Harbour town on the northeast coast of the Isle of Man, within the parish of Maughold.

Ramsey stands at the southern side of Ramsey Bay where the northern plain meets the sea. Its harbour served the fishing and agricultural districts of Maughold, Lezayre, Andreas, Bride and the surrounding countryside.

The dependence of the district on the sea is clear in a petition concerning Cornaa in 1791. The petitioners described agriculture and the herring fishery as the principal support of the parish and complained that the lack of a secure landing place at Cornaa forced boats to run for Ramsey, often at considerable danger and expense. Limestone brought round from Castletown for improving the land was subject to the same problem.

Ramsey was therefore both a working harbour and a place of refuge for vessels unable to use smaller creeks on the northeast coast. Robertson's list of appointed ports and creeks placed Ramsey alongside Lanemoore, Port Cranstail and Port League.

The herring fishery brought boats and seasonal employment into the town, while the agricultural country behind it supplied grain, cattle and other produce. Roads from Ramsey ran south towards Maughold and Laxey, west through Lezayre and north across the plain.

The growing settlement had its own chapel, distinct from the ancient parish church at Maughold. Parish figures printed by Robertson separately listed Ramsey Chapel, reflecting the growth of the town within the older ecclesiastical parish.

Fairs were also held at Ramsey. An eighteenth-century list records two in November and another in December, although the same writer cautioned that while some Manx fairs were well attended, others had become almost neglected.