NEWS

If you are an avid reader of Manx history and/or historic fiction (set anywhere), our new book club might be right up your street.

The Rushen Heritage Book Club will meet once a month, at Rushen Heritage Centre (Bridson Street, Port Erin), and discuss the chosen books over a cuppa.

It will be informal and relaxed - all about sharing a love of books and heritage, to chat with (new) friends and find new authors/books that you may not have known about.

If you are interested in coming along, please email our coordinator John at rushenht@gmail.com or call him on 464634 - ideally with which evenings of the week suit you best. We'll then be in touch with everyone to advise of the first date.

08/08/22

The latest exhibition at Rushen Heritage Centre takes visitors back to a time when model boats were all the rage in Port St Mary.

'Model Yachting Mania' tells the story of Port St Mary boating pool, which was built in 1937 as a response to the increasing popularity of model boats and boating sites around the Island.

The exhibition has been compiled in conjunction with model boat enthusiast Brian King and will run until Saturday, September 3rd. Rushen Heritage Centre - at 1, Bridson Street, Port Erin - is open 10am-4pm from Tuesday to Saturday, with free entry for all.

Brian, who grew up in Port St Mary, said: 'People have been making model boats for hundreds of years but it really took off as a national sport in the UK at the beginning of the 19th century. Lakes were made into boating pools and purpose-built pools, complete with clubhouses, spread up and down the country.

'In the Isle of Man, Ramsey was the first to develop a club on the lake at the Mooragh, followed by Douglas on the Tromode dam. Not to be outdone, the Port St Mary model boat enthusiasts, of whom there were many, decided to build their own purpose-built pool at Kallow Point.

'Model yachting ''mania" spread through Rushen like wildfire. While there had been one or two traditional scale model boat builders, like John Gawne from Fistard, it was the competition element that seized the day. This needed a decent-sized, regular-shaped pool, and from this the people of Rushen raised the money, volunteered their services and even equipment to have a pool of a size to enable proper competition for the two national-sized boats, the 36R and the 50-inch Marblehead.'

The pool was completed in 1937, with competitions taking place between the Island's clubs, before being interrupted by the war. It remained popular in the post-war years, but eventually interest started to wane and the pool was closed around 1997 and filled in around three years later.

Doreen Moule, Chair of Rushen Heritage Trust, said: 'I think most children from the era covered by the exhibition will have fond memories of visiting a boating pool near where they lived. They were incredibly popular in their heyday, with regular competitions, and we hope the story told by our latest exhibition will resonate with many people, from Rushen and further afield.'

19/07/22

To mark the return of the TT races after a Covid-enforced absence of three years, our latest exhibition features six Manx TT riders, past and present.

'The Ultimate Challenge' runs until Saturday, June 25 - entry is free and the exhibiton includes a former race bike and TT-inspired artwork.

The featured riders in the exhibition are Tom Sheard, Ryan Kneen, Richard 'Milky' Quayle, Dan Kneen, Dave Molyneux, and Matt Mylchreest. The bike on display was originally owned by Conor Cummins.

Entry to Rushen Heritage Centre in Bridson Street, Port Erin is free and it is open 10am-4pm, Tuesday to Saturday.

31/05/22

In 2016, Captain of the Parish of Rushen Stanley Clucas sat down to write about his family memories of life on Ballachurry, the farm that has been in his family for almost 100 years.

Rushen Heritage Trust published his memories in a book - A Year on Ballachurry Farm 1943-44 - which perfectly captured the story of a traditional Manx farm during World War II.

To coincide with publication, we organised an exhibition - and we are delighted to be able to show this exhibition again, in our Rushen Heritage Centre in Bridson Street, Port Erin.

The first half of the story - November 1943 to April 1944 - is now on display in RHC. The second half of the exhibition - covering May 1944 through to November 1944 - will be on display at a later date. 

Please do call in and see the exhibition - copies of Stan's book are also on sale, and we are arranging a couple of dates for Stan to do a signing. More news soon. 

05/04/22

Tickets are now on sale for the next in our season of talks at the Erin Arts Centre on Monday, April 11- Wish You Were Here! A Postcard Tour of the Isle of Man, with Peter Kelly MBE.

Renowed historian Peter will take the audience on a pictorial tour of the Island, with views from Edwardian postcards accompanied with his light-hearted yet informative commentary.

Peter is a gifted speaker, author and storyteller. He set up the Isle of Man Victorian Society in 1975 and has worked tirelessly to protect and preserve the Island's architectural heritage. Peter was appointed Captain of the Parish of Onchan in 2011 and last year he was presented with the prestigious Reih Bleeaney Vanannan prize, which is awarded annually by Culture Vannin to someone who has made an outstanding lifetime contribution to Manx culture.

The talk starts at 7.30pm (doors 7pm), with tickets £5 (£4 for Friends of Rushen Heritage Trust) available from Erin Arts Centre (https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/isle-of-man/erin-arts-centre), Rushen Heritage Centre, Bridge Bookshop (Port Erin), and Erin News.

The final talk of our season will be on Monday, May 16 - Around the South in 30 Objects, with Allison Fox, Curator of Archaeology at Manx National Heritage. This talk has been rescheduled from January, when it was postponed because of high Covid numbers.

Tickets for Allison's talk will be available from the usual outlets (see above) from Wednesday, April 13. If you bought tickets for the postponed talk in January, and would like to attend the rescheduled date of May 16, please contact RHT Coordinator John Quirk at rushenht@gmail.com or call/text 464634.

17/03/22

Tickets are now on sale for the next in our season of talks at the Erin Arts Centre on Monday, March 7th:

2022 marks the 150th anniversary of the landmark 1872 Isle of Man Act for Public Elementary Education, which introduced compulsory education, eight years ahead of England and Wales, transferring control of education from the Church to the State. It paved the way for improvements in the quantity and quality of teachers, the abolition of school fees, and the extension of an independent system of education.  How and why did this Act come about? Who resisted and who supported it? Professor Angela W. Little will explore these questions and more in relation to the Island as a whole, but with special reference to the Parish of Rushen. 

Angela is Professor Emerita at UCL Institute of Education, a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and a past President of the British Association of International and Comparative Education. She was educated at Rushen Primary School and Castle Rushen High School and wrote the chapter on education in our book, Living with the Sea, which tells the story of how Port St Mary developed betwen 1829-1979.

The talk starts at 7.30pm (doors 7pm), with tickets £5 (£4 for Friends of Rushen Heritage Trust) available from Erin Arts Centre (https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/isle-of-man/erin-arts-centre), Bridge Bookshop (Port Erin), and Erin News.

Our next talks are:

• April 11 – Peter Kelly: Wish You Were Here! A Postcard Tour of the Isle of Man
• May 16 - Allison Fox: Around the South in 30 Objects (rescheduled from January)

11/02/22

Tickets are now on sale for the next in our season of talks at the Erin Arts Centre on Monday, February 7th:

LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) surveying has been used in Britain for a number of years (and seen on programmes such as Time Team), but coverage of the Island is recent and exciting. Illustrated by local examples (pictured is South Barrule) of the detail that can be revealed by LiDAR, Dave Martin – past president of the Isle of Man Natural History & Antiquarian Society and a Trustee of the Manx Museum & National Trust – will give an insight into LiDAR and other digital techniques (including demonstrating 3D models) and show how they help interpret archaeological and environmental data.

The talk starts at 7.30pm (doors 7pm), with tickets £5 (£4 for Friends of Rushen Heritage Trust) available from Erin Arts Centre (https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/isle-of-man/erin-arts-centre), Bridge Bookshop (Port Erin), and Erin News.

Our next talks are:

· March 7 – Angela Little: 150 years of the Education Act (1872)

· April 11 – Peter Kelly: A Postcard Tour of the Isle of Man 

We are still arranging a new date for our postponed January talk, by Allison Fox.

19/01/22

In light of the high Covid numbers in the Isle of Man, we regret that Allison Fox's talk, Around the South in 30 Objects, scheduled for Monday, January 10th, has been postponed.

While Erin Arts Centre has Covid mitigation measures in place, and these allowed the first in our season of talks to take place last month, we feel that, given the current Covid situation, it is prudent to postpone Allison's talk, to a date to be confirmed.

Tickets purchased for Monday's talk will be valid for the rescheduled date. We will have full details about how to obtain refunds (should you wish) very soon - watch this space.

At this stage, we will continue to monitor the situation with regards the other talks in our season:

· February 7 – Dave Martin: New light on Mann - LiDAR and other digital archaeology on the Island

· March 7 – Angela Little: 150 years of the Education Act (1872)

· April 11 – Peter Kelly: A Postcard Tour of the Isle of Man 

Our apologies again for the late postponement and thank you for your understanding and patience.

06/01/22

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the building of Milner Tower on Bradda Head as a monument to Port Erin benefactor William Milner, the Sheffield-born world-renowned safe maker who made the village his home.

To mark the anniversary, we are staging two events during October:

At 3pm on Saturday, October 9th, a Memorial Service at St Catherine's Church (the building of which was funded by Milner's estate) - all are welcome to attend and light refreshments will be served afterwards in St Catherine's Church Hall.

From Thursday, October 21st until Sunday, October 31st, an exhibition - Milner: The Man & The Tower - will be held at St Catherine's Church Hall, looking at the life and legacy of William Milner and the building of the landmark tower.

Our thanks to our sponsors for our Milner events - Culture Vannin, Isle of Man Arts Council, and the Elizabeth Clucas Charitable Trust.

We have other exciting news to reveal about other elements of our celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary - watch this space!

21/09/21

Tynwald weekend's Secret Gardens & Hidden Treasures event in Port St Mary, organised by the Friends of Rushen Heritage Trust, proved a huge success, with around 2,500 people visiting the village and raising almost £5,000 for the Trust.

The weekend saw 10 beautiful gardens in Port St Mary and Cregneash open to the public and an antique and collectors fair at Port St Mary Town Hall.

Organiser Pam Crowe, Co-Chair of the Friends of RHT, said: 'We could not have raised these funds without the kindness of the homeowners who agreed to open their beautiful gardens for the weekend.

'We would like to thank everyone who volunteered their time over the weekend and helped make it such a fantastic success – and, of course, to all those who visited the village over the weekend to view the gardens and attend the fair. The event brought extra business for Rushen’s many fine shops and eateries.’

Pam is not one for resting on her laurels - she is already busy working with volunteers to plan the Trust's next event, 'Port Erin in World War II', which will run over the August bank holiday weekend - Friday, August 27th through to Monday, August 30th.

'This will be a unique event celebrating the 4,000 foreign women who arrived for internment in Port Erin in 1940,' said Pam. 'We are planning two wonderful exhibitions, a German "flea market", vintage vehicles, a “ration book” challenge, children's activities and internment trains, with lots of prizes on offer. So, we are looking for everyone to dig out their 1940s gear and join in the four days of fun celebrating Port Erin's rich history.

'The first exhibition will be at the Railway Station, focusing on Internment, with the second being at our new Rushen Heritage Centre in Bridson Street, which will host a visiting exhibition curated by Ivor Ramsden from the Manx Aviation and Military Museum at Ronaldsway.

'Finally, following on from the success of Port St Mary's Secret Gardens, there will also be 10 top secret gardens open around Port Erin over the August bank holiday weekend. It should all make for a fantastic few days.'

Pam added: 'We are always in need of volunteers for these events, so if you would like to get involved in any way, please give me a call on 834614 or 473768.'

More details about Port Erin in World War II will be announced over the coming weeks – keep an eye on this website or follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

21/07/21

One of our major fundraising events of the year will take place over Tynwald weekend, with beautiful gardens to view around Port St Mary and a huge antique and collectors fair being held in the Town Hall.

Organised by the Friends of Rushen Heritage Trust, the three-day Secret Gardens & Hidden Treasures event runs from Saturday, July 3rd through to Monday, July 5th, from 10am-4pm each day.

There will be 10 gardens open to view around the village, the antique and collectors fair at Port St Mary Town Hall, and a Farmers' Market and Hog Roast centred around the Town Hall.

Admittance is with a brochure, which costs £5 and admits two people.  
Brochures are available from various outlets island-wide including:

• Port Erin - Bridge Bookshop & Port Erin Pets
• Port St Mary - Calvert Newsagents & PSM Town Hall
• Peel - Elaine's Flowers
• Ramsey - Bridge Bookshop & Marianne's Flowers
• Douglas - Welcome Centre & Railway Station

The weekend will raise funds towards the running costs of the Trust's new Rushen Heritage Centre at 1 Bridson Street, Port Erin, which opens to the public for the first time on Tuesday, June 29th.

Organiser Pam Crowe said: 'Our previous Secret Gardens & Hidden Treasures event, in Port Erin two years ago, was a huge success, raising several thousand pounds towards the work of Rushen Heritage Trust. We want to make this Port St Mary even bigger, and we are looking forward to a fantastic weekend. The gardens are truly beautiful, and the antique and collectors fair will be packed with stalls - we only have one or two still available, so do get in touch quickly if you would like a table.'

Pam is marshalling a team of volunteers to ensure the weekend runs smoothly, but would welcome any additional support.

She said: 'We have a wonderful team of volunteers at Rushen Heritage, but we never turn away offers of help. If anyone has an hour or two to spare over the Tynwald weekend, we would love to hear from you.'For further information, please call Pam on 834614 or 473768.'

Having discussed with Alison, we have agreed to cancel her talk scheduled for Monday, March 8th at the Erin Arts Centre. In the current situation regarding Covid, it is vital that everyone involved with an event feels completely comfortable. We did not want to cancel late in the day, so have agreed this decision now.

If you have purchased tickets, please ask for a refund from the outlet - Erin Arts Centre, Erin News and Bridge Bookshop in Port Erin, and Calvert Newsagents in Port St Mary. All have been informed of the decision.

At this stage, our April 12th talk at the EAC - A Postcard Tour of the Isle of Man, by Peter Kelly - is planned to go ahead. We will let everyone know when tickets go on sale.

Pudding Club:

There is no Pudding Club planned for this coming Thursday (March 4th) - they are scheduled for March 11th, 18th and 25th at St Catherine's Church Hall in Port Erin. We will update should there be any changes to those dates.

Rushen Heritage Trust (RHT) is in discussions with Port Erin Commissioners regarding both their demolition decision of the Cosy Nook, and their current planning application for an Art Deco style new building.

RHT opposes the demolition decision and submitted a six-page objection to the planning application for the new building on 14th July 2020. However, there are Areas of Agreement between RHT and the Commissioners and Areas for Discussion, and we are hopeful that a way forward can be found which will satisfy the public both in Port Erin and elsewhere.

AREAS OF AGREEMENT

1. We would both prefer to work together in cooperation as in the past, since both Port Erin Commissioners and RHT Directors are all unpaid volunteers working for the benefit of the community.

2. We both want to get this iconic site back into active use as soon as possible as an all-year-round community asset, with a larger modernised interior providing relaxing spaces and panoramic views.

3. It would be ideal to have an agreed blueprint for going forward before the new Commissioners' Election in April 2021.

AREAS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1. Commissioners' Plan to demolish the Cosy Nook building.

This has been approved by the Commissioners for a variety of reasons, including the desire to use the enlarged outdoor space for future local activities and events. RHT opposes demolition now. There is no immediate urgency. The building is not dangerous or falling down and it is uninhabited. If there are vermin, that can be dealt with. The ‘Save the Cosy Nook’ online petition has already attracted more than 1,400 supporters in its first three days.

The residents of St Catherine's Terrace also deserve consideration. Demolishing now and rebuilding sometime in the future would involve two separate periods of major disruption for them, and an empty site for an indefinite time to lower their spirits.

RHT believes that any future demolition should only occur when there is an approved plan and agreed start & finish date for a new Cosy Nook building. While much of the current building interior may need to be demolished, the architect should have the option of re-using existing heritage materials or retaining part or all the existing front exterior. If the building is demolished now, that option would disappear forever. RHT also fears that the levelled site could remain empty for many years, as has happened elsewhere in Port Erin with the former Ocean Castle Hotel site and the Marine Biological Station, both empty for more than 10 years.

2. Should the new building be Art Deco as currently proposed or heritage style frontage with modern and enlarged interior?

RHT strongly supports the latter approach. In June, an online poll (conducted by RHT) produced 879 replies. 63% voted against the proposed new Art Deco building, 33% were in favour, and 4% were indifferent. Among Port Erin residents, as many as 68% voted against. These are decisive results in market research terms. The survey also invited people to make comments. An astonishing 87% did, demonstrating the strength of feeling on the topic. RHT has spent many days studying these comments. Based on them, a new building specification could be developed in tune with public preferences, and this would certainly include a Manx heritage style frontage at least reminiscent of the original.

3. Could the current Planning Application be withdrawn?

RHT recommends this. It is a way of saving time which both the Commissioners and RHT want. The clock is ticking and the summers of 2019, 2020 and 2021 will have passed without the Cosy Nook Cafe.

The application has already been with the Planning Department for almost five months. Even if it is approved soon, there are likely to be time consuming follow up processes to be followed before building work begins, since the current plan is opposed by the Principal Registered Buildings Officer, Ross Brazier; DEFA; and the Isle of Man Natural History & Antiquarian Society, as well as RHT. If the Plan was approved, RHT would immediately call a public meeting to give the public the right to respond and to agree on an action plan. Each of these steps would lose us time.

If the application was withdrawn by PEC, the next steps would be to draw up a new specification reflecting input from the recent online Poll; appointing an architect with a successful track record in modernising heritage buildings in the IOM; working closely with Ross Brazier; and ideally having the modernised building ready for occupation by summer 2022.

We would welcome any comments or suggestions from the public – please send them to RHT Coordinator John Quirk at rushenht@gmail(dot)com by 22ndDecember 2020.