History

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This beautiful book includes over 65 splendid atmospheric and evocative paintings by Ian Coulson of surviving old buildings, streets and lanes around Douglas. These are then interwoven with 'historical interludes' by Valerie Cottle which take sideways glances at Douglas' history from the early 19th to the mid-20th centuries recalling the secret life of the town, its buildings, people and stories.

The format is a generous landscape and printed on high-quality, slightly textured paper.

Proceeds from this book will be donated to the Isle of Man Woodland Trust to help accelerate local tree planting to help mitigate against climate change.

Home to probably the most complete mediaeval castle in Europe, Castletown today belies its history as a stronghold, former island capital and bustling port. There are surprises too. Castletown was once home to a world famous museum of magic and witchcraft. A local school is renowned for annually setting the world's most difficult quiz. Each year, the quiet town hosts the World Tin Bath Championship.

Much has changed, of course, but, as the photographs in this book show, it's often astonishing just how much has remained the same.

Peel is one of the oldest Manx towns and also one of the most dependent on the sea. Fishing has shaped Peel with a great many of the inhabitants having some connexion with the industry. Even today Peel boasts the largest fishing fleet in the Irish Sea. But the story doesn't end there. When holidaymakers discovered the Isle of Man, Peel's majestic castle, picturesque winding streets and bustling port drew fascinated visitors.

The book is illustrated throughout with old photographs drawn from the postcards that visitors used to send home. These together with the book's present day images enable the reader to visually see the comparisons between the present day and days gone by. Much has of course changed, but it's often surprising how much has remained the same.

The book is supplemented with additional material from George Hobbs and Sara Goodwins

When holidaymakers discovered the Isle of Man, Port Erin became a favourite place to visit. Hotels were built and life started to revolve around the needs of its visitors. The old photographs in this book are drawn from the postcards such visitors sent home. Now the town is re-inventing itself again. Gone are most of the Victorian hotels, with their ballrooms, live entertainment and seaside competitions. Bathing machines have been turned into garden sheds and donkeys no longer trot along the sand.
This book reminds us of the dramatic changes which have taken place in this seaside town.

In this first photographic essay, photographer and local historian Ray Kelly visits some of the island's hidden 'Tholtans' (a Manx word describing the ruins of old homes).

Second Edition.

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In this second photographic essay, photographer and local historian Ray Kelly revisits more hidden 'Tholtans' (a Manx word describing the ruins of old homes). This new work is further complemented by some of the author's colourful retelling of local stories and fables.

The author's passion for his subject matter shines through as these incredibly photogenic buildings, most of which are well off the beaten track, offer a glimpse of genuine Manx culture and heritage from times that are fast disappearing into history.

In his third photographic journey, Manx photographer and local historian Ray Kelly once again presents the reader with his uniquely attractive images of a time which is both long past and yet reverberates with nostalgia and familiarity.

Discover further Manx 'Tholtans' (a local word describing the ruins of old homes). The author's vivid mythologised stories of almost forgotten people and events add an extra layer of realism to these images which are alive with history.

The Isle of Man is one of the richest historic landscapes in Europe. Packed into its 225 square miles are dramatic stories of Bronze Age conflict, Viking warriors, Medieval kings, smugglers, maritime and railway history, wartime airfields and even a pirate radio station. Add to that the Island's unique motorsport heritage (on two, three and four wheels), and you have a combination unrivalled anywhere in the British Isles.

Whatever your passion, or whichever historical period appeals to you, the Isle of Man will have something fascinating to offer. Filled with illustrations, and using first-hand accounts to enhance the narrative, this book takes the reader on a chronological journey through the island's history, before offering a series of guided tours which pick up the highlights of each district.

From Bronze Age hill forts, to Medieval castles. From heritage railways, to historic quaysides. From award-winning museums, to country mansions, the Isle of Man has it all. Let this book be your guide to historic Britain's best-kept secret, as you explore a place untouched by the hectic pace of 21st century life, where heritage is, quite literally, to be found around every corner.

From humble beginnings to establishing themselves as the most successful Douglas team trophy wise in the history of Manx football, St George's have been on a long and patient journey. This book not only recounts the glory days when the Geordies fielded a team that was the envy of all island clubs but also the times when honours were few and far between. To achieve what the club has done in its first 100 years has taken many hours of hard work and dedication both on and off the field with many unsung heroes.

Having researched the details of the club's centenary, the authors have produced a portrayal of the first 100 years in both an entertaining and enlightening account.

For centuries the Manx stone crosses stood majestically braving the weather and changing fashions. Often they were the most striking man-made features in the Manx landscape. Today most of the old crosses have been given sheltered accommodation in their old age. Yet they still have stories to tell, these Christian symbols which carry the sagas and language of pagan Viking invaders. But who raised them and why? How were they carved? Where did the stone come from? What do they mean? Do other Celtic nations have similar memorials?

This book explores the stories behind these enigmas of the Manx landscape.

This book is not a blow-by-blow account of the extraordinary restoration of the Gaiety Theatre and Opera House.

The words are a romp through the often hilarious memories and misfortunes of Mervin Stokes, the man who has spent much of his working life serving the Gaiety and whose dedication and detective work in reincarnating this magnificent Frank Matcham creation continue to go well beyond the call of duty. Mervin's MBE is a just reward for his achievements.

Michael Thompson's pictures are a complete photographic record of every detail of the theatre's restored interior and exterior - not only a priceless source of reference for the Gaiety's future preservation, but also a unique library for all students, researchers and scholars of Matcham's work and British theatre heritage and architecture.

This book will appeal to anyone who enjoys a good read or simply loves the theatre.

There is no more a place that is so hostile to mariners than the south-east coast of the Isle of Man, where the pitiful wind howls and the tide runs at six miles per hour. Many a sorrowful story is told of vessels tossed by the wild waves upon the cruel, sharp-edged rocks of Langness. Here at the Island’s southernmost point the cruel sea has taken countless men to a watery graves.

This book is mixed with bravery and with sorrow; the publication covers many of the main ship disasters of this wild coast, the construction of Langness lighthouse and the various lighthouses built on the Calf of Mann and the new Chicken Rock lighthouse. It is a story also of how a vigorously hard-fought twenty-year campaign by the inhabitants of Castletown, its High Bailiff and agent for the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society, led to improved lighting on the Isle of Man’s most dangerous shore.

If you live by the sea you get to know it as a partner, adapting to its moods, from calm sunny days to furious stormy nights. Throughout its history, the people of Port St Mary - known locally as Purt Le Moirrey - have lived by and with the sea. It has provided them with a living, from fishing to shipbuilding to tourism. Without the sea, the village would not exist. The sea in question is the Irish Sea, in which the Isle of Man sits at the centre. From Port St Mary, you can look across to England and Wales, and from its neighbouring twin, Port Erin, you can see the Mountains of Mourne in Northern Ireland.

This book, written by a team of ten volunteer authors who love Port St Mary, trace its fascinating history from 1829, when it depended entirely on fishing and farming, to 1979, the Millennium Year when the Isle of Man celebrated one thousand years of continuing independent government, the oldest in the world.

This is the story of a port and its people, from school teachers to shopkeepers, from boarding house owners to World War II German internees, from nurses to those who travelled the world by sea. It begins at a time when few people owned land and transport was primitive; moves on to the great days of herring fishing, with a 100+ strong fleet, the harbours bustling with fisher folk, gutter girls, kipper curers and ship builders; and through to the development of tourism and its glory days spanning the 1920s to the 1960s.

It’s a story which has universal significance, demonstrating how independent-minded people in a small place lived with the sea, made a living from it, and rode its changing moods.

This book explores the dramatic changes to the Island's industrial, residential and coastal landscape over the last 120 years. Instigated by steamships full of tourists in the 1970's, architects and engineers worked tirelessly to adapt the Island's basic infrastructure, creating railways, promenades, tramways, grand hotels and visitor attractions in the process.

Today the Isle of Man has changed dramatically from those bygone days as the book illustrates drawing on historic illustrations and with the modern day camera.

Jill Drower, great-granddaughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Cunningham, has revisited the story of the Young Men's Holiday Camp in Douglas, in the Isle of Man. The result is a book packed with information and pictures, with hitherto undiscovered facts about the Cunningham family and the enterprise that set the standard for Butlins, Pontins and other holiday camps that were to follow.

In the book Jil shows the links between living and working conditions in the early nineteenth century Liverpool and how these produced the philanthropic movement of which Joseph Cunningham was a part.

She has traced the Camp's origins back through her own family history to bread production in Paisley in Scotland, following the generations down to the family of bakers who sold bread to the boats. She follows the story from its beginnings before the 'Toxteth camping trips' in the 1890s, to the Camp's sale after the Second World War.

With over 150 illustrations, the book is packed with new information about Cunningham's and the rise of this 'major national phenomenon' called the holiday camp.

How did seven different people, most of whom had never met before, come together to write the first ever book on Womens’ Internment in WW2?

They are members of Rushen Heritage Trust in the Isle of Man, and became fascinated by the remarkable people connected with the unique Rushen Womens’ Camp in 1940 - 45. How locals and internees lived together in the same houses, forming many friendships, some lifelong; how they were all encircled by a barbed wire perimeter, including shops, houses, schools and beaches; why most internees wanted Britain to win the War; their hopes, fears, courage, and enterprise; the unique gender situation - at times over 80% of the total population in the two seaside towns of Port Erin and Port St. Mary were female; how the Camp was run by Manx landladies, with light touch governance from police and civil servants.

Somehow, like the seven authors who soon became friends, but often engaged in animated debate, the locals and women internees - German/Jewish refugees from Nazi oppression, Germans and Austrians who had lived peacefully in Britain for many years, a minority of committed Nazis, Fascists - all managed to ""Rub along together". The question was, who was friend and who was foe?

The authors interviewed locals who still retained vivid memories of Camp W, found much new information on the under researched topic of WW2 Women’s Internment, and soon realised that the story addressed important universal themes of continuing relevance today namely, immigration, injustice, gender, tolerance, diversity, the nature of friendship, the ability to adapt to inequity and loss, and , most of all, the triumph of human values in difficult situations.

This book presents the remarkable story of the Manx people, and their homeland, in the most destructive conflict of the twentieth century. Few people are now aware of the extraordinary role that this small island played in assisting the allied war effort. Yet for six years, a place best known for motorcycle racing and as a holiday playground became a heavily armed fortress. Hundreds of airmen, soldiers and sailors were trained in readiness for combat. Thousands of enemy aliens were imprisoned behind the barbed wire of its camps, alongside those of British birth who were deemed to be a threat to security. Top secret radar was developed, and the Island's merchant fleet played a vital role at Dunkirk and D-Day. On battlefields around the world, gallant Manxmen fought bravely, whilst at home, in spite of the pressures which total war brought to society, there was a perhaps surprising tolerance for those with pacifist beliefs. Likewise, though there was increased government control in almost all areas of life, these were times of great advancement for Manx democracy.

The story is told in the words of those who were there - some of these eyewitnesses speaking for the first time about their experiences, and among them the last survivors of that generation. Their accounts bring a freshness and immediacy to this remarkably vivid narrative.

This book was originally published in 1901 as an educational primer for schools. It sets out to tell the history of the Isle of Man and the Manx people. It shows in a clear and easily understood way how various peoples came to the Island to settle, how they lived in former times and what have been the most important changes in government, religion, laws and social conditions over the centuries. From the legendary and mythological past to the beginnings of the twentieth century, the Island’s history is uncovered and explained.

A descendant of Illiam Dhone, Arthur Moore was the founder of the Manx Language Society. He was a keen collector of Manx culture, language and folklore and Speaker of the House of Keys.


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The carved stone crosses of the Isle of Man of the late fifth to mid-eleventh century are of national and international importance. They provide the most coherent source for the early history of Christianity in the Island, and for the arrival and conversion of Scandinavian settlers in the last century of the Viking Age - a century which produced some of the earliest recognisable images of the heroes and gods of the North; earlier, indeed, than those found in Scandinavia. This, the first general survey of the material for more than a century, provides a new view of the political and religious connections of the Isle of Man in a period of great turmoil in the Irish Sea region. The book also includes an up-to-date annotated inventory of the monuments.

David M. Wilson, Director of the British Museum from 1977-1992, is a leading authority on the Viking Age and has written a number of studies of the art and archaeology of the Anglo-Saxon period and the Viking Age in their Northern European context. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and lives in the Island.

The Isle of Man has been inhabited for nearly 10,000 years and as a result is exceptionally rich in archaeolgical remains, many of which are easily accessible by the public and are often found in spectacular sites around the island. This guide will enhance any visit to ancient churches, great castles, stone circles, cairns and burial mounds and is the perfect pocket companion for anyone wanting to explore these treasures and learn more about the complete history of the Manx people from the earliest times.

Organised into their parishes, each site covered in the book features a map reference, clear instructions on how to get there, details of any walking involved and an indication of wheelchair access. The texts bring together the latest research and interpretation of the sites in an informative and accessible way.

Quite a lot happens on Snaefell. The Snaefell Mountain Railway goes up it, the TT Races go round it, the mine went under it, sheep farming happens all over it, and the Summit Hotel, radio masts and air traffic control communications cluster at the top. Its peace masks a hive of industry.

And why the title to this book? Whilst the author was speaking with Snaefell Mountain Railway staff to research the book, a call came over the radio "two fish for the summit." The hotel needed them for a special dinner and, like everything else, the only way to get them up the mountain was on the Victorian Railway.

With parliamentary traditions introduced by the Vikings, the Isle of Man was the first country to give women the vote. Much of its public transport hasn't changed since Victoria was on the throne, yet the island is the fifth in the space race. Famed for its motorcycle racing and tailless cats, it's still traditional to greet people when crossing the Fairy Bridge.

In the middle of the Irish Sea, the Isle of man has been drawn into the politics of the surrounding islands, yet maintains its own traditions, language and way of life.

It is this proud history of the Manx and their island which this book celebrates.

The Isle of Man has been inhabited for nearly 10,000 years. During that time some remarkable structures have been created. The earliest remains are just simple flint tools for hunting and cooking, but during the Bronze and Iron Ages the islanders created some impressive monuments, many of which survive today.
As civilisation developed, the island's inhabitants started building defensive structures such as forts and castles, and religious buildings such as keeills and churches.

Nowadays, by a twist of fate, the Isle of Man is guardian to some extraordinary relics of the past such a the biggest waterwheel in the world, a unique camera obscura, the oldest surviving electric tram system, the world's only horse tram system, the world's oldest continuous parliament, and much else besides.

This book is a celebration of all these wonders, natural and man-made.

From remote upper hills, through green and fertile lower lying farmland, to precipitous coastal cliffs, the parish of Lonan contains some of the most beautiful and dramatic scenery on the Isle of Man.

This album takes the reader on a photographic journey through the parish, from the cliffs of Bulgham Bay in the north to the narrow gauge railway at Groudle Glen in the south; through agriculture, mining and transport; summer tourists to deep winter snows. Rarley seen images from over one hundred years ago are complemented by more recent views, the vast majority of which have never been previously published

Was Manx democracy invented by the Vikings? Or can it be attributed to a few courageous men and women in the Victorian era, including two newspaper editors, one a teetotal Methodist, the other a Liverpudlian of slave descent - both gaoled for their principles - a Manchester female suffragist, and a depressed Deemster who died by his own hand?

The author reproduces James Brown’s newly-rediscovered prison diary in full, and traces a series of events which were far from predictable - including the introduction of votes for women, in which the Isle of Man led the world.

This new three volumes edition of the Chronicles of Man is based on the concept originally broadcast by Manx Radio and the news items of each year are presented in the style of news bulletins. The annual news is supported by in-depth features which have been prepared by a team of Manx historians, journalists and experts in their fields.

Combined, the three volumes in the series, cover 115 years of history and include a wealth of outstanding photographs which help to illustrate the many interesting events and historical occasions of the Isle of Man.

These new and revised editions of Chronicles of Man have been edited by Miles Cowsill and Sue Woolley and include major worldwide news events for each year to enhance and accompany the more local Island news coverage.

This new three volumes edition of the Chronicles of Man is based on the concept originally broadcast by Manx Radio and the news items of each year are presented in the style of news bulletins. The annual news is supported by in-depth features which have been prepared by a team of Manx historians, journalists and experts in their fields.

Combined, the three volumes in the series, cover 115 years of history and include a wealth of outstanding photographs which help to illustrate the many interesting events and historical occasions of the Isle of Man.

These new and revised editions of Chronicles of Man have been edited by Miles Cowsill and Sue Woolley and include major worldwide news events for each year to enhance and accompany the more local Island news coverage.

This new three volumes edition of the Chronicles of Man is based on the concept originally broadcast by Manx Radio and the news items of each year are presented in the style of news bulletins. The annual news is supported by in-depth features which have been prepared by a team of Manx historians, journalists and experts in their fields.

Combined, the three volumes in the series, cover 115 years of history and include a wealth of outstanding photographs which help to illustrate the many interesting events and historical occasions of the Isle of Man.

These new and revised editions of Chronicles of Man have been edited by Miles Cowsill and Sue Woolley and include major worldwide news events for each year to enhance and accompany the more local Island news coverage.

Eye-catching, attractive and extremely unusual, the Three Legs of Man are proudly displayed all over the Isle of Man. Appearing on flags and buildings, painted on boats, reproduced in stained glass, carved in wood and cut out of metal, the three legs run in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colours. But where do they come from? What's the story behind them? Which way should they be running? This book, fully illustrated in colour, provides the answers to these frequently asked questions.

Originally built in 1914 to accommodate 5,000 aliens and a guard of at least 500, then an additional 5,000 interns in May 1915 (and further additions as the war continued), Knockaloe eventually grew to a size holding approximately 23,000 internees. The inmates of the camp proved eternally creative and a record of some of their achievements is presented in this volume. Along with photographs and artwork ranging from painting to printed postcards and other craft items, this book illuminates the history of Knockaloe Internment Camp using examples from the unique collection of Stephen Hall.

Many aspects of Britain's involvement in World War Two only slowly emerged from beneath the barrage of official secrets and popular misconception. One of the most controversial issues, the internment of 'enemy aliens' (and also British subjects) on the Isle of Man, received its first thorough examination in this remarkable account by Connery Chappell of life in the Manx camps between 1940 and 1945.

At the outbreak of war there were approximately 75,000 people of Germanic origin living in Britain, and Whitehall decided to set up Enemy Alien Tribunals to screen these 'potential security risks'. The entry of Italy into the war almost doubled the workload. The first tribunal in February 1940 considered only 569 cases as high enough risks to warrant internment. The Isle of Man was chosen as the one place sufficiently removed from areas of military importance, but by the end of the year the number of enemy aliens on the island had reached 14,000. With the use of diaries, broadsheets, newspapers and personal testimonies, the author shows how a traditional holiday isle was transformed into an internment camp. Boarding houses became barrack blocks, and many hoteliers welcomed the means of earning extra income. Eventually the internees took part in local farm work, ran their own camp newspapers and even set up internal businesses. With inmates of the calibre of Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, Lord Weidenfeld, Sir Charles Forte, Professor Geoffrey Elton and R.W. 'Tiny' Rowland, the life of the camp quickly took on a busy and constructive air; but the picture was not always such a happy one, as angry disputes flared between Fascist inmates and their Jewish neighbours, and a dangerous riot forced the intervention of the Home Office. Even now, there remains the persistent question never settled satisfactorily. Were the internments ever justified or even consistent?

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Laxey or Laksaa in Manx, is a village on the east coast of the Isle of Man. Its name has been derived from the Old Norse Laxa meaning 'Salmon River'. Local historian Andrew Scarffe has researched this publication and gives the reader a wonderful insight to Laxey in the bygone years. The author has written a brief history of the village and its surrounding districts, together with an overview of the popular historical sights which are now visited by thousands of people a year, accumulating this together with a wealth photographs and captions.

A history of Ramsey.

This book brings together a wealth of images past and present.

Because of its geographical location, it is often regarded as a place set apart from the rest of the Island. Those born and bred in Ramsey have a fierce pride and attachment to the place and, no matter how far they travel, it will always be 'home'. The book illuminates what it is that makes Ramsey so unique and inspires such devotion.

The book does not claim to be a detailed history of the town, but to give an insight into its rich history over the last 130 years.

Three facts you may not know about Vikings: They liked bathing - They kept pet cats - They didn't have horned helmets.

Warriors sailing over mighty seas to conquer new and strange lands - Vikings were very impressive. Yet who were these invaders from the North? Why did they come? What were they like and how did they live? This book helps you try Viking navigation, or Viking knitting, or make Viking feast bread. Grettir's Saga, written by Vikings about their culture says "he knows most who has tried most". This book helps readers try.

The Isle of Man contains many interesting buildings for the discerning resident or visitor to enjoy, with distinctive vernacular cottages, three castles (two built for defence, one built as a ducal residence), works by historically significant architects such as M.H Baillie Scott, Frank Macham and Armitage Rigby, and other distinctive buildings produced through architectural competitions, especially in the Edwardian to Victorian era when many new buidlings were commissioned.

This book which is lavishly illustrated throughout, provides an introduction to this range of buildings stretching from the earliest surviving structures right up to the present.

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This is an exact facsimile copy of WardLock & Co's illustrated guide book to the Isle of Man published in 1925/26. Descriptions of things to do and see all around the island, with images of that time. Including adverts from holiday insurance to seasick tablets.

This volume reprints the classic work originally published in 1656 with the introduction and comprehensive notes of Rev. J. G. Cummings added in the version reprinted by The Manx Society in 1864.

It is regarded as the oldest written history of the Isle of Man. It offered readers then, as it still does now, a unique view of Island life covering the history, customs and folklore of the inhabitants, a look at the government, laws and trade and many of the things which still make the Isle of Man unique today.

James Chaloner was one of the commissioners under Lord Fairfax for settling the affairs of the Isle of Man in 1652, and afterwards he was Governor of the Island between 1658 and 1660.

This fully updated second edition includes the history of the Governors from 1765 up to 2012 and a review of the significant changes to their role.

The book is a detailed and fascinating study of the role of Governor on the Isle of Man since the Act of Revestment in 1765. The arguments and successes, and characters and achievements of the Governors of the Island are all recorded in this fascinating well-illustrated book.

In December 1867 Captain Thomas Cubbin, a master mariner from the Isle of Man, set out from Liverpool in the barque Serica, bound for Aden with a cargo of coal. With him on board were his wife Mary, their two yong sons, and a crew of fourteen men and boys. In the Indian Ocean three months later the Serica encountered one of the most terrifying hurricanes ever recorded. What follows is a story of tradgedy, adventure and extraordinary courage.

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This book provides an up-to-date short history of the Isle of Man.

Syd Boulton was a widely known and much loved journalist and his writing in the local newspapers brought pleasure to thousands. It was personal, about things and people he knew and above all his integrity was never in question. His reporting was straightforward and his Peeps Into the Past column alone ran from 1956 to 1971 in the Ramsey Courier

In this book, author Sue Woolley has reproduced a selection of newspaper articles written by Syd Boulton

This book is a fascinating account of the event s surrounding the sinking of one of the Isle of Man Steam Packet's most popular ships, the SS Ellan Vannin, at the mouth of the River Mersey in the early hours of 3rd December 1909.

A violent hurricane was raging that night, and ship, with its crew, passengers and cargo, broke in two and was found by divers the next day buried in sand and silt in 30ft of water. Everyone onboard was drowned and some of the bodies were never found.

This book was originally published in 1999 but has been reprinted and re-released to coincide with the centenary anniversary of the tradgedy.

This is the first volume to be published in a new series that will provide a new benchmark for the study of the Isle of Man's history. Wide in coverage, it embraces constitution, politics, economics, labour, economic and cultural developments in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Contributors explore the ways in which a sense of Manxness was constructed, contested and amended as the little Manx nation underwent unprecedented change form debtors' retreat through holiday playground to offshore international financial centre.

The murders that have caused shock and sensation throughout two centuries of the Isle of Man's history are recorded here. Using information obtained from newspapers inquest records and trial transcripts each murder is described against a backdrop of contemporary events to give the reader a distinct flavour of life at the time of the crime..

This is the story of the restoration of the bells at St German's Cathedral in Peel which had not properly functioned for a long time and had deteriorated badly. The Cathedral is a living part not only of Peel but of the whole island and the call of the bells announces to all that its Christian heritage is alive and well.