Archaeology

Items

Oatlands Burial Cist
The site of a Bronze Age burial cist recorded on an annotated 1:10560 scale map produced by P.M.C. Kermode. It measured 0.8 metres by 0.6 metres and, elsewhere, Kermode states that it was composed of thin slabs and contained ashes.
Oatlands Burial Cist
A burial cist noted by P.M.C. Kermode, who recorded that 'When the old highway quarry at Ballavale was being cleared, there was found a small Cist of thin slabs, 2 foot 9 inch square by 2 foot deep, with ashes. This was close to the OS Triangulation mark, 393 feet.'  There may be some confusion between this record and PRN 0504.10.
Oatlands Burial Ground
The site of an early medieval cemetery recorded on an annotated 1:10560 scale map produced by P.M.C. Kermode.  Its proximity to the Bronze Age burial cist PRN 2202.00 suggests that one or the other of these records may be erroneous.
Oatlands Horsewalk
Modern horsewalk. The Ordnance Survey First Edition 1:2500 map of 1868 shows a horsewalk at this location. The structure no longer survives.
Oatlands Mound
The site of a possible mound recorded by P.M.C. Kermode, and can be seen on aerial photographs, along with faint cropmarks.
Oatlands Stone Circle
The reported site of a stone circle or possible a ruined round barrow with its kerb stones exposed.  A stone axehead is said to have been found here also. Kermode recorded that 'When the old highway quarry at Ballavale was being cleared, there was found a small Cist of thin slabs, 2 foot 9 inch square by 2 foot deep, with ashes. This was close to the OS Triangulation mark, 393 feet.' In the nearby granite quarry, circa 1900, Mr T.W. Moore on clearing the ground found stone axeheads (kept at the Manx Museum, Accession Nos. 1954-0600 & 1954-0591) and pounders (Accession Nos. 1954-0620 & 1954-1654) in what appeared to have been a circle of stones. The Neolithic/Bronze Age implements are listed under 'Oatland' or 'Oatland Granite Quarry' with the addition of a stone axehead chipped to sharp edges, the cutting end ground and polished, Accession No. 1954-1653 donated by Mr R. Lace in 1918.
Odd's Cross Slab (Manx Cross 136)
This stone was originally found built into the church tower as a door lintel, before being displayed for a time in the churchyard during the second half of the 19th century. The stone is incomplete and consists of the lower part of a broken shaft very similar to Manx Cross 135. One face shows two scaley dragons trapped in entwined bands. A horizontal band of step-pattern forms a border below. The other face has been divided into panels divided by similar bands; the lower one shows triquetra knots ending in spirals and notches; above is a panel of plait-of-seven; there must have been a third panel, now lost. One edge bears a plain step-pattern along its surviving length. The other edge carries an inscription in runes which is now incomplete, the surviving portion translating, 'Odd raised this cross to Frakki his father but Thor...' The carving is a typical example of the Mammen style which was current in the later 10th century.
Odds Cross
Odd's Cross dates to the late Norse period.  It is the broken shaft of a pillar cross and has a runic inscription. It measures 87.5 centimetres high x 28 centimetres maximum width x 16.5 centimetres minimum width and 9 centimetres thick. It was found at a mound in the churchyard which can no longer be identified on the ground.  It is kept in Braddan Church and is recorded as Manx Cross No 136 (109).
Odin Stone
The Odin Stone is one of a group of cross slabs dating to the 6th to 12th centuries AD which have been found at or near St Patrick's church, Jurby. It is a fragment of the lower end of a cross-shaft, carved on one face with ring-chain and human and animal figures on other. It measures 78.5 centimetres by 51 centimetres by 7.5 centimetres. It is kept in the north porch of Jurby Church.
Ohio Cottage Flint Scatter
The findspot of a Neolithic flint scatter consisting of worked flints and flakes.
Ohio Cottage Flint Scatter
The findspot of an early prehistoric flint scatter.
Ohio Cottage Settlement
A building site, where chance finds of Manx micaceous medieval sherds and a coroner's slate token had been found, was excavated in 1981 under the direction of L.S. Garrad, Manx Museum. The finds are kept in the Manx Museum.  No structures or any additional finds were uncovered.
Ohio Cottage Settlement
A record for a conjectured late medieval settlement at Ohio Cottage, based on the discover of sherds of medieval micaceous pottery.
Ohio Cottage, Garey Flint Site
The findspot of an early prehistoric flint scatter.
Ohio Mine, East Baldwin, Ballawyllin Mine
The site of a small 19th century lead mine is recorded in this area.
Okell's Falcon Brewery
The site of a 19th century brewery in Douglas.
Olaf Liotulfson's Cross Slab (Manx Cross 106)
This cross, popularly known as Olaf Liotulfson's Cross, once stood on a mound outside the churchyard. It was moved into the churchyard to a site adjacent to the former church, which once extended further east of the present structure, and then later, around 1890, moved again into the church itself for protection. The precise location of the mound is now unknown, but is likely to have been the original site of the burial of the individual for whom the cross was raised. The slab is wheel-headed, while its sides are cut away to leave a wide base and a tapering shaft. The foot of the slab, now hidden, has been further cut to create a tenon that would have originally fitted into a stone socket. There is a record of a socket stone having been found, but its whereabouts are now unknown. One face shows a cross without a ring; the head shows four interlocking bands which terminate in triquetra knots in each arm. The shaft is decorated with tendril pattern interlace, the space to the left has key-fret pattern, and that to the right ring-chain interlace, headed by a small Celtic cross. A plait-of-three terminating in knots encircles the head of the cross. The other face shows a similar cross, but the limbs are connected by a broad circular ring. The head is treated in a similar manner to the other face but here the bands terminate in a looped buckle and ring design. The shaft shows an adaptation of this buckle and ring treatment. The panel to the right of the shaft has a plait-of-four. The panel to the left bears a runic inscription which translates, 'Olaf Liotulfson erected this cross to the memory of Ulf his son.' The Old Norse name element "Liot" is the same word as that found at the end of the modern Manx surname Corlett. The two faces of the cross might almost be a celebration of the most distinctive patterns seen on the Manx crosses, with no less than five different designs appearing on the cross-shafts and the panels to either side. Based upon the style of decoration, the cross dates from AD 950 - 1000.
Olaf Liotulfsons Cross, runic inscribed
This 10th-century Runic inscribed cross, now kept in Ballaugh Church, was found in the churchyard. The cross is beautifully carved and has a partially rounded head. The interlacing of the cross-head and choice of patterns indicate the influence of Gaut.  It bears the Runic inscription 'Thorlaf, the son of Thorjolf, erected this cross to his son Olave'. The cross is now inside the church in front of the south wall. It bears an inset numbered bronze plaque no 106.  It measures1.15 metres high and has a maximum width of 52 centimetres, a minimum width of 33.6 centimetres and is 5.7 centimetres thick.
Old Coach House
A post-medieval coach house in Douglas Street, Castletown.
Old Grammar School, Castletown, Malew
Medieval chapel; schoolroom. This simple L-shaped building began life as the church for the small community which built up around Castle Rushen and later became the Island's capital for over 600 years. An arcade of three arches along its south wall was required by religious ceremonies; elsewhere on the Island only St German's Cathedral at Peel Castle boasts a similar architectural feature from this time. Early in its history meetings of Tynwald at Castle Rushen were timed to coincide with holy days associated with St Mary, to whom the church was dedicated. Its association with education was similarly important for Castletown, and as early as 1584 it was referred to as 'the Scholehouse'. In the late 17th century Bishop Isaac Barrow provided funds to establish a school, which his successor Bishop Thomas Wilson had moved into the building by 1708. Later it became known as the Grammar School to differentiate it from the nearby King William's College (founded in 1833 and similarly connected with Bishop Barrow) and continued in that role until 1930. The school lies in the oldest part of Castletown and was threatened with demolition in the 1950s. The surrounding car park occupies the space created when all the other nearby structures were removed. The building is protected both as an Ancient Monument and as a Registered Building (RB No. 073)
Old House of Keys
Parliament house.  The Old House of Keys was built in 1821 and served as the parliament house of the Isle of Man from then until 1874, after which the house assembled in Douglas where Tynwald has been located ever since.  It replaced an earlier, smaller building constructed in 1707 by Bishop Wilson (1663-1755), which had served as both a library and a meeting room for the Keys.  Unlike the present limestone structure, Bishop Wilson’s library was substantially built of brick. The building was constructed to plans by architect Thomas Brine after a protracted design process which began in 1813 and involved the Duke of Atholl (the Island’s Governor-in-Chief), the Lieutenant Governor, the British government and the sitting members of the House of Keys.  The Duke had earlier commissioned plans from George Steuart (his favoured architect and designer of the Castle Mona and the Red Pier in Douglas) in 1797, but like several of Steuart’s designs for his client these were never realised. Thomas Brine’s building is approximately square in plan, and externally is still substantially as built.  The front (west) elevation is double-fronted, with a small, central, porticoed entrance.  At ground floor level, there is a window to either side of the door, whilst three evenly spaced windows complete the upper storey.  The north facade comprises five evenly spaced windows on the ground and first floors.  The south elevation is more complex.  Again, like the north wall, the facade is pierced for five bays, but on the ground floor, from left to right, the first bay is blind, whilst the second forms a doorway; the third to fifth contain windows lighting the Keys’ chamber.  On the first floor, the first bay is again blind; the second a window of similar dimensions, and the third to fifth contain windows whose openings have been re-set at a lower height as the result of a later alteration. Every elevation presents a hipped roof profile, behind which the reverse roof slope drains to a central gully.  Two low chimney stacks, constructed on the main internal wall which runs from north to south, rise through the reverse roof slopes and are spaced so as to conform to the symmetry of the front elevation.  A third chimney vented a fireplace on the rear (east) wall, which adjoins the neighbouring property. Coursed limestone masonry is present throughout, together with brick reveals, sandstone sills and slate lintels on all facades, suggesting that the building was originally stuccoed or rendered to hide this mix of materials.  A rusticated render was present into the 1920s, as was locally fashionable in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and was used by Brine on both built and designed-but-not-built commissions.  The render failed and was removed in the 1920s, but was replaced in 2001. Internally, Brine’s design provided a short hallway leading to the Keys’ chamber, which stretched across the entire rear of the building, and three fifths of its depth.  To the left of the hall lay the secretary’s office, whilst to the right the equivalent space accommodated a dry closet and a stairwell leading to the first floor: here a small suite of rooms provided the lodgings of the ‘keeper’ (caretaker) who was responsible for maintaining the building and its security. Following the decampment to Douglas of the House of Keys assembly in 1874, the building was acquired by Dumbell’s Bank and converted into a banking hall in 1877.  Various internal alterations were carried out to facilitate this, including improvements to the security involving the infilling of ground floor windows, and the creation of a roof lantern as a substitute for the daylight lost in so doing.  The building continued to serve as a bank under several different ownerships and during the 1960s some of these alterations were reversed, with further more minor internal changes taking place as a consequence. After closure of the bank in 1972, the building was used as the offices of Castletown Commissioners until 1988, after which it was taken over by Manx National Heritage in 1999, extensively refurbished and reopened to the public as a seasonal heritage site recounting its original parliamentary use.
Old Kirk Braddan
Modern church. The Ordnance Survey 1:2500 First Edition mapping of 1867-8 shows Braddan parish church at this location. The present parish church was built in 1773. The interior, aside from several Victorian mural memorials, is potentially little changed from Georgian times, and includes a remarkable three-part pulpit. A friends organisation is responsible for the restoration work which has been undertaken in recent decades. The impetus for reconstruction in the 1770s was a need for additional space, and it seems likely that this was achieved, based on observations made during modern restoration work, by the eastwards extension of the church. The 1773 rebuild seems likely to have resulted in the present arrangement of fenestration, and it is noteworthy that at least one window-head includes re-used sculptural fragments from an earlier structure.
Old Kirk Braddan
Modern cemetery. The Ordnance Survey 1:2500 First Edition mapping of 1867-8 shows Braddan parish church and its burial ground at this location. The present parish church was built in 1773. The surrounding burial ground contains many fine Victorian and Georgian headstones and tombs, reflecting the burgeoning development of Douglas through the 19th century. The largest memorial is an obelisk erected to Lord Henry Murray, a younger brother of John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl, and briefly lieutenant-governor of the Island until his death in 1805.
Old Kirk Braddan
Medieval chapel. The Ordnance Survey 1:2500 First Edition mapping of 1867-8 shows Braddan parish church and its burial ground at this location. The present parish church was built in 1773, but incorporates masonry and individual stones of much older date. The 1773 rebuild seems likely to have resulted in the present arrangement of fenestration, and it is noteworthy that at least one window-head includes re-used sculptural fragments from an earlier structure. An early stone gable cross also implies an earlier church on the site. A reference to a synod held at Braddan in 1291 suggests further tantalising potential for Medieval structures.
Old Kirk Braddan
Medieval burial ground. The Ordnance Survey 1:2500 First Edition mapping of 1867-8 shows Braddan parish church and its burial ground at this location. The present parish church was built in 1773, but incorporates masonry and individual stones of much older date. The surrounding burial ground contains many fine Victorian and Georgian headstones and tombs, but the burial ground is likely to have its origins in the medieval period, the extent of which is unknown. The discovery of a Viking Age sword suggests the presence of an early 10th century burial, and the recovery of several carved stone cross slabs confirms the site's continued use during the 10th century for the burial of Christians of Scandinavian heritage.