Archaeology

Items

Rhendhoo West Flint Scatter
The findspot of a scatter of Mesolithic flint flakes and waste.  They were collected when a hedge was removed which divided the fields numbered as Plots 767 and 785 on the 1870 1:2500 scale Ordnance Survey map.  Some were found close to the site excavated by Dr Larch S. Garrad in 1985 (see PRN 1427.00). The site was visited by Mr Alan Skillan.
Rhenwee Flint Scatter
The findspot of a Neolithic flint scatter.
Rhenwee Flint Scatter
The findspot of a Neolithic flint scatter.
Rhenwee Flint Scatter
The findspot of a Neolithic flint scatter.
Rhenwyllan
A quantity of prehistoric worked flint, coarse stone and midden material was found at Rhenwyllan in 1900. The material included later Mesolithic and Neolithic worked flints, together with coarse stone implements of quartz and slate, marine mollusc shells and bone. The original finds were discovered by Mr F. Swinnerton and included flint arrowheads, flakes and scrapers. The precise location of Swinnerton's find is not known but is thought to be along the coastal perimeter of Ordnance Survey Field no. 1635, which is centred at the grid reference provided. More recent investigation of the area in the 1970s produced a few microliths, eight tanged and butt-trimmed flakes, eight scrapers, a flake awl of Ronaldsway type and a plano-convex knife.
Rhenwyllan
A quantity of prehistoric worked flint, coarse stone and midden material was found at Rhenwyllan in 1900. The material included later Mesolithic worked flints, together with coarse stone implements of quartz and slate, marine mollusc shells and bone. The original finds were discovered by Mr F. Swinnerton and included flint arrowheads, flakes and scrapers. The precise location of Swinnerton's find is not known but is thought to be along the coastal perimeter of Ordnance Survey Field no. 1635, which is centred at the grid reference provided. More recent investigation of the area in the 1970s produced a few microliths and eight tanged and butt-trimmed flakes.
Rhenwyllan
A quantity of prehistoric worked flint, coarse stone and midden material was found at Rhenwyllan in 1900. The material included Neolithic worked flints, together with coarse stone implements of quartz and slate, marine mollusc shells and bone. The original finds were discovered by Mr F. Swinnerton and included flint arrowheads, flakes and scrapers. The precise location of Swinnerton's find is not known but is thought to be along the coastal perimeter of Ordnance Survey Field no. 1635, which is centred at the grid reference provided. More recent investigation of the area in the 1970s produced eight scrapers, a flake awl of Ronaldsway type and a plano-convex knife.
Rhenwyllan Corn Mill
Modern watermill. A substantial watermill, built of local limestone, now converted into flats over five floors. Documentary evidence from the early 16th century clearly points to there having been a mill on the site prior to this date. The present mill structure was originally built as a cornmill. Waterpower was provided from a dam lying to the west, now filled in, and the wheel was located on the north wall of the building; the masonry still bears scars where the wheel rubbed against the stonework.
Rhenwyllan Mill
Modern watermill. A substantial watermill, built of local limestone, now converted into flats over five floors. Documentary evidence from the early 16th century clearly points to there having been a mill on the site prior to this date. The present mill structure was originally built as a cornmill, but was later used for woollen weaving. Waterpower was provided from a dam lying to the west, now filled in, and the wheel was located on the north wall of the building; the masonry still bears scars where the wheel rubbed against the stonework.
Rhenwyllan Mill
Modern watermill. A substantial watermill, built of local limestone, now converted into flats over five floors. Documentary evidence from the early 16th century clearly points to there having been a mill on the site prior to this date. The present mill structure was latterly used for woollen weaving. Waterpower was provided from a dam lying to the west, now filled in, and the wheel was located on the north wall of the building; the masonry still bears scars where the wheel rubbed against the stonework.
Rhenwyllan Mill Dam
Modern mill dam. A mill has existed at Rhenwyllan since at least the beginning of the 16th century. The modern watermill is a substantial structure built of local limestone, and now converted into flats over five floors. Waterpower was provided from a dam lying to the west. This is now filled in, and the site is occupied by two modern dwellings.
Rhullick y Doonee
The site of a medieval burial ground including lintel graves has been recorded at Rhullick y Doonee. Three lintel-graves, side by side, were discovered circa 1901 near Barrule Farm 'just above the cultivated land, and by the side of the old road leading to Castletown'.  These were regarded as being part of the burial ground of a keeill.  Kermode referred to the burial ground in 1930 and used the name 'Rullic y Doonee' which he stated proclaimed the site of a church of early date. No mention of the source of the name is given and it is not now locally remembered.  The exact location of the finds was marked on a working copy of the OS 6 inch by W. Cubbon (In Manx Museum) at SC 27687732. It was visited by J.R. Bruce in 1965-66 who observed that the area was covered with rough hummocky mountain pasture, intersected by numerous small drainage-channels, with a general slope down to the east. The land features were not those typically associated with a keeill-site, but the name 'Doonee' raised the presumption that a keeill was nearby. The lintel-graves were 'lost' and no other recognisable remains marked the site; the adjacent hedge bank was full of slabs which might well have served in lintel graves.
Rhullick y Doonee Burial Ground
The site of a medieval burial ground including lintel graves has been recorded at Rhullick y Doonee.  Three lintel-graves, side by side, were discovered circa 1901 near Barrule Farm 'just above the cultivated land, and by the side of the old road leading to Castletown'.  These were regarded as being part of the burial ground of a keeill.  Kermode referred to the burial ground in 1930 and used the name 'Rullic y Doonee' which he stated proclaimed the site of a church of early date. No mention of the source of the name is given and it is not now locally remembered.  The exact location of the finds was marked on a working copy of the OS 6 inch by W. Cubbon (In Manx Museum) at SC 27687732. It was visited by J.R. Bruce in 1965-66 who observed that the area was covered with rough hummocky mountain pasture, intersected by numerous small drainage-channels, with a general slope down to the east. The land features were not those typically associated with a keeill-site, but the name 'Doonee' raised the presumption that a keeill was nearby. The lintel-graves were 'lost' and no other recognisable remains marked the site; the adjacent hedge bank was full of slabs which might well have served in lintel graves.
Rhyne Burial Cist
The reported site of a burial cist of unknown date. It may be of prehistoric or early medieval date, perhaps a stray grave from an early Christian lintel-grave cemetery. The location is marked on the 1870 1:2500 scale Ordnance Survey map.
Rhyne Flint Scatter
The findspot of an early prehistoric flint scatter. It included a flint scraper which measured 36 millimetres in length.
River Glass Burial Mound
The reported site of a barrow of uncertain date.
River Glass Shieling Mound
The reported site of a late medieval shieling.
Roberts Dye Works
A 19th century dye works in Douglas.
Rock Corn Mill
The site of a post-medieval corn mill.
Rocks Plain, Fern Bank Dwelling
The site of a ruined building recorded by William Cubbon. He believed that site of St Trinian's hospital (PRN 0741.00) lay within Greeba plantation and that this building was connected.
Roll of Honour to the Men of Kirk Braddan, Chapel of Remembrance, St Brendan's Church, Braddan (IOM_NIWM_BRA_00003_2)
Written in decorative script using black, blue and red ink. There are small illustrations on each page. The roll of honour is displayed on the Ronald Lankester Memorial Book Stand, located in the Chapel of Remembrance, St Brendan's Church.
Ronald Lankester Memorial Book Stand, St Brendan's Chapel of Remembrance, Braddan (IOM_NIWM_BRA_00003_1)
This book stand was donated in memory of Ronald Lankester (RAF) reported missing during the Second World War (19 April 1943). The book stand was presented by his parents. Displayed on the stand is a roll of honour for men from the parish. The book stand is housed within the Chapel of Remembrance in St Brendan's Church.
Ronaldsburn, Derbyhaven House
A post-medieval house facing Derbyhaven Beach.
Ronaldsway
Site of Medieval battle. Magnus, the last Norse king of Man, submitted to the Scottish king in 1264, and received a charter by which he held the island from the crown of Scotland. Magnus died in 1265, at which point the island reverted to Scotland. The Manx were not reconciled to their new masters, and supported Godred, Magnus' illegitimate son, as king. In 1275 Alexander III sent a powerful army by sea to enforce his sovereignty, which landed at Ronaldsway on 7th October and gathered on St Michael's Isle. The Scottish envoys failed to agree terms with Godred and his counsellors, and before dawn on the following morning the well-organised Scots routed the Manx, who were killed as they fled. Scottish rule was firmly established for a time until destabilised by the Anglo-Scottish wars at the end of the century. The two sources for this historical narrative are the Chronicles of the Kings of Man and the Isles, and the Lanercost Chronicle. The latter describes Godred and his advisors as 'perverse' in their refusal to accept the terms offered, and the subsequent battle as a terrible rout, whilst the former quotes from an unnamed source that 537 Manxmen fell. The exact site of the battle is unknown. The Scottish army would have sailed into Derbyhaven, and may have camped anywhere on Langness, Ronaldsway or St Michael's Isle that provided the necessary security, although the Lanercost Chronicle specifically mentions the latter. The annotation on the Ordnance Survey 1:2500 First Edition mapping of 1868 (from which the grid reference is taken) arises from a confusion of this battle of Ronaldsway with the skirmish which took place on St Michael's Isle in 1250, reinforced by the tradition of graves being found in the area (also marked on the map a little to the south) which was later proved by excavation in the 1930s.
Ronaldsway Airport
Neolithic pottery. Two large late Neolithic jars were found in 1944 during construction work at Ronaldsway aerodrome. The pots were found close together by construction staff employed levelling ground to the north of the site of the millpond which once supplied the farm mill at Ronaldsway, and slightly to the south of the (then) northern taxiway, close to one of the wartime hangar sites. The findspot was a little over 300m west of the site of the Neolithic house discovered in 1943. It has generally been assumed that the pots represented burials, but more recent discoveries of similar, earth-fast pots buried upright at Billown suggest that they may equally well have been buried for other purposes.