. The rescue party was changed several times, but Captain Kewley went down every time. The strange thing was that the candles burned bright and clear. At last the 60-fathom level was reached and four men found, three unconscious and one dead. One old man, John Corlett, was revived by stimulants and hauled by ropes to the surface. This was not until 2 p.m., eight hours afiter the descent.
Meanwhile, two air compressors had been brought to blow fresh air downwards, and holes were knocked in the ventilation pipes to clear the shaft. But it was not until 11 p.m. that properly equipped and organized rescue parties could be assembled. Remember that there were no telephones, and the journey from Snaefell to Douglas would take an hour. A diver was brought from Douglas and hose pipe was sent by the Steam Packet Company. The Laxey company sent a box specially made for hauling bodies. At 6 a.m. on the Tuesday, twenty-four hours after the accident, the 74-fathom level was reached, and the body of Robert Cannell was brought up in the box. It took many hours to bring up the rest — nineteen in all, two of whom were brothers, and two a father and his son.
The official investigation into the cause of the disaster failed to assign a conclusive cause; but it was probable that a miner had left his candle burning near to some dynamite as he left for home on the Saturday noon, and that this had smouldered without exploding throughout the week-end. Captain Kewley was highly commended for his great courage in descending the mine time after time and never leaving the scene until the last body had been raised. With him was Dr. Miller, the Laxey physician. It was owing to them that the death roll was not greater, for of the thirty-four men who went down fifteen were recovered alive.
THE ANCIENT PARISH OF ALL SAINTS, LONAN, covered a very wide area of coast and hill country stretching from Onchan on the south to Maughold on the north, and half way across the Island, including Snaefell mountain. Apart from the Laxey area it was sparsely peopled, and by 1850 there were more people in the river valley than in all the rest of Lonan put together. The way from Laxey to Lonan Church was long, steep and exposed; it was natural that the Laxey people should wish for a church nearer to their homes. George William Dumbell was most sympathetic, and, in fact, "felt it his duty" to provide additional church accommodation for them. But there must have been some argument with the Vicar of Lonan as to the status of the new church within his parish. Incumbents do not like to have their parishes whittled away. However, the living of Lonan fell vacant in 1853, and the opportunity was taken to ensure some measure of independence for Laxey. The new incumbent, Thomas Caine, had to sign and deliver an undertaking, as a condition of his acceptance of the living, that the proposed new church should be under the provisions of the amended Church Building Act of 1845. In other words, he had to agree that the Bishops of Sodor and Man should have the right to appoint chaplains to the Laxey Church. So, although Laxey would still be within the bounds of the Lonan parish, its chaplains would not be regarded simply as assistants to the Vicar of Lonan, but would possess a status somewhere between an incumbent and a curate.
The foundation stone of the new church, already designated Christ Church, Laxey, was laid by the Right Honourable and Right Reverend Lord Aukland, Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man, sometime during 1854; and so far as the structure was concerned was completed the following year. But it was not until May 27th, 1856, that the building was consecrated by Bishop Horatio Powys. On the same day an indenture was signed by G. W. Dumbell and his wife Mary, on the one part, and the Bishop on the other, the witnesses being:the Rev. Hugh Stowell Gill and Arthur Bluett, conveying the building and a portion of land "seven yards wide from every projection " to the Bishop in consideration of the sum of 5/-. It was agreed that the building and land should be held in trust by the said Bishop, to be consecrated according to the forms of the Church of England to be used for the performance of Divine Service according to the rites and ceremonies of that Church. No other building was ever to be erected within sixty feet of it. Mr. Dumbell granted a right of way through his own land — he had bought it from William Mylrea, junior, in 1850.
The indenture included a provision that all the sittings should be free, and that all offerings taken at the services, except those at Holy Communion and those earmarked for some special purpose, should be handed to the agent of the mining company or to Mr. Dumbell to be held in trust for the repair of furnishings and fittings.
The cost of the building was £550. The Laxey Mining Company gave £200, the Commissioners for Woods and Forests £200, Bishop Aukland £20, Archdeacon Moore £10, and the Society for Promoting Church Building £120.
An engraving published by J. Mylrea in June, 1855, shows the beauty of the church in its original setting. The trees which now surround and hide it had not yet grown, and the nearest building to it was the mine captain's house, now the Station Hotel, which was then much larger and ranked as "a noble mansion." The space now occupied by the station was. a wide, smooth lawn. A row of pillars extended from the north side of the church to the high road. Whereas it is now difficult to distinguish the building from any viewpoint, it was then a prominent feature of the landscape from hill and glen.
The first Chaplain of Laxey was Hugh Stowell Gill, a remarkable man, whose biography may be read in the Manx Museum. At the date of his appointment there was no parsonage house for him; but on the very same day as the church was consecrated another indenture was signed by the same people. It conveyed from George William and Mary Dumbell to the Bishop "a certain parcel of land, part of the quarterland of Baldrine, and containing about 1,815 square yards, together with a right of road alongside the high road not exceeding 15 feet in width." On this, "as soon as the requisite funds are available" the Bishop was to cause a good and sufficient dwelling house and offices to be erected. The plan attached to the indenture shows that the right of road referred to afforded a drive from near the end of Dumbell's Terrace up to the front of the parsonage. A portion of the original garden wall may still be seen at the front gate, and this wall extended along the line of the present railings at the road side. In 1897, the tramway station was built on the land between the mansion and the church, and in order to bring the Snaefell section into the station it was necessary to take away the parson's drive and a slice of his garden. This explains the very high retaining wall now seen in front of the house.
Hugh Stowell Gill was Chaplain from 1856 to 1859, and was succeeded by M. A. Pierpoint, who stayed only two years. Then came Joseph Bellamy, whose ministry lasted for the record period of eighteen years. Dr. John Bradbury, in his " Guide to Laxey," 1876, describes him as " gentleman Whose extraordinary eloquence and urbanity of manners has endeared him not only to his own flock but to the great majority of right-minded Manxmen." Laxey then had four chaplains in only eight years, none of whom are remembered. In 1887 came John M. Spicer, who stayed eight years. It was during his ministry, as we shall see, that Laxey began to cater for holiday-makers in good earnest. From 1895 to 1917 there were four more chaplains — C. H. Leece, W. E. Davies, W. H. Gibson and S. R. Ward. The Bishop then offered the living to Robert Cain, but Mr. Cain was already a vicar and hesitated to accept a chaplaincy. The members, how- ever, petitioned that Laxey should be made a parish in its own right, and this was done, Robert Cain being its first vicar. His nine years' ministry is still most gratefully remembered, for he was a saintly man who spent himself and his resources in the service of Laxey in a time of its greatest anxieties. The first Great War, the decline of the mining, and the poverty of the people called for a self sacrificing ministry, and Robert Cain was the man to answer the call. "He was a wealthy man, but not so wealthy when he left Laxey," says an aged parishioner.
Of the routine life of the church from its consecration in 1856 to the year 1891 there are few records; but when the Manx Church Magazine was first published in the latter year we have glimpses of what must have been going on during the previous era. The evangelistic movements of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries had brought the masses back to church and chapel. There was great enthusiasm for reform and education. The mines were still doing well, though not so well as had been hoped. There was no cheap and easy transport from Laxey to Douglas and Ramsey. Working people could not afford the coach fares, and if they had reason to go to other places they had to walk. The community was obliged to see to its own cultural and social life, and to amuse itself by its own talent. The Manx Church Magazine of 1891 and onward lifts the curtain upon a community life centred in the churches and full of eager activity. The Reverend John Spicer was giving a series of lectures on Church History. There were two thriving Working Men's Institutes wherein serious discussion went on on the great questions of the day. During the year ending at Easter, 1891, no fewer than sixty-eight persons were confirmed in Laxey Church. The May Festival of Flowers and Song was evidently a long-established event. In this a choir of 150 voices took part. It was announced that "on Whit Sunday members of the Juvenile Guild will be catechised in the presence of the congregation." This ceremony was reported in the June magazine: "The members wearing their regalia walked in procession from the infant school, occupied seats in the aisle, and were publicly catechised." The mere suggestion of such a thing today would cause consternation, but it was the order of the day seventy years ago.
The Sunday School met at 10 a.m. and 2.30 on Sundays, but there was also a Bible Class at 2.30. The Band of Hope met on alternate Wednesdays, a Juvenile Guild on Thursdays. Two Harvest Festivals were held each year, one for the miners, the other for the farmers. There was a Convention for the Deepening of the Spiritual Life that August, and it was a stirring and joyful event for the whole village. Evangelistic services were held at the mines during dinner hours. The Sunday School picnic in 1891 was a thrilling event, although nothing more than that "the children all met in church and marched to Laxey Glen Gardens in procession." The Choir and Teachers' outing — thirty-three persons in all — was a drive by wagonette to Wallberry to see the newly opened Marine Drive, after which they went to Belvedere Temperance Hotel in Douglas for tea and spent the evening in its recreation room. Besides the Institutes there was a Laxey Mutual Improvement Society, a Church Lads' Brigade, and many debates. Choir practice was pleasant routine.
There were concerts a-plenty, and good value for money if length is anything to judge by. At the May Festival in 1892 the programme began:
Recitation —"An address of Welcome" ...................... Jabez Corkill
Action Song — How we have to hear the bells" ......... Infant Choir
Recitiation — Santa Claus...................... ....................Children
Recitation — "May Queen" Part I. ......................... ....Bella. Crowe
Action Song — "Charlie has a Fiddle" ........................ Infant Choir
Recitation —" May Queen": Part II ............................ Sissie Quayle
Action Song — "I have a little Dolly" ......................... Minnie Quayle
Recitation—" The Honest Newsboy "
But this was only the warming up; there was much more to come, and the programme cannot all be reproduced here. It included six items of musical drill. Every child who could possibly lisp a recitation or sing a simple song had to be found a place in the programme — there must be no favouritism. Those days of the early 1890's were happy days. The community was very close-knit; the adversity of one was the concern of all; there was enthusiasm and great anticipation of the future.
The accounts of 1892 showed an income of £37-18-11d. and an expenditure of £16-14-03d., but it was recorded that a new heating apparatus, coconut matting, kneeling pads, a harmonium, and 100 hymn books were needed. One wonders how well or ill the mining company had fulfilled its trust to use the collection money to keep the furnishings in good repair.
A VIEW FROM THE HARBOUR
DOWN TO THE 1890's the only regular transport for passengers here was provided by Crellin's Coach, with two horses and ten seats, and the post gig, which could carry two, if they booked in advance. The coach left Ramsey at 10, stopped at King Orry at 12, and arrived in Douglas at 1 p.m. It returned at 4 and passed through Laxey at 5. Other transport had to be hired. You could get a one-horse carriage for four persons, a wagonette for six or eight, or a "sociable" for ten. The return charge to Douglas averaged about 2/9d each if the vehicle was full, but you had to hire the vehicle.
These charges were beyond the resources of the working people, and except in case of emergency they walked wherever they had to go. They thought little of walking to Douglas, Ramsey or Peel — if they were fit and well; but there were always the less robust, who longed for cheap and easy transport. Besides, there were emergencies and the desire for education in Douglas and many other reasons. One aged parishioner remembers receiving a very urgent message to go to Castletown in 1893. It was 5 p.m: She did a running walk to Douglas railway station, caught the 6 p.m. steam train, and was in Castletown by 6.30. This was fast travel. (Strange to relate, it cannot be beaten by public transport even today).
So the prospect of a tramway between Douglas and Laxey aroused great expectations. The idea originated in the development of real estate north of Douglas known as the Howstrake Estate. In 1892, Frederick Saunderson, a civil engineer, obtained powers to develop this area with roads and tramways. The Douglas Bay Estate Limited took over these powers and constructed a single track tramway 24 miles long of 3-foot guage from Derby Castle to Groudle Glen in 1893, opened for public transport on September 7th. Even prior to this date, however, a new company had been formed, the Douglas and Laxey Coast Electric Tramway Limited, to take over the first section and extend it to Laxey. Work began in February, 1894. The existing line was doubled and the railroad built to a terminus near the Queen's Hotel. Opened on July 27th, it delighted residents and tourists alike with its smooth running, its average speed of 12 miles an hour, and its maximum of 20.
Again the company changed its name and became the I.O.M. Tramways and Electric Power Company, and we meet Alexander Bruce, Dr. Hopkinson and Dr. Farell, who pushed forward the further develop- ment of the line. Bruce was manager of Dumbell's Bank, and the Snaefell Mountain Railway was probably his idea, for he promoted still another company to build it — the Snaefell Mountain Railway Association. Hopkinson was a pioneer of electric traction in the British Isles. Construction began in January, 1895, the contractors being Herd, of Douglas, for the track, and Mather and Platt, of Manchester, for the electrical work. The guage was 3ft. 6ins., and there was a centre rail for guiding and braking.
It began at a point on the hillside near the lower end of Mines Road, 170 feet above sea level, and climbed to 1,990 feet in a distance of 4 miles 53 chains. The speed of the work was remarkable. A wide shelf had to be cut out of the rock much of the way, mostly with pick and shovel; and a new power station built. Yet in only seven months everything was ready and the official opening took place on August 21st. The line was popular from the day of opening, and 900 passengers used it daily until the end of the 1895 season.
The power station was built three miles up the track and was the largest generator of current in the Island. It was also connected with the Laxey power station. Mr. Willis, of Mather and Platt, was in charge of the cabling. He slept in a hut on the mountain and completed nearly ten miles of wiring in eight days.
The forward-looking Bruce also promoted the Laxey to Ramsey section of the tramway. This proved the most exacting part of the whole project, involving the blasting of thousands of tons of rock on steep cliff sides, making bridges, cuttings and embankments, and the problem of joining up with the southern section. Somehow a line had to be got across the deep gash of the Laxey Glen. The engineers played with the idea of a low-level line through Laxey under the existing road, but the construction of the fine four-span viaduct had to be faced, together with its immense cost. This, with the Ramsey line, occupied three years and brought the company into financial difficulties. The land between the Church and the mansion had to be bought so that the Snaefell line could be extended alongside the Douglas-Ramsey section, the mansion had to be diminished to half its size, a slice of the parson's garden and his drive must be purchased, and the great retaining wall built.
But by July 24th, 1899, the task was finished and the Ramsey line completed, thus providing the British Isles with their longest continuous tram ride of 17 miles 7 furlongs. Two years later the company acquired eight six-ton open wagons, three six-ton vans, and several twelve-ton bogies. Freight could then be carried, and great quantities of stone were moved from the Dhoon and Ballajora quarries.
The financial fortunes of the railway have not been happy. No sooner was the line completed than Dumbell's Bank failed, and the company failed with it. This need not have happened had the company worked on subscribed shares, but it chose to work on overdraft. But a new company was soon formed to take over the whole assets, excepting the Douglas promenade section, and set to work to improve the system with new trucks, motors, controllers, and air brakes. Power production was con- centrated at Laxey and Ballaglass and changed from direct to alternating current at 7,000 volts. There was current to spare, and the company might have strengthened its position by supplying it to private users; but they left this to others. One Bellamy came to the fore in cabling and wiring houses and shops, and Laxey was years in advance of most of the out villages in having electric light and power.
Coaches continued to run for some years after 1899, but the tramway carried half a million passengers annually until the 1950's. The years 1946 and '47 were boom years, but the effects of road service and private transport were such that by 1954 there was a loss of £3,000, and by 1956 debenture interest arrears totalled £23,000. It was obvious that the railway would lapse and fall into ruin unless the Government took responsibility for it. To leave it to its fate was hardly to be thought of, it being a part of the Island's attractiveness. Other means of transport could not cope with the volume of traffic during the season. It had been a staple source of employment for sixty years, and men out of work would be a liability. So after a minute study of the whole problem the Government created a Board of Tynwald to take charge of the management — June, 1957. The loss exceeds £20,000 a year, but this is considered tolerable in view of the solid advantages of preserving the amenity and the source of employment. It would have been a tragic day for Laxey had the decision been otherwise.
SINCE the original north-south road passed through Laxvoe, near the estuary, and this provided a convenient stage on the journey, catering for travellers must have been the concern of the villagers for centuries. There are memories of hostelries on Minorca Hill, and the Shore Hotel may stand on the site of ancient inns. The development of the mines from the eighteenth century onward would bring strangers from abroad who would require temporary accommodation hereabouts.
But it was the wonderful water wheel which stepped up the poplarity of Laxey from 1854 onwards. About this time the New Road from Fairy Cottage through the upper village and round to King Orry was laid and the four-arch bridge erected. The contractor for this bridge was Mr. Moore, of Baljean, who also built the warehouse at the quay, the corn mill, and Lonan new church. The New Inn was first licensed in September, 1854, the Queen's Hotel and the Leeds Commercial Hotel soon after. For those who foreswore alcohol, William Tupper, an orthodox Jew, built his Temperance Hotel opposite the police station, now called "The Craig." The advertisements for all these state that they were within easy reach of the famous Wheel.
In 1876, Dr. Bradbury wrote that thousands of tourists visited the Wheel every year. Only in the previous year had Robert Williamson laid out the Laxey Glen Gardens and built the spacious refreshment room. He advertised that "this most picturesque glen, unsurpassed in Romantic Beauty by any in the Kingdom, is now fitted with Rustic Seats, Bowers, Walks, Shrubberies, Croquet Grounds, Bowling Green, Bowling Alley, Quoits, Swings, etc.," and considered it "an unequalled resort for Pic-nic Parties and all classes of Pleasure Seekers." Admission was 3d. up to 6 p.m. and a penny after, and season tickets were 2/6d. Mr. Williamson put on concerts and shows in the refreshment room and gardens and brought over such famous people as Blondin, the tight-rope walker, and Tom Thumb, the dwarf. Tom Thumb stayed in the Temperance Hotel and had to have a small ladder made to enable him to climb into the half-tester bed.
By 1876, then, Laxey was famous for its Wheel, was developing its natural beauty, and could accommodate up to 100 people in its five or six hotels. But there is no mention of boarding-houses. Whilst Douglas could accommodate 20,000 visitors, Laxey catered mostly for day excursions. The reason may be that the voyage from Liverpool to Douglas occupied at least five hours and landings were still at the mercy of the tide. It was therefore most convenient to stay in Douglas and then visit other parts of the Island by coach or " sociable."
However, about the year 1889, the Reverend John Spicer was expecting a clergyman friend to stay with him at the parsonage; but Mrs. Spicer fell ill and they were unable to entertain him. Mr. Spicer asked Miss Margaret Gill, who lived in the house now called Rock Mount, at the King Orry cross roads, if she could accommodate him. She agreed with some hesitation. When the clergyman arrived, Miss Gill apologised for the smallness of the sitting-room, but the parson answered that it was fit for any bishop.
Soon afterwards, a gentleman named Mr. Bibby, clerk to the Liverpool School Board, arrived at the parsonage with a party of boys, having walked and carried their luggage all the way from Douglas pier, and asked Mr. Spicer if he knew of any houses in which they could stay and spend a holiday. He wanted a quiet spot, away from Douglas. Mr. Spicer took the party up to King Orry, where Miss Gill accommodated Mr. Bibby and found cottages nearby for the boys. This must have opened Miss Gill's eyes to the need for proper boarding-house accommodation in Laxey, and she decided to meet it.
Near the foot of Minorca Hill was a little estate called Maycroft. Here a gentleman from Demerara, Mr. Garnett, rented a piece of land, made a garden and built 380 square feet of glass houses. He grew flowers, strawberries and tomatoes, some of which he exported to Liverpool. Then came a Mr. Quirk, or Quark, of Birkenhead, and built a handsome house just above the gardens. The intention was to let it to Mr. Garnett. This was done, but Mr. Garnett found the rent of £60 a year too much for him and gave it up. To this house came Miss Gill and her two brothers and furnished it as a boarding-house for holiday visitors. The first to come were three sisters, the Misses Tennant, of Rochdale. The house was an immediate success and has been popular ever since.
About the same time, the Laxey Glen Hotel was built at the entrance to Mr. Williamson's gardens. It was really an extension of some licensed premises which had stood at the roadside for many years already. The cheap and easy transport provided by the electric tramway from 1894 onwards stepped up the need for more accommodation, and within a year or two Seafield and Brooklyn, on Old Laxey Hill, Maycroft at the foot of Minorca Hill, and Ravenscliffe, in New Road, were built. When demand for accommodation was heavy at the height of the season, many private householders found space for visitors. So, as mining declined, the catering trade advanced in Laxey. About thirty houses in the area rely on holiday- makers for a good part of their living, many more are able to accommodate a small handful in their homes, about twenty premises are reserved for holiday lettings, and some dozen offer meals and refreshments for tourists during the season. Every available pair of hands is needed from Whitsuntide to the middle of Sentember.
Yet it must be said that since the early years of this century little has been done to advance the holiday industry in Laxey. The boarding- houses and hotels have been modernised to some extent, but there has been no new building or serious investment. The obvious place for such develop- ment is the Old Laxey area, around tthe beach and harbour. Investment in up-to-date holiday accommodation there could strengthen the economy of the village and arrest its further decline. That renewal is needed can hardly be doubted by anyone who has studied the trends during the post- war period.
IN 1757, before the beginning of mining in this area, the Parish of Lonan numbered only 869 souls. The following figures show the influence of the mines on the growth of population:—
1831 ... 1,923
1841 ... 2,230
1851 ... 2,607
1861 ... 2,909
1871 ... 3,741
As the parish of Lonan outside the Laxey Glen area consisted of scattered farms and cottages, we may be sure that the majority of these lived within the bounds of the Village District of Laxey, say, 3,000 of them, although that district was not separated from Lonan until 1895.
But as the mining declined the population began to fall. Many young men emigrated to Africa and the American continent during the last twenty years of the century. The advent of compulsory education inevitably accelerated the process. Gifted and ambitious lads began to seek higher education and technical training elsewhere in tthe British Isles. By the census of 1911 the population of Lonan had shrunk to 2,144, of whom 1,198 lived in the Laxey Village district. So within forty years Laxey had lost much more than half its people.
Still, on June 22nd, 1911, when King George V was crowned, tea was provided for 550 children who attended the four schools situated in Lonan and Laxey. This shows that at least one-third of the population was under the age of 21 — say 650. Evidently the birth rate was high and the community was still in balance.
That this is no longer the case will be seen from the following figures taken from a survey of Laxey Village District summarized on December 31st, 1966:—
Persons domiciled — 1,125. Males: 515. Females: 610. Excess of females: 95.
Birth rate: 10 per 1,000. Death rate: 20 per 1,000.
Persons under 21 years: 276.
Persons over 70 years: 149.
Number of domiciles: 499. Number occupied by one person: 106.
Number of widows: 98.
Since 1951, there has been a steady loss of 21 per annum, and inasmuch as four out of every five persons who marry leave the parish to reside elsewhere in the Island or overseas, the loss cannot be replenished by natural increase. The decline would have been much more serious had it not been for the influx of retiring people who have come to live in Laxey. On December 31st there were about 120 of these in addition to Laxey people who had retired and stayed on. It seems that the hope of Maintaining the population as about its present level lies in attracting retired people from outside.
But this in itself cannot balance the life of the community, fer women live, On average, six years longer than men, and a community of retired people is bound to have a high proportion of widows. These generally live alone and are subject to all the disadvantages of being alone. Also, retired people do not usually have young families.
Still, along with the whole Island, Laxey welcomes retiring people eagerly, and the majority of them settle down happily, and quickly become integrated into the community, especially if they join the churches or the various social organisations in the district. For Laxey is a true community. Family connections are strong, yet the people are exceedingly kind and friendly. There is a complete absence of snobbery and standoffishness. One may be sure of a smile and a greeting, whether resident or stranger in the village.
The village offers seven avenues of employment. There is the catering for tourists and holidaymakers which calls for every available pair of hands in the high season. The Electric Railway employs drivers, conductors, engineers and maintenance staff all the year round, provides winter work on the permanent way, and runs the restaurant on Snaefell. There are also the tobacco-pipe factory, the corn mill, the woollen mill, and a small engineering works. Some people go to work in Douglas and Ramsey; some come into Laxey from outside. At the end of the season there is a general slackening of activity, and a number of men are stood off for a time; but the Manx Government and the local authority always have plans for winter work and the wage-earners are kept fairly occupied until the next season begins to call for preparation.
The reason why so many young people leave the parish at their marriage is undoubtedly the lack of modern houses or flats. Since the last war the civic authorities have built three small estates each of ten to twelve houses, and it is significant that 140 people live in the 35 houses. Doubtless some of our young people would stay if they could find convenient homes at reasonable rentals in which they could bring up their children, But a high proportion of the accommodation is old and inconvenient, Private building is almost at a standstill. Only one new house was finished and occupied in 1961, and only one so far in 1962.
The problems of Laxey today are, of course, the problems of the Island as a whole, but they are felt rather more acutely here owing to the tightly restricted area of the parish. There is little room for expansion, very few sites for new building. Probably a complete rebuilding or planned development scheme for the area round the harbour and the beach offers the one opening for arresting the declining numbers and the ageing of the community. This is beyond the resources of the local authority, but it might be attempted as part of the Government's overall programme for the Island.
It would be premature to draw pessimistic conclusions from the trend shown by the figures. Downward trends can be reversed by planned schemes of advance. Also the unexpected happens as often as the expected, There is reason to believe that there are still rich lodes of metal ore here-abouts, and who knows, but that a steep rise in demand might lead to new investment, new methods of mining, and renewed life for the parish ?
February, 1967.
DIOCESAN YEAR BOOK, 1959
LIST OF FORMER CHAPLAINS AND VICARS OF LAXEY
Chaplains:
1856 — HUGH STOWELL GILL
1859 — M. A. PIERPOINT
1861 — JOSEPH BELLAMY
1879 — ROBERT C. BREAREY
1881 — T. C. CHAPMAN
1884 — HENRY LIONEL JAMES
1885 — CLAUDE READ
1887 — JOHN M. SPICER
1895 — CHARLES HENRY LEECE
1897 — W. E. DAVIES
1904 — W. H. GIBSON
1916 — S. R. WARD
Vicars:
1917 — ROBERT CAIN
1926 — BENJAMIN WEBSTER
1931 — S. B. BOTWOOD
1947 — FRANK HAMER
1950 — JOSEPH LLOYD
1957 — ERNEST SHUFFLEBOTTOM
June 4th, 1959 — GEORGE GILBERT GRESSWELL
|
see also Parish Records |
||
|
|
||
|
Any comments, errors or omissions
gratefully received The
Editor |
||