Medieval and post-Medieval watch station. The hill for the Day Watch for the parish of Malew was at 'The Barrow', according to a document dated 1627 within the Castle Rushen Papers archive. Based on place name evidence and topographical observation, The Barrow would appear to be the hilltop now known as the Broogh. The hill is marked by a cropmark enclosure of possible Iron Age date. The Day Watch was part of a system of 'watch and ward' instituted on a parish-by-parish basis throughout the Isle of Man, beginning putatively in the Viking Age and lasting until the 17th century. Local militia were expected to keep watch from hilltops during daylight hours, and from vulnerable coastal locations - inlets, rivermouths and open beaches - at night. One of the ports for the Night Watch in Malew was at 'Reynoldsway', i.e. Ronaldsway, which may in actuality refer to modern Derbyhaven or the mouth of the Santon Burn at Cass ny Hawin, where an apparently Iron Age promontory fort shows extensive signs of modification during the medieval period (PRN 0074). The site is only 600m east of the Broogh, and the two are intervisible.

The Manx mermaid. Part of Moore's full taxonomy of the supernatural beings that inhabited the Manx landscape alongside the human population. The ben-varrey belonged to the coastal waters in the same way the buggane belonged to specific inland sites. Each creature had its territory, its character, and its rules of engagement with the human world.

The site of a spring or well on the Bishop's Desmesne known as "The Bishop's Well."

The bollan bane — mugwort — was gathered at midsummer and worn as a chaplet to protect against enchantment. It grows wild across the island. This summer project is a nature journal: find and identify the plants that appear in Manx tradition. Mugwort for midsummer. Mountain ash (rowan) for May Day. Rushes for Tynwald. Elder, which the fairies favoured. Gorse, which the Manx people burned to clear land. Press specimens, draw them, photograph them. Note where you found them and when. By midsummer, gather your own bollan bane and make a chaplet. You’re doing something Manx people have done for longer than anyone can remember.

A melody the Manx people said had been learned from the fairies themselves. A farmer wearing mugwort for protection went into the hills and heard the fair folk playing music. He went back three times to memorise the tune, each time returning home later until finally arriving at sunrise to be met by an angry wife. But he had the tune, and it passed into the tradition of the island. Fairy music made safe by the protective herb, captured and carried back to the world of men.

Medieval farmstead. The three structures on the site confused early antiquaries, who suggested the circle and alignments of stones forming an avenue might be elements of a prehistoric temple. Excavations in the 1930s were inconclusive: the site had been disturbed by an overflowing spring, which may have carried away datable artefacts. The two rectilinear structures appear to be massive examples - one is 20m long, the other 18m - of the rectangular houses built throughout the Viking world around 1,000 years ago, though both are longer and wider than any other structure of this period so far found on the Island. The upper of the two is the larger, with bowed walls 20m long and 2.1m thick. The maximum internal width is 8.9m. The walls are of earth and stone and survive to 0.8m in height; massive boulders occur at intervals. No trace of gable walls survives above ground but excavation suggests these may have been constructed in timber and turf. The remains of three much smaller structures survive in the interior which are thought to represent the ruins of shepherds' huts or shielings, built after the larger building was abandoned and perhaps ruinous. It seems likely that this farmstead, which is built on marginal farmland, proved not to be viable and was abandoned in favour of use during the medieval period as a seasonal settlement from which livestock was tended on nearby common land during the summer. If so, the site, uniquely for the Island, brings together buildings of Iron Age and Viking styles that were used together and survive down to the present.

Medieval farmstead. The three structures on the site confused early antiquaries, who suggested the circle and alignments of stones forming an avenue might be elements of a prehistoric temple. Excavations in the 1930s were inconclusive: the site had been disturbed by an overflowing spring, which may have carried away datable artefacts. The two rectilinear structures appear to be massive examples - one is 20m long, the other 18m - of the rectangular houses built throughout the Viking world around 1,000 years ago, though both are longer and wider than any other structure of this period so far found on the Island. The lower of the two is only slightly smaller, 18m long and 6m wide, with walls 1.8m thick and 0.7m high. The internal arrangement of stone slabs suggests that the structure may at one time have served as a stalled byre. Unlike its neighbour, its long walls are straight, and there survives evidence for opposed doorways towards the east end, now partially blocked. These appear too narrow for use by animals, and may imply that the stalls represent the building's conversion for use by animals. It seems likely that this farmstead, which is built on marginal farmland, proved not to be viable and was abandoned in favour of use during the medieval period as a seasonal settlement from which livestock was tended on nearby common land during the summer. If so, the site, uniquely for the Island, brings together buildings of Iron Age and Viking styles that were used together and survive down to the present.

The remains of three much smaller structures survive in the interior of one of the longhouses, and are thought to represent the ruins of shepherds' huts or shielings, built after the larger building was abandoned and perhaps ruinous. It seems likely that this farmstead, which is built on marginal farmland, proved not to be viable and was abandoned in favour of use during the medieval period as a seasonal settlement from which livestock was tended on nearby common land during the summer. If so, the site, uniquely for the Island, brings together buildings of Iron Age and Viking styles that were used together and survive down to the present.

Iron Age farmstead. The three structures on the site confused early antiquaries, who suggested the circle and alignments of stones forming an avenue might be elements of a prehistoric temple. Excavations in the 1930s were inconclusive: the site had been disturbed by an overflowing spring, which may have carried away datable artefacts. The structure earlier identified as a stone circle consists of a circle of 29 standing stones, but between these there is walling in all but one case, forming a doorway. The internal diameter is 13.2m, and the walls average 1.6m in width. The doorway is 1.2m wide. Parts of the interior were paved, and while the excavators in the 1930s found no evidence for posts that might have supported a roof, the general consensus is that this was a large, stone-built roundhouse built during the late Iron Age perhaps 1,200 - 1,300 years ago. It seems likely that this site, which is built on marginal farmland, proved not to be viable and was abandoned in favour of use during the medieval period as a seasonal settlement from which livestock was tended on nearby common land during the summer. If so, the site, uniquely for the Island, brings together buildings of Iron Age and Viking styles that were used together and survive down to the present.

Medieval standing stone. The Ordnance Survey First Edition 1:2500 map of 1868 records 'Site of Chapel & Burial Ground' without a marker denoting the location; the wording is centred at SC20867093. A stone set in the hedge to the south of the site is known locally as the 'bridle stone', and tradition holds that it was used to tether horses during funerals. The stone is a large, worn block of local rock perforated by a substantial hole. It is set in the top of the hedge at SC20937089.

When the British regulars replaced the Lord's garrison in 1765, the character of military presence on the island changed entirely. The 2nd Queen's Royal Regiment of Foot and Hale's Light Dragoons arrived from Ireland. The Black Watch followed. For sixty-three years, British regiments rotated through Castle Rushen — foreign soldiers billeted to enforce Parliament's revenue policy. By 1783, the barracks were in bad repair, the bedding very bad and defective. No Parliamentary money was allocated for repairs. The soldiers who occupied the island were housed as poorly as the islanders they occupied. Parliament sent the same kind of force to the Isle of Man that it sent to the Scottish Highlands, because Parliament understood both places the same way — as territories to be brought to heel.

In 1896, a gold model boat was found at Broighter on the shore of Lough Foyle in County Derry. It is eighteen centimetres long, with two rows of nine oars, benches, a paddle rudder, rowlocks, and miniature tools. It was buried in a salt-marsh, probably as a votive offering to a sea god — probably Manannán mac Lir — sometime around the first century BC. The craftsmanship is extraordinary. Someone spent weeks on it, getting every detail right, and then put it in the ground where nobody would ever see it again. That is what an offering looks like. Not showy. Not loud. Just the best work you can do, given to the sea, in the dark, and trusted to reach where it is going. O'Donovan recorded that Manannán was still vividly remembered in the mountainous district of Derry and Donegal, and was said to have an enchanted castle in Lough Foyle — the same stretch of water where the boat was buried. The hoard also contained a gold torc, a gold bowl, and other gold ornaments, all of exceptional quality. The collection is now held by the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. The Broighter boat is the earliest known physical evidence of devotion to a sea god in the Irish Sea world. It predates the written sources by a thousand years. When the Manx people carried their bundles of rushes up South Barrule at Midsummer, they were performing a version of the same act: offering the best of what they had to the one who kept them safe.

Undated enclosure. An elliptical enclosure is often visible as a cropmark on the summit of the Broogh, a low hillock on the NE side of Ronaldsway airport. The enclosure measures approximately 100m NNW-SSE and 80m WSW-ENE. Occasionally parts of another circuit are visible within the enclosure. The summit has been disturbed by the installation of an air traffic light, dating either from the time of the construction of Ronaldsway airport as a military airfield in 1943-4, or else following its conversion to a civil airfield after the end of WW2. More recently in 2011 a new radar installation was constructed within the enclosure and the work was the subject of an archaeological investigation. No finds were made. It is possible, based on the finds made at Skibrick Hill (PRN 0109), that the enclosure might date to the Iron Age.

Gob ny Scuit ("Point of the Jet or Spout") is a location in the parish of Maughold on the Isle of Man, said to be haunted by a buggane described as a spectre like a man with the head of a cat and great fiery eyes, believed to be the ghost of a murderer. It terrified the district with howls until it was laid by Jem-beg Kermeen of Ballure, and investigation by Kennish revealed the sounds were produced by wind entering a natural fissure in the rock.

The most famous of the bugganes, the malevolent site-specific spirits of Manx folklore. This buggane tore the roof off St Trinian's church every time it was built. Timothy the tailor took on the challenge, stitching a pair of breeches while the buggane rose from the ground before him. It demanded he look at its great head, large eyes, and long teeth. Timothy kept stitching. He finished the last stitch and leapt to consecrated ground just in time. The buggane, unable to follow him onto holy earth, tore off its own head and hurled it after him. Timothy was unscathed. The church remains roofless to this day. The story captures the accommodation at work: Christianity protected against the buggane, but it did not deny the buggane's existence.

A series of pointed wooden posts found in a peat bog on the east slope of Snaefell, which have been interpreted as the remains of a prehistoric palisade around ancient dwellings or defence works.

An extract from Draper's 1864 'House of Stanley' detailing the burial places of the Earls of Derby, focusing on Burscough Priory (founded c.1186, dissolved c.1536) and the subsequent removal of bodies to Ormskirk Parish Church. Includes architectural descriptions, founding history, and references to the Stanley family vault, relevant to understanding the institutional and dynastic context of the Revestment-era Derby family.

A major scholarly monograph analysing the domestic impact of British imperial expansion through the lens of the East India Company's transformation from trading organisation to imperial power in South Asia. Bowen examines the Company's stockholders, directors, administrative structures, financial operations, and interactions with the British economy and society during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, drawing extensively on Company records held in the British Library.

A UCL History PhD thesis (2024) by Stephen Mallet analysing smuggling as a commercial business in Britain and France during the 18th century. The thesis examines smuggling supply chains, legal frameworks, organisation, financing, and risk management, with particular emphasis on the Isle of Man as a smuggling entrepôt until 1765. It adopts a comparative Anglo-French approach to understand smuggling economics and its impact on trade, revenue, and society.

The site of an early medieval keeill or chapel and burial ground at Ballameanagh, located some 60 metres south of the stream and 179 metres southeast of the bridge. Traditionally it was said to be visited on St John's Eve for the purpose of divination. On a projecting bluff at the south corner of the small field a portion of the ancient cemetery and part of the foundations of the keeill were recorded.

The site of an early medieval keeill or chapel and burial ground at Ballameanagh, located some 60 metres south of the stream and 179 metres southeast of the bridge. Traditionally it was said to be visited on St John's Eve for the purpose of divination. On a projecting bluff at the south corner of the small field, a portion of the ancient cemetery and part of the foundations of the keeill were recorded, but a roadway had been cut diagonally through the building and many of the stones removed in the past.  It is thought that the keeill building would have measured about 4.5 metres long by 2.75 metres wide. An apparent prehistoric grave was discovered in the roadway cut across the keeill. It was well constructed and stone lined and measured 2 metres long by between 30 centimetres and 50 centimetres wide.  It appears to have been located under the north wall of the keeill.

The site of an early medieval chapel or keeill which is thought to have been in use between circa AD500 and AD1000.  Glass beads and pot of silver coins were found at the site circa 1890. The stones were removed by the owner and a broken font was sent to parish church for safe-keeping.

The water-horse of Manx folklore. A shape-shifting creature who could appear as an ordinary horse grazing by a lake or river. Anyone who mounted it would find themselves unable to dismount as the creature plunged into deep water. In 1859 it was reported that such an animal was to be seen in a field near Ballure Glen, and hundreds of people left Ramsey to catch sight of it. Campbell, writing of the same tradition in Scotland, concluded that the old Celts must have had a destroying water-god to whom the horse was sacred. The Manx water-horse was sometimes identified with the Glashtyn.

The Calf of Man is a small island off the south-western tip of the Isle of Man, separated from the main island by the Calf Sound. It has been a bird sanctuary since 1951 and is managed by Manx National Heritage. The island has a long history of habitation and was used as a base by smugglers during the eighteenth century.

The small island off the southern tip of the Isle of Man, sheltering the Sound from the southwest gales. A bird observatory and nature reserve. The Calf appears in the landscape as a constant companion to the southern parishes, visible from Port Erin and Port St Mary, separated by the treacherous Sound where the tidal race runs.