Official correspondence from Lieutenant Governor Charles Smelt to Home Secretary Lord Viscount Sidmouth reporting that the House of Keys (Manx legislature) was declared unsafe on 16 October 1817 by architect Thomas Brine's affidavit. Includes resolutions by House members to adjourn to the George Inn and requests for a government grant to rebuild. A follow-up letter from 7 October 1819 details the rebuilding contract with Brine and payment arrangements. Demonstrates post-Revestment governance infrastructure and the Crown's relationship with Manx institutions.
The House of Keys Election Act gave Manx people the right to elect their own representatives for the first time. Previously the Keys had been a self-electing body. The Act was the culmination of forty-five years of petitioning — the constitutional machinery that the Revestment had silenced, slowly restarting.
The House of Keys Election Act 1866 introduced popular elections to the House of Keys for the first time, replacing the system under which the twenty-four members of the lower chamber of Tynwald had been self-elected. This reform was a significant step in the democratisation of Manx governance and established the principle of representative parliamentary democracy on the Island.
A House of Keys proceeding documenting a petition by John Taubman (Gentleman) against a defendant named Lace. The document includes the original petition dated 26 July 1775, an order by Governor Richard Dawson dated 3 August 1775 directing the matter to the House of Keys, and the Keys' assembled response indicating consideration of the case and jurisdictional questions.
A House of Keys judgment dated 28 June 1777 determining a common law action instituted 8 December 1775 by Robert Garrett (plaintiff) against William Garrett (defendant) concerning an intack (enclosed land) in the Parish of Lezayre. The Keys reversed the traverse jury's verdict of 29 July 1776, affirmed the sheading jury's verdict of 6 May 1776, and ruled in favour of the defendant.
Record of House of Keys proceedings at Castletown on 28 September 1764, containing a judgment reversing a Traverse Jury's verdict in a land dispute over Abbey farm land in the parish of Kirk German between William Ellison (plaintiff) and Matthew Shimin (defendant). The document also records resolutions on petitions regarding a disputed road and a case by Thomas Taylor.
A judgment of the House of Keys assembled at Castletown determining a property dispute over quarterlands and cottage in the Parish of Malew. The Keys affirm a Traverse Jury verdict from 1765, awarding John Swanson possession of Bradly Corage and Simer Close but subject to a mortgage held by William Tarrant, and denying him the Intacks and Cottage.
A political document discussing the House of Keys' concerns about the irregular appointment of legislators and council members by private authority. It references a September 1821 memorial to the Secretary of State regarding the anomaly of a subject nominating members to the sovereign's council, with observations that such a subject's interests may conflict with those of the Crown and people.
Extract from a petition by the House of Keys describing their exclusion from the Criminal Court and their attempts to address grievances with the Governor (Duke of Athol) through formal channels. The document references a memorial presented to the Home-Secretary in autumn 1822 and discusses the Keys' traditional legal role and rights.
This is the concluding page of a printed pamphlet representing a petition or formal appeal by the House of Keys (the Manx parliament) to the House of Commons. The passage addresses concerns about the concentration of criminal law dispensation in the hands of the Duke of Atholl and his council, arguing that Manx islanders deserve representation and protection similar to other British subjects.
A fragment of a House of Keys document dated June 30th 1787 concerning the exigencies of government and the means of providing for them. The text appears to be part of a larger judgment or resolution discussing governmental matters and the responsibilities of the House of Keys.
Two House of Keys documents: (1) A resolution from 24 July 1776 appointing a committee to inspect and settle accounts between the House and John Quayle Esq. (Clerk of the Rolls) concerning fines from Public House Licences, and accounts with John Taubman Esq. as late Clerk; (2) A judgment record dated 28 June regarding a Common Law case tried on 8 December 1775 between Sgt Garrett (Plaintiff) and Garrett (Defendant) for recovery of property with associated rent claims.
A printed pamphlet page presenting the House of Keys' formal objection to their exclusion from a Court of General Gaol-Delivery held on the 21st instant, allegedly by instruction of His Majesty's Secretary of State. The document discusses the constitutional and legal implications of this unprecedented exclusion and notes a disputed jurisdictional plea by an accused person regarding the absence of the Keys.
Extract from a legal or political document discussing the House of Keys' opposition to successive applications by a Duke (likely the Duke of Atholl) for financial compensation and appropriation of insular revenues. References proceedings from 1805 before the Privy Council and Parliament regarding inadequacy of compensation paid for extinction of proprietory rights.
A formal resolution from the House of Keys to Governor John Wood Esq, dated 20 July 1769, recommending two candidates, John Joseph Bacon and James Oates, to fill a vacancy created by the death of Ewan Christian. The document requests the Governor's approval of the elected candidates.
This document records a dispute between the House of Keys and the Governor (referred to as 'his Grace'), regarding the Governor's intemperate language during a meeting and his subsequent refusal to provide a copy of his speech. The Keys describe how the Governor dismissed them abruptly after making what they characterize as insulting remarks, and note that a year and a half later he only expressed vague concern about the incident. The Keys assert their need to maintain decorum and respect in their official duties.
A revenue abstract listing properties in Douglas, Isle of Man during 1822, with owner names, dates of entry, and associated financial values. The document appears to be an official record maintained by The Record Office, detailing house valuations and tax assessments for various locations including street corners and market places.
The routes by which Manx people reached the American colonies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are poorly documented. No passenger manifests survive for the period, and the Manx pass system made unofficial departure risky. Several routes were possible. A Manx person could obtain the Governor's licence and take passage from Douglas or Ramsey to Liverpool or Whitehaven, then board an Atlantic vessel. They could cross to Ireland first and embark from Dublin, Belfast, or Londonderry, where the emigrant trade was well established by the eighteenth century. They could join the crew of a trading vessel and leave it in an American port. Or they could enter an indenture with a colonial planter's agent operating in the British Isles, exchanging years of labour for passage and the promise of land at the end of the term. The running trade itself provided another possibility: Manx vessels trading goods between Mann, Ireland, and the continental ports would have offered informal passage to anyone willing to pay or work. After the Revestment of 1765, when the Island's commercial economy collapsed, the emigration intensified and became better documented. The 1827 ships to Ohio were chartered specifically for Manx emigrants, and the press notices of the 1830s and 1840s recorded departures by parish and number. But the earlier, colonial-era movement left few traces beyond the headright patents and land grants in which Manx surnames appear.
Moore records the tale. All the fish were summoned to choose a king. The herring was elected, and all the fish came to pay homage — all except the fluke, who arrived late. When the fluke heard that the herring had been made king of the sea, he twisted his mouth to one side and said "The Herring, king of the sea!" — and his mouth has been on one side ever since.
The story connects directly to one of the most distinctive oaths in Manx law. The Deemsters, in their oath of office, swore to execute the laws of the Isle "as indifferently as the herring's backbone doth lie in the midst of the fish." The herring's backbone runs perfectly straight through the centre of the fish — and so the Deemster must hold the balance of justice, favouring neither side. The same fish that ruled the sea by election governed the courtroom by metaphor.
The oath is ancient. The six days of creation are invoked, and the herring backbone is the standard of impartiality. The tale and the oath belong together: the herring earned its kingship by consent, and the Deemster earned his authority by the same principle. Both systems — the fish and the court — worked because they held the centre.
Modern chapel.
The Wesleyan Methodist chapel at the Howe was constructed in 1850. Susequent extensions have provided an entrance porch and a small annexe.
Neolithic stone axehead.
A late Neolithic polished and roughened-butt axe of the local Ronaldsway type was found in the course of gardening at 'Heathercliffe', 7, King Edward Road, Onchan, in 1917. The grid reference is centred on the property curtilage.
The artefact was donated by the finder to Manx National Heritage and bears the accession no. 1954-0580.
The findspot of a Bronze Age cup-marked stone which was found during building work and retained in the ownership of the finder. The stone had 3 cup-marks on one face and one cup-mark on the opposite face. Some flints were found at the same site.
