Manx Facts. (Originally Written in 1997)
Derbyhaven Nr Castletown, was the site of the Derby Horse Race. The first race taking place on the site on July 28th 1627, 153 years before the race was transferred to Epsom in England. The site is now the Castletown Golf Links. Derbyhaven was once the port for the Derby family.
Next to Derbyhaven is the present Ronaldsway Airport. On the site of the airfield once stood a house called Ronaldsway House which was knocked down in this century to provide a safe runway for the airport. Ronaldsway house was given to the Manxman "Illiam Dhone" by his father. Illiam Dhone was a Manx patriot who has executed by the English Stanley family at nearby Hango Hill in January 1663. He was involved in the 1651 Manx uprising against the English Royalist house of Derby. Before 1651, he was Receiver of Revenues and Major General to Countess Charlotte who was the wife of the seventh earl of Derby and the Lord of Man who had been executed at Bolton 12 years earlier for his Royalist support against the Parliamentarians.
In 1651, the Parliamentarian forces landed at Ramsey and Illiam Dhone and 800 men met at Ronaldsway |House and decided to side with them against the Royalist Derby family who were in control of the island. They believed they had a greater duty to the people of the Isle of Man instead of to the Royalist Derby family. From 1656 to 1659, Illiam Dhone ( William Christian) was the Governor of the Isle of Man.
By the early 1660's, the Royalists were back in control and were looking to punish those involved in the 1651 uprising. In September 1662, he was arrested and taken to Castle Rushen in Castletown. Illiam Dhone was executed in January at the age of 54 just before the arrival on the island of a warrant from King Charles II allowing an appeal for a reprieve. He was buried at Malew. Illiam Dhone is featured in the novel "Peveril of the Peak" by Sir Walter Scott.
Castle Rushen still has a one handed clock which is said to have been given by Queen Elizabeth I in 1597, the workings of the clock were updated around 1720-1740. The bell was donated by Earl James in 1724/29 the 10th Earl of Derby.
Ronaldsway was once used by the Vikings in the 12th century including one called Ragnald or Ronald. When they couldn't launch their boats from nearby Castletown, they were moved to near Derbyhaven and launched, this was Ronald's Way of launching the boats in bad weather ?.
Sir William Hillary who founded the Royal National Lifeboat Institution is buried in St Georges Churchyard in Douglas where his restored tomb can be found. He founded the R.N.L.A in 1824 and built the Tower of Refuge in Douglas bay in 1832 to save sailors from shipwrecks in Douglas Bay. St George's Church was built between 1761 and 1780. For part of his life, he lived at Fort Anne which was a large house on the hillside on the left of Douglas harbour as you enter the harbour. The Fort Anne was demolished in 1979 and a corporate headquarters is being built for a shipping company on the site with a similar look to the old Fort Anne. The building is due for completion in the summer of 1998. The original Fort Anne was built in the early 19th Century by an Irish Gambler called "Buck Whaley" who had left Ireland. His wife received an allowance from her family on the condition that she lived on Irish Soil, so Buck Whaley imported a boat full of Irish Soil which he put in the footings of the Fort Anne when it was built. So, his wife continued to live on Irish Soil and continued to draw her allowance.
The lighthouse at the Point of Ayre was built in 1818 by the Great Grandfather of the Author Robert Louis Stevenson. Other Lighthouses on the Island include Maughold built in 1914, Chicken Rock (Nr Calf of Mann) 1875, Langness Nr Castletown & Douglas.
Cashtal Yn Ard (Gorry Castle or Castle on the Heights) is a New Stone Age burial site near Maughold in the north east of the island. The size of the stones makes it one of the largest structures of its kind in the British Isles. In nearby Maughold churchyard is the largest collection of pre-Norse Stone Crosses on the Isle of Man.
The Isle of Man has close connections with the "Mutiny on the Bounty" in 1789. Captain Bligh was married at Onchan on the Isle of Man. Fletcher Christian who led the Mutiny was a Manxman from near to Ramsey. After the Mutiny, Fletcher Christian and the other men went to Pitcairn Island in the Pacific and founded a colony there, where he was murdered a few years later. A third connection is a 14 year old boy who was on HMS Bounty. He was not involved in the mutiny and was left at Tahiti. His name was Peter Heywood and he was accused of Mutiny, but due to a campaign by his sister, he was released and later became a captain in the Navy.
In 1918 at the end of the First World War, one of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Boats, the King Orry (3) led the German fleet into Scapa Flow for the surrender of the German Fleet. The King Orry (3) returned to service on the Manx routes after the war. She returned to active service in the 2nd World War and was sunk at Dunkirk in 1940. She was one of 3 Steam Packet vessels lost on the same day at Dunkirk.
The Nunnery is a large private house near to Douglas on the Old Castletown Road. Robert Bruce stayed at the Nunnery for a night in 1313 when he was travelling to Castle Rushen in Castletown.
In 1973/74 Tourism represented 14 Per Cent of the Isle of Man's National Income and the Finance Sector 20 Per Cent. By 1993/94 the figure for Tourism had fallen to 6 Per Cent while the Finance Sector had risen to 35 Per Cent.
Passenger Arrivals between 1895 and 1995, between May 1st and September 30th.
1895 312,707
1905 412,783
1915 34,108
1925 540,628
1935 543,912
1945 167,089
1955 584,528
1965 462,124
1975 564,611
1985 351,240
1995 312,273
2005 ?
The Isle of Man has an Area of 227 square miles, this compares to 45 square miles for Jersey and 24 for Guernsey.
There is no Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance Tax or Stamp Duty on the IOM and the Maximum rate of Income Tax is 20%
The Isle of Man ( unlike the U.K ), still has the Dog License. It costs between £4 and £8 per year.
Quocunque Jerceris Stabit. .. Which ever way you throw me, I Stand. - The Isle of Man.
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