This stone was found in the east wall of the north transept of St German's Cathedral. One face bears a cross carved in outline. The limbs are rather irregular, the upper and lower being almost triangular, whilst the arms are almost rectangular.
This slab was found in the west wall of the north transept of St German's Cathedral. The stone is broken, and the carving of a cross in outline with triangular arms - a 'cross pattee' - is incomplete, having lost the ends of all the limbs save for the head. A further line incised above the head of the cross suggests that when originally complete, the cross was surrounded by a rectangular panel. The form of the cross is very similar to Manx Cross 30, which was found nearby.
This slab was recovered from the west wall of the north transept of St German's Cathedral. At 1.15m in length it is far larger than any of the other inscribed stones found at this site. One face bears a carefully cut cross in outline with long upper and lower limbs. The upper arm is unusual as the head of the cross has been left open, and the lines terminate in circles. Four more circles are placed in the spaces between the arms of the cross.
This broken fragment was found during restoration work in St Patrick's Chapel in 1873. It may either have served as an altar piece or as a grave marker, and would once have stood upright. Both ends are broken off, but one face is decorated with a cross in low relief. The head of the cross is broken off, and the curved outline of the stone truncated. The short shaft of the carved cross extends to a wide, similarly carved base of the same width as the horizontal arms. The cross and base are decorated with smaller crosses.
The findspot of a flint scatter of Mesolithic or Neolithic date discovered by the antiquary Charles Harry Cowley. The exact circumstances and location of the find are unknown, but it included artefacts such as a knife, arrowhead, spearheads and scrapers, Cowley was an avid collector of worked flint and coarse stone artefacts revealed by agricultural activity, mainly on farms located around Peel, and occasionally from further afield. He was active from 1900 until 1943. His entire collection of artefacts, together with a daybook cataloguing his discoveries, was later donated to Manx National Heritage.
Archaeological investigation suggests that St Patrick's Isle was mostly used for religious and cemetery practices during the Viking Age. The defencible nature of the islet meant that the Norse kings also put it to military use, reflected in the discovery of ramparts and a sophisticated hall with a suspended timber floor. A hearth within the hall dates to the middle of the 12th century.
The site of a two-part pottery kiln of possible medieval date, excavated in the south side bank of the 'Tilting Ground' circa 1906 and re-examined in 1929. Two circular potash kilns were also revealed in the 'Tilting Ground' itself.
This complicated site has attracted human occupation for over 6,000 years. Most of the standing buildings are less than 1,000 years old, however, and can be broadly divided into military and religious uses.
There are no visible prehistoric remains, but excavations have found Mesolithic and Neolithic artefacts, and Bronze and Iron Age structures.
Large numbers of lintel graves show that the island was used for Christian burial from the early Medieval period onwards. For a brief period during the 10th century pagan Viking settlers were buried amongst other burials without grave goods, implying that in some respects the settlers had integrated with the local population.
The cemetery was associated with a small monastic community which was responsible for the construction of St Patrick's Church, St Patrick's Chapel and the Round Tower. The latter is 15m high and is similar to towers found on monastic sites in Ireland. The raised doorway is consistent with its use as a refuge, though the corbels and battlemented parapet above the windows were added as defences were improved. The masonry of St Patrick's Church tells a complex structural history extending from the 10th to 15th centuries.
With the arrival of the Vikings at the end of the 8th century, St Patrick's Isle gradually changed its primarily ecclesiastical focus to one combining church, domestic and military activities. Little evidence for these early changes survives above ground, having been superseded by later defences. Nevertheless, excavations revealed a stone rampart which defended the islet between about 1000 and 1200. This may have been associated with a sophisticated, rectangular, timber-framed house which was built in the 1100s a little to the north of St German's Cathedral.
The cathedral was begun in the 13th century, probably not long before St Patrick's Isle was granted to the Church. The cathedral was drawn into the fortifications that became necessary to defend the island, so that its construction was not completed until the start of the 15th century and resulted in the raising of the central tower and the placing of battlements on it and the transepts. A stair turret in the angle of the nave and the south transept interrupted the easternmost arch of the arcade, and required a new doorway into the south transept further to the south. The south aisle was rendered redundant by these alterations and so was demolished and the arcade blocked up.
The visible stone defences were begun in the late 1300s and involve several defensible towers, which were later linked by a curtain wall. Additional accommodation was provided north of the cathedral, initially for churchmen but later taken over by the military.
The defences of St Patrick's Isle were heavily remodelled during the period 1530-1650. A circular gun battery was constructed at the northern end of the castle and a half-moon battery was built west of the cathedral. The latter was superseded in the mid 17th century by an earthwork fort in the centre of the castle and loopholed walls for musketeers.
Finally, in the late 18th century, a gun battery was placed behind the curtain wall overlooking the site of the modern lifeboat station. This was replaced in the early years of the 19th century with the two-gun battery or 'barbette' now visible.
This medieval round tower stands approximately 15 metres high and has an external diameter of 14 metres. It is built almost entirely of quarried red sandstone rubble, derived from the east end of Peel Bay. The tower lies on the same east-west axis as the nearby St Patrick's church and is interpreted as having a common origin and related religious purpose. It is more or less consistent with Irish towers built at Christian communities from the 9th and 10th centuries onwards and, together with examples at Brechin and Abernethy in Scotland, is one of only three known to exist outside Ireland.
The uppermost masonry present, forming a battlemented parapet and built on a course of corbels, is of a different style of construction. It is therefore thought to be of later date. The parapet is shown on a mid-17th century drawing, which also apparently depicts a conical roof, of the kind typically seen on Irish examples, at the top of which now stands a flagstaff.
The tower is entered through a doorway elevated circa 2 metres above ground level, and faces east towards the church. Until the early 20th century masonry steps provided access, but these were not tied into the masonry of the tower and appear likely to have been a later addition.
The interior of the tower has been excavated on three occasions, although no information survives recording work undertaken in 1876-1889 and 1906. In 1929 a flagged floor was lifted and the interior excavated down to the bedrock on which the tower is founded, which is also visible outside. The material was described as 'rubbish, old mortar and stones' and was interpreted as backfill from the previous excavations.
St German's Cathedral, possibly on the site of a predecessor, was founded in the 13th-14th centuries but due to the incursions of the raiding Scots was protected by a curtain wall and gatehouse in the later 14th century, a feature that was to develop into the fortress and garrison of Peel Castle during the 15th to 19th centuries.
A small hut which was originally a 19th century guard house in Peel Castle. It has been reused as a small museum and houses a collection of eight cross-slabs.
A collection of eight cross-slabs recorded in a small hut, which was a 19th century guard house in Peel Castle but has been reused as a small museum.
The eight cross slabs are thought to be of 6th to 12th century date and are all numbered with bronze plaques. They are described as follows.
(Kermode's original 'Manx Crosses' numbers are in brackets).
Pre-Scandanavian:
No 14. Slab from site of Keeill on Knocksharry (See SC 28 NE 27 for cross slab - probably 8th century and SC 28 NE 6 for the Keeill site from which it had probably been taken). 23.5 inch high x 9.75 inch maximum width and 0.75 inch thick.
No 30 (16). Incised cross in outline with expanding limbs, angular at junction and triangular head from Peel Cathedral (SC 28 SW 5). 19 inch high x 10 inch maximum width x 7.5 inch minimum width and 1.5 inch thick.
No 31 (15). Incised cross in outline from Peel Cathedral (SC 28 SW 5). 15.75 inch high x 7.5 inch maximum width x 3.75 inch minimum width and 1.75 inch thick.
No 35 (19). Incised cross in outline with open head terminating in rings from Peel Cathedral (SC 28 SW 5). 62.5 inch high x 17 inch maximum width x 13.5 inch minimum width and 1.5 inch thick.
No 38. Incised cross in outline from Keeill at Greeba (SC 28 SE 16). 30.5 inch high x 11.75 inch maximum width x 5 inch minimum width and 1.75 inch thick.
No 67 (46). Cross, in relief, broken altar-slab from St Patrick's Church (See SC 28 SW 10 and also alleged chapel SC 28 SW 8). 14.5 inch high x 19 inch maximum width and 1.75 inch thick.
Scandanavian.
No 115 (88). Broken piece, showing remains of Celtic cross and ring, 2ith loose interlaced work. From Peel Castle. 18 inch high x 7.75 inch maximum width x 4 inch minimum width and 1 inch thick.
No 140 (112). Asrith's Cross. Broken slab from which both faces have been flaked away. Runic inscription on edge. 27.25 inch high x 13.5 inch maximum width x 9 inch minimum width and 1.75 inch thick from Peel Cathedral (SC 28 SW 5) (1). No 140. Provisional transcription of rune stone.
A small slab incised with an outline cross patee suggestive of a Tau-shaped cross. It was found in the east wall of north transept. It measures 18.5 inch x 10.25 inch x 1.75 inch. The stone is now kept in the Manx Museum.
A broken slab with an incised outline Latin cross on one face. It was found in the west wall of the north transept in Peel Cathedral. The stone measures 15 inch x 12 inch x 2 inch. It is now kept in the Manx Museum.
A stone slab incised with a Latin cross with circles between its limbs and on its upper arm. It was found in the west wall of the Peel Cathedral. 62.5 inch x 17 inch x 2 inch; It is now kept in the Manx Museum.
Prehistoric flint scatter.
A single worked prehistoric flint was recovered from Peel Cemetery by CH Cowley, from the 'Camel Field near Cemetery'.
The artefact was found by Cowley's son, who may have been responsible for the description of the field, which otherwise would suit OS Field no. 2105. The field is centred at the grid reference provided.
The antiquary Charles Harry Cowley was an avid collector of worked flint and coarse stone artefacts revealed by agricultural activity, mainly on farms located around Peel, and occasionally from further afield. He was active from 1900 until 1943. His entire collection of artefacts, together with a daybook cataloguing his discoveries, was later donated to Manx National Heritage.
Prehistoric flint scatter.
A small quantity of worked prehistoric flint was recovered from Peel Cemetery by CH Cowley, from the 'Field opposite Peel Cemetery'.
The description relates to OS Field no. 1905, which is centred at the grid reference provided.
The antiquary Charles Harry Cowley was an avid collector of worked flint and coarse stone artefacts revealed by agricultural activity, mainly on farms located around Peel, and occasionally from further afield. He was active from 1900 until 1943. His entire collection of artefacts, together with a daybook cataloguing his discoveries, was later donated to Manx National Heritage.
Prehistoric flint scatter.
A small quantity of worked prehistoric flint was recovered from the grounds of Peel Church by CH Cowley.
The description relates to OS Field no. 1703, which is centred at the grid reference provided.
The antiquary Charles Harry Cowley was an avid collector of worked flint and coarse stone artefacts revealed by agricultural activity, mainly on farms located around Peel, and occasionally from further afield. He was active from 1900 until 1943. His entire collection of artefacts, together with a daybook cataloguing his discoveries, was later donated to Manx National Heritage.
Numerous flint implements have been found in gardens within Peel town, mainly later Mesolithic 'Bann', as noted by Larch Garrad when discussing (1978) the finds collected by C.H. Cowley, who was active between 1900-1940.
The grid reference is approximately centred on the core of the town as it was during the time the finds were made.
The Ordnance Survey 1:2500 first edition mapping of 1868 records a group of buildings gathered around a circular gasometer located at the grid reference provided, together with the annotation, 'Gas Works'.
The works were originally constructed by the Peel Gas Company in 1854 with the intention of providing both street and domestic lighting. The facilities were substantially expanded to allow for the provision of town gas for both heat and light, and a larger gasometer was eventually added at the south end of the complex.
The production of coal gas on the site eventually ceased during the 1970s, and the site was later used for the storage of natural gas, before being cleared and redeveloped for domestic and light industrial use in 2015.
The findspot of a scatter of Mesolithic worked flints of Bann type found on the site of the new Peel school by B.K. Corlett in 1977. The exact location is uncertain but was probably near 'Bellellis'.