Hillfort. Cronk Sumark sits near the entrance to Sulby Glen. The hill rises abruptly from the lowlands and commands extensive views. The sides of the hill to the north and west are nearly precipitous and artificial defences are therefore focussed on the south and east slopes.
The main defences are two banks which start at the NE corner of the hill and encircle its east and south sides. The inner bank creates a broad terrace below the easterly of the two summits of the hill. The outer bank, of rather smaller scale, is almost concentric with the inner bank. A former track leading from Grangee farm (at the foot of the hill to the east) to the 19th century quarry below the westerly summit may overlie an outermost bank. The trackway may mask an earlier entranceway leading up from the SSW.
The top of the hill is separated into two summits. The westerly hilltop has been truncated by quarrying, and is not clear whether any archaeological features existed on its now craggy summit.
The eastern summit is more spacious, and is surrounded by a substantial rampart which rises in places to 2m in height and encloses a level area about 25 by 20m across. A slight mound near the north-eastern corner may represent the remains of a defensible entrance. The rampart is constructed from earth and stone, several samples of which appear to have been burned; it is not clear if this was a deliberate act of construction or destruction.
Between the summits, the bedrock has been excavated to form three ditches running from north to south. Two of these are discontinuous and are spanned by a causeway of bedrock, but the third, adjacent to the westerly summit, is deeper and has no such interruption. It is possible that this ditch, protecting the westerly summit, was spanned by a timber structure which has left no obvious remains.
Local tradition has it that the western summit was used as a place of execution, and that during the later medieval period the hill served as the meeting place for a church court. It has also been suggested that the name, rather than indicating 'Primrose Hill', should instead be translated from the Manx as 'hill of refuge'.
Hillfort. Cronk Sumark sits near the entrance to Sulby Glen, rising abruptly from the lowlands and commanding extensive views. The sides of the hill to the north and west are nearly precipitous and artificial defences are therefore focussed on the south and east slopes.
The main defences are two banks which start at the NE corner of the hill and encircle its east and south sides. The inner bank creates a broad terrace below the easterly of the two summits of the hill. The outer bank, of rather smaller scale, is almost concentric with the inner bank. A former track leading from Grangee farm (at the foot of the hill to the east) to the 19th century quarry below the westerly summit may overlie an outermost bank. The trackway may mask an earlier entranceway leading up from the SSW.
The top of the hill is separated into two summits. The westerly hilltop has been truncated by quarrying, and is not clear whether any archaeological features existed on its now craggy summit.
The eastern summit is more spacious, and is surrounded by a substantial rampart which rises in places to 2m in height and encloses a level area about 25 by 20m across. A slight mound near the north-eastern corner may represent the remains of a defensible entrance. The rampart is constructed from earth and stone, several samples of which appear to have been burned; it is not clear if this was a deliberate act of construction or destruction.
Between the summits, the bedrock has been excavated to form three ditches running from north to south. Two of these are discontinuous and are spanned by a causeway of bedrock, but the third, adjacent to the westerly summit, is deeper and has no such interruption. It is possible that this ditch, protecting the westerly summit, was spanned by a timber structure which has left no obvious remains.
In 1953 the site of a possible ploughed out Bronze Age barrow was reported by Mrs J. Quilliam. It was described as a ditchless, grass-covered, sandy bowl barrow with a diameter of 15.0 metres and a height of 0.4 metres.
In 1953 the site of a possible ploughed out Bronze Age barrow was reported by Mrs J. Quilliam. It was described as a ditchless, grass-covered, sandy bowl barrow with a diameter of 15.0 metres and a height of 0.4 metres.
A site where lintel graves have been reportedly found, perhaps indicating the presence of a burial ground. The record is based on an annotation on a map of antiquarian observations kept in the Manx National Heritage Library and Archives: there is no other tradition associated with the area to confirm this. The grid reference relates to the centre of the area in which the annotation is recorded.
Antiquarians suggested that the natural hillock at Cronk Urleigh was a medieval place of assembly. This romantic theory has been discounted in modern times however, and has been explained to be the result of the misapplication of place names. 'Cronk Urleigh' is a natural feature.
The site of a round house which was subject to a small-scale emergency excavation by Dr Larch S. Garrad in 1984-1985. Evidence of multi-phase activity was found, including a Bronze Age cremation burial, an Iron Age hut and glass 'toggle' beads.
The site of a round house which was subject to a small-scale emergency excavation by Dr Larch S. Garrad in 1984-1985. Evidence of multi-phase activity was found, including a Bronze Age cremation burial.
The site of a round house which was subject to a small-scale emergency excavation by Dr Larch S. Garrad in 1984-1985. Evidence of multi-phase activity was found, including a Bronze Age cremation burial associated with a barrow.
This is the site of a post-medieval gun battery, including the earthworks of a prominent gun emplacement.
The First Edition 1:2500 Ordnance Survey mapping of 1868 shows an almost circular earthwork ranging from approximately 20 to 30 metres in diameter: the centre of the mound is sunken to provide a faintly polygonal gun emplacement, though there is no indication to suggest how many pieces might have been mounted.
In 1955 an OS fieldworker described a slight bank 2 metres wide and 0.2 metres high surrounding the hollow without an obvious break to provide an entrance. Today the top of the mound is somewhat mutilated, with signs that the bank is weakest or most eroded on the south-southwestern side, and it is difficult to be sure if the 1:2500 Ordnance Survey illustration was wholly accurate or somewhat conventionalised.
The battery was built in 1648 by James Stanley, 7th earl of Derby and Lord of Man, on the advice of Sir Arthur Ashton (or Aston). The earl was a staunch Royalist during the Civil War who went to considerable trouble to fortify the Isle of Man against Parliamentary attack. Ashton was an acknowledged artillery specialist who was later killed in the Parliamentary massacre of the defenders of Drogheda in 1649.
The battery was positioned to overlook or command Peel Castle, and supposedly designed to prevent its takeover or occupation by rebel forces; it is too high above sea-level to have functioned conventionally or effectively for coastal defence against shipping.
The site is sometimes referred to as Cronk y Caitnys, which translated from Manx Gaelic means 'hill of the common'.
This is the site of a post-medieval gun battery, including the earthworks of a prominent gun emplacement. The First Edition 1:2500 Ordnance Survey mapping of 1868 shows an almost circular earthwork ranging from approximately 20 to 30m in diameter: the centre of the mound is sunken to provide a faintly polygonal gun emplacement, though there is no indication to suggest how many pieces might have been mounted.
In 1955 an OS fieldworker described a slight bank 2m wide and 0.2m high surrounding the hollow without an obvious break to provide an entrance. Today the top of the mound is somewhat mutilated, with signs that the bank is weakest or most eroded on the south-southwestern side, and it is difficult to be sure if the Ordnance Survey illustration was wholly accurate or somewhat conventionalised.
The battery was built in 1648 by James Stanley, 7th earl of Derby and Lord of Man, on the advice of Sir Arthur Ashton (or Aston). The earl was a staunch Royalist during the Civil War who went to considerable trouble to fortify the Isle of Man against Parliamentary attack. Ashton was an acknowledged artillery specialist who was later killed in the Parliamentary massacre of the defenders of Drogheda in 1649. The battery was positioned to overlook or command Peel Castle, and supposedly designed to prevent its takeover or occupation by rebel forces; it is too high above sea-level to have functioned conventionally or effectively for coastal defence against shipping. The site is sometimes referred to as Cronk y Caitnys, which translated from Manx Gaelic means 'hill of the common'.
The site of the burial ground of an early medieval keeill or chapel which is thought to have been in use between circa AD500 and AD1000. The keeill enclosure is shown on the 1870 1:2500 Ordnance Survey map and measures about 30 metres in diameter.
The site of a Bronze Age barrow. It survives as a ditchless, grass-covered bowl barrow 18.0 metres in diameter surmounted in the southwest by a hedge and a modern road. Its height to the east side is 0.7 metres. It has been eroded by past ploughing.
The possible site of a Late Medieval or early post-medieval Watch and Ward beacon. The site is on a natural rounded hill with a level platform on top. A Mr Sayle remembered a low circular mound of earth and stones here which was removed in the 19th century and that 'many cannon balls' had been found.
The conjectured site of a Neolithic or Bronze Age settlement. Neolithic flint scrapers have been found here (now kept in the Manx Museum) as well as a Neolithic or Bronze Age flint pounder or hammer trimmed roughly to a sphere (Manx Museum Accession No. 627). They were donated by Mr W Faragher.
