Plaques on four sides of the memorial obelisk. Side facing Castletown inscription as follows: "Pro Patria / 1914-1918." Below is a list of 71 names. Side facing Derbyhaven: "Pro Patria / 1914-1918." Further list of 65 names, continuing alphabetically. Side facing towards college/airport : "Pro-Patria / 1939-1945." Below is a list of 38 names. Side facing towards the college chapel: "Pro Patria / 1939-1945." Further list of 39 names, continuing alphabetically.
First and Second World Wars.
Constructed from Cornish grey granite with Celtic cross on top and sword with Manx emblem on main column. Names are on bronze tablets. Unveiled on Friday 28 July 1922 by Sir George Beatson, M.D, K.C.B. Dedicated by Right Rev. James Denton Thompson, Bishop of Man. Designed by Ronald F. Dodd of Oxford, son of T.M. Dodd of Castletown. Built by messrs W.H. Avtell and co. of Oxford. (Mona's Herald, 2 August 1922, p.5).
The college consists of a number of buildings surrounded by extensive grounds. The main part is a three storey stone structure dominated by a massive stone tower. Numerous alterations and additions adjoining this nucleus have not always been consistent in either the 'style' or the materials of the original building (e.g. dormers in front elevation roof). However the sheer bulk of the original building provides a certain measure of consistency to the overall character typical of 19th century academic architecture. The Chapel has maintained its original integrity more or less intact although the scale of the large pitched slate roof to low stone walls contrasts with the opposite expression of the main school. To the rear of the main building, and in the annexe to the west, a different character altogether prevails with no underlying architectural acknowledgement of the unity of the complex. No comprehensive analysis of individual features has been made either internally or externally. The building complex and grounds have historic significance. The founding of the school extended the tradition of the Castletown Grammar School as the historic seat of learning on the island. Governor Smelt laid the foundation stone in 1830 and the college was opened by Bishop Ward in 1833. The fire of 1844 destroyed the priceless collection of Manx books and documents acquired from the Grammar School and kept in the college library. The complex including the grounds should be listed as a unit.
This appraisal was undertaken prior to the existence of Registered Building or Conservation Area legislation on the Isle of Man in order to assess whether the complex was worthy of protection. In the event, King William's College was placed on the Protected Buildings Register in 2001 (No. 185): the protected area only includes the main building, the chapel, and the cricket pavilion. the war memorial outside the chapel was subsequently protected (No. 314).
King William's College was founded in 1833, funded principally by the Bishop Barrow Trust (established in 1668 to provide education on the Island), and opened its doors that August with 46 boys; its chapel followed in 1835. The school takes its name from King William IV, who is said to have offered its founders "my most valuable possession, my name" when asked for financial support. On 14 January 1844 fire destroyed most of the college buildings, including the library and its contents, with only the Vice-Principal's house surviving; the college was rebuilt to a revised design soon after. It remains a co-educational independent school today, occupying its site near Castletown Bay.
This war memorial within the grounds of King William's College is registered as the College's own memorial to its war dead. No further documented history beyond its registration as a Protected Building was found.
A flax mill was recorded here by P.M.C. Kermode. The remains of header pond were visible in 1978 and the possible site of the mill seen after clearance of Lough Cranstal drain in 1984.
The site of an Iron Age Roundhouse or defended enclosure which has been partially excavated by Peter Gelling. It was concluded that this was a metal-working establishment of 7th-8th century AD, with a second phase of activity dating to the 9th century.
The site of an Iron Age Roundhouse or defended enclosure. It survives as a grass covered earthwork, set in a marshy area. Its siting and general construction is comparable to the earth built Roundhouses of about 200 AD. It consists of an oval raised area which measures 25.0 metres east to west and slightly larger north to south. It is raised approximately 0.7 metres above the surrounding ground surface. It has an outer ditch with an outer bank visible to its north side but this is not apparent in the remaining quarters of the monument. No entrance has been identified.
An area of lazy bed cultivation visited by the RCHME in 1985.
Record History: Site visit RCHME/NAR OS Field Worker DS (99) 07/07/1985 - Desktop update Robinson, Harry A., Dr (99) 30/04/1987 - Desktop update & edit Robinson, Harry A., Dr (99) 21/09/1987
A ditchless, grass-covered, rather irregular mound which resembles a barrow. It is situated on the brow of a hill and has an average diameter of 18.0 metres with a height to the east of 2.0 metres. It is much mutilated on its top and at the sides and the lower slopes have been under the plough. On the top in the north west is a prostrate white quartz block, 0.7 x 0.4 x 0.3 metres. The position is similar to the Viking mound at Knock y Doonee. It may be a Bronze Age barrow or maybe more likely to be a Viking barrow.
Undated shaped stone.
The Ordnance Survey 1:2500 First Edition mapping of 1867-8 shows this feature at the side of the road, together with the annotation 'Saddle Stone'.
The origin of the stone, which is built into the wall at the roadside, is unknown.
It has the appearance of a saddle, hence its name, and local tradition held that people who sit on the stone and wish have that wish granted. There was also a tradition of riding it on May-Day.
Its edges are smooth and well worn, possibly caused by people sitting on it. As a result, tooling marks are not readily apparent.
Parish in the northern plain of the Isle of Man, in the Sheading of Ayre.
Kirk Andreas occupies part of the broad lowland north of the Island. Its parish church is dedicated to St Andrew, preserved in the Manx name Skeeyll Andreays.
The church and churchyard contained a notable group of carved stones. Among them is the Sandulf Cross, bearing a runic inscription recording that Sandulf the Swarthy erected the cross in memory of his wife Arinbjorg. The crosses belong to the Norse-Christian sculpture found particularly widely in the northern parishes.
The parish also had a close connection with the Archdeaconry of Man. William Mylrea, Archdeacon of the Isle, was rector of Andreas for twenty-seven years and died on 14 September 1787 aged sixty-five. His wife Elinor Mylrea, née Gell, died in 1795.
Andreas was dominated by farms and quarterlands. Robertson's list of principal properties includes Ballavodan, belonging to the Duke of Atholl, Gilghagh, Ballavary, Ballachurry, Ballaradcliffe and Ballawhane. At Ballawhane, the family of John Tear were said to have long possessed valuable medicinal preparations which they distributed freely for the relief of the poor.
The northern landscape also contained numerous prehistoric burial mounds. One antiquarian account records a barrow in Andreas in which fourteen decayed urns or earthen pots had been found.
Two fairs were held at Andreas in December. Robertson noted that some of the Manx fairs remained well attended while others were by then almost neglected.
The Kirk Andreas Pinfold is found on the highroad between Ramsey and Andreas village. It is irregular in shape and measures approximately 35.5 metres from the entrance to the most distant corner, with a maximum width of 17.5 metres. It is sod walled, the walls rising to over 2.25 metres in height, with an inner facing of undressed stones. The entrance has no lintel. There is an excellent example of old Manx hedging alongside. Each parish was responsible for the maintenance and repair of its own pinfold, but their origins are uncertain. A statute of 1422 confirms customary laws were already long established by the 15th century.
The present parish church, built in 1802, stands to the south of the former church, which was taken down under the provisions of an Act of Tynwald passed 1800. Mr A.W. Moore supposes that the dedication to St Andrew is likely to date from the period of Scottish rule (1275-1334) but the Scandanavian and Celtic cross -slabs found here almost certainly suggests an early Celtic church, with which there would have been a burial ground.
The parish church at Andreas was built in 1802, replacing an earlier church to the north. It was built with stone from Sulby Glen and likely stands on the site of an earlier early-medieval keeill. A 120-foot bell tower was added in 1869 but was reduced in height during the Second World War and has not since been restored to its original height. The churchyard contains twenty-three Commonwealth war graves from the Second World War.
Medieval and Modern pinfold.
Kirk Arbory pinfold stands close to the junction of the Douglas and Castletown roads, south of the Friary and the modern settlement of Ballabeg; routes from the village are effective in connecting the locality with the rest of the parish.
The pinfold is subrectangular, with boundaries constructed mostly from sod hedging, although rubble and drystone walling makes up the east side. The longest side is 45m, the shortest 25m, and area of the enclosure is 0.13ha or 0.32 acres.
The entrance was on the south side, close to the Douglas Road. An archive photogrpah in the Manx National Heritage collections shows a wide entrance with a lintel above head height. The approach is now blocked by a modern structure.
Each parish was responsible for the maintenance and repair of its own pinfold. Their origins are uncertain although an early statute of 1422 confirms that the customary laws relating to their maintenance and use were already well established.
Parish in the centre-east of the Isle of Man, surrounding much of Douglas and extending inland along the valleys of the Dhoo and Glass.
The parish church and churchyard preserve an important collection of carved stones. The Oter Cross at Braddan carries a runic inscription naming Utr, and its ornament was repeatedly compared by nineteenth-century antiquaries with the large Joalf Cross at Kirk Michael and other Manx monuments.
Another inscribed fragment was found in Braddan churchyard and published with the Manx Society's studies of runic sculpture. The designs include interlace, triquetra and animal ornament characteristic of the Island's Norse-Christian stones.
The parish also contained one of the better-known old bridges. An historical account described the bridge over the dark water at Kirk Braddan as a stately structure. The Dhoo and Glass valleys provided the natural routes from the interior towards Douglas, and the expansion of the town eventually spread deeply into the older rural parish.
Braddan retained older beliefs well into the nineteenth century. Joseph Train recorded that in early 1843, near Union Mills, the carcass of an animal believed to have died through witchcraft was burnt by the roadside so that the first person to pass after the fire was lit might be identified as the witch or wizard.
The name Braddan was connected by older antiquaries with St Brendan or Brandanus.
Pinfold. This walled subrectangular enclosure lies adjacent to the highroad between Union Mills and the Strang, but the road network provides communication throughout the parish of Braddan. It has maximum dimensions of 18 by 17m, and is defined by high walls which show many signs of repair. A natural supply of water is derived from the adjacent field, and now feeds a water trough.
The origins of the pinfold are unknown, though historically each parish was legally responsible for the upkeep of its own pound, and for the policing of stray animals. An early statute of 1422 records the practice and confirms that it was already a customary law by that time.
