Rushen Heritage News

Rushen Heritage Trust has submitted plans to convert the former bus shelter on Bridson Street, Port Erin, into a heritage centre.

The centre, to be known as Tree Archyn (Three Arches), would be a multi-purpose base to support the Trust’s online and other activities.

The site, opposite the Cherry Orchard, would provide the Trust with a highly visible and low-cost centre. It would be used for small exhibitions, for talks, meetings and other events, and give much-needed storage room for existing exhibition materials, publications and equipment. Overall, it will support our overarching aim of attracting people to the ‘beautiful south’ in Rushen.

Quantity surveyor Robert Graham, who has been involved with the Trust from the beginning, is managing the project. Working with Robert is a project team chaired by Ali Graham, with Board members Doreen Moule and Staffan Overgaard, and the Trust’s coordinator, John Quirk. They will be supported by Pam Crowe, who will lead the marketing and volunteering effort, later to be assisted by Hugh Davidson.

Project leader Ali Graham said of the initiative: ‘When the Trust was founded in 2014, it was as a “museum of no fixed abode”, and the creation of a heritage centre would not change that ethos. Tree Archyn would supplement our online presence and our various activities, such as exhibitions, talks and walks. Much of the exhibition material we have created over the last five years has had limited public exposure, and the centre would allow us to showcase the work of our volunteers to a much wider audience and encourage repeat visits to Port Erin.’

Chairman of RHT, Juan Watterson added: ‘While the Trust has met or exceeded most of our first five-year objectives, we’re aware that our “visibility” has been intermittent, linked to exhibitions and book launches. We have also not had a face-to-face meeting point, especially for older people with memories to share, and volunteers. These are factors which have limited the Trust’s social interaction with the community, and we hope that the centre will redress this balance and enable us to grow our membership and attract new volunteers.’

The central section of the building – the former bus shelter – will house the centre’s public space. The two existing toilet blocks, one either side of the shelter, will be transformed – one to house a storage area, the other to house an office, unisex toilet and kitchenette.

The public space would also be used as an online research area, with a computer for public use, and to sell the Trust’s publications. It would also operate as a visitor centre for the Rushen area, offering leaflets and advice about local attractions.

The building is owned by Port Erin Commissioners and was earmarked for demolition, following the creation of a new main bus stop by the railway station, and the opening of new public toilets elsewhere in the village. The Commissioners have agreed, in principle, to a long-term lease for the Bridson Street site.

Rushen Heritage Trust will be applying to trusts and other organisations for funding support for the project, as well as launching a public fundraising drive.

If you would like to support the heritage centre project, either financially or as a volunteer, please contact Rushen Heritage Trust coordinator John Quirk at rushenht@gmail.com or call 464634. Any assistance large or small will be very welcome.

 Rushen Heritage Trust opens a new chapter in 2019 with the appointment of John Quirk as its new Coordinator.

John will be helping to deliver the Trust’s programme for 2019 and beyond, starting with a book charting the history of Port St Mary from 1829-1979, and building into a three-year plan of activities.

Manx-born John, who lives in Port Erin, is a freelance writer and event organiser. A former journalist and PR director, he has written two books – The Manx Connection and The Manx Giant – and is one of the directors of Manx Litfest, which started in 2012.

‘I’m passionate about the Isle of Man and heritage, and I’m looking forward to working with the team at Rushen Heritage Trust to explore new ways of telling the story of this wonderful area of the Island,’ said John.

'The Trust has done a huge amount of work over the last five years and I want to continue and build on that success, working alongside the management committee and a team of dedicated volunteers.’ 

Juan Watterson MHK, chairman of the Trust, said: ‘We are delighted to have John joining our team, on a freelance basis, to coordinate the Trust’s work and oversee the various projects undertaken by our action teams. He has a written extensively about heritage during his career, and coupled with his strong administrative skills, he is ideally placed to guide the Trust over the next few years.’

John can be contacted at rushenht@gmail.com or on 464634.

Friend or Foe, the latest publication from the Rushen Heritage Trust, is on sale at all good bookshops and heritage outlets around the Isle of Man.

Written by seven members of the Trust, it is the first ever book on women's internment in Britain during World War II.

The book tells the story of how locals and internees lived together, encircled by barbed wire, with the Camp run by Manx landladies, with light touch governance from police and civil servants.

Like the seven authors who soon became friends (but often engaged in animated debates), the locals and women internees - German/Jewish refugees from Nazi oppression, Germans and Austrians who had lived peacefully in Britain for many years, and a minority of committed Nazis and fascists - all managed to 'rub along together'. The question was - who was friend, and who was foe?

The authors interviewed locals who retained vivid memories of Rushen Camp, and found much new information on the under-researched topic of World War II women's internment and soon realised the story addressed important universal themes of continuing relevance today - immigration, injustice, gender, tolerance, diversity, the nature of friendship, the ability to adapt to inequity and loss, and, most of all, the triumph of human values in difficult situations.

The publication of the book was kindly supported by Culture Vannin and the Gough Ritchie Trust.

Friend or Foe is priced at £18.95, with all profits from the book going towards Rushen Heritage Trust, a not-for-profit charity.

The PPF Event showcased all that Rushen Heritage has achieved since its inception in 2014. It was well attended, with the highlight being a gentleman recognising his father in a picture from his time in the Port St Mary RNLI. He had not seen this picture before, so we were happy to give him a copy.

-6th October 2018

Towards the end of October, we invited members of the public to come to Port St Mary Town Hall to share their memories of the port from 1829-1979. The event was well attended and many memories shared. This event will form the basis of our next book, which is progressing well and should be published next summer (2019) and was organised by Staffan Overgaard (Story of the Land Chairman).

-28th October 2017

We brought the seaside back to the Beautiful South for one weekend only. On Friday 29 September we were in Port Erin. Thank you to the Falcon's Nest Hotel for hosting us.

The next stop on Saturday evening was the Port St Mary Town Hall. Young and old thoroughly enjoyed the event and we hope to run the event again in the near future.

Margaret Galloway and Peta Cubbon organised a superb exhibition about the Pierrot tradition on the Isle of Man, which was displayed at the two locations for the Pierrot Shows.

Peta Cubbon is the granddaughter of Fred Buxton, famous in his days as a show business entrepreneur and has many historical pictures and posters associated with him.

Buxton's Pierrots were at their peak in the 1920s and performed in Douglas, Onchan, Ramsey and the Traie Meanagh Baths in Port Erin. Fred Buxton built the Pierrot Village on Douglas Prom, near the old Crescent Cinema. It was an incredible entertainment area which incuded a seated arena for 2000 people.

A Pierrot Group called the Leslies performed in a wooden pavilion behind Victoria Square in Port Erin every summer from 1919 to 1939. Unfortunately the theatre burnt down a few days before the start of World War 2.

Many thanks to Margaret and Peta for master minding this fascinating exhibition, to Iris Burton for her vivid memories, and to the Gough Ritchie Trust for sponsoring the shows and exhibition.

- 30th September 2017

Over fifty volunteers and supporters of Rushen Heritage Trust enjoyed the charity’s first annual presentation dinner at Bradda Glen Restaurant last night, celebrating key achievements and contributions in a special awards ceremony. 

Hosted by Hon. Juan Watterson SHK and Professor Hugh Davidson MBE, who are both Directors on the Board of RHT, the evening included a range of talks from key members of the four Heritage Action Teams, awards presented to twelve key volunteers and supporters and a special silver medal, which was awarded to John W. Qualtrough in recognition of his collection of 160,00 historical artefacts. 

Established in 2014, Rushen Heritage Trust has built up some incredible momentum and awareness in the last three years with over 70 volunteers working within the charity, who have independently run seven successful exhibitions, produced two heritage books and created the world’s first outdoor heritage walk using iBeacon technology. Four volunteer groups – known as Heritage Action Teams or HATs – are currently active and span WW2 Internment, Story of the Land, Story of the Sea and Tourism. 

Our awards ceremony celebrated and awarded the volunteers in their achievements and successes of projects in 2016. John W. Qualtrough received a special award in recognition of the 160,000 artefacts he has developed in the last few decades and to thank him for his continued support and involvement with RHT, sharing his materials and memories with us in all that we do. We also presented a posthumous award to John K. Qualtrough’s wife Barbara, in recognition of his contributions to Rushen Heritage too. 

Twelve other volunteers were also awarded award certificates and included Staffan Overgaard, Doreen Moule, Ali Graham, Pam Crowe, Jane Saywell, David Wertheim, Sylvia Jarret, Stanley Clucas, Kerry Hudson, Sam Styles, Captain David Clarke and Gerry Callister.

2017 is set to be another exciting year for Rushen Heritage Trust with our new projects, new volunteers coming on board and the addition of our new Heritage Coordinator, which will be announced in early May. We look forward to seeing you at all of our future events and we will keep you updated with press releases and further information throughout the year. 

-11th April 2017

One of Rushen Heritage Trust’s greatest friends and supporters, John W. Qualtrough from Port St Mary, has developed an astonishing collection of over 160,000 historical artefacts over the years which he is keen to share with the community so that they are not forgotten.   

As part of an exciting new project led by our Story of the Land HAT, John has shared his library of materials to help build up a picture of Port St Mary across a hundred years in the town’s history. The team are planning a series of events during 2017 and 2018 which will capture the stories and memories of Port St Mary and the people who have lived and worked in the town over the decades, to see how things have changed - and how they may have also stayed the same.     

Do you have stories or memories from Port St Mary that you would like to share as part of the project?   

It could be memories of when you were growing up in the town, or stories passed along through the family from relatives. You may have once visited the town on holiday or you may remember some of the shops and the people, have photographs that you could share of the landscape or the times you have visited.   

If you would like to help us tell the story of Port St Mary and help us to celebrate the history of the town, please contact staffan.overgaard@candordiagnostics.com and find out how you can be part of this special project. 

- 1st April 2017                                                 

Last September, over 200 children from schools across Rushen Sheading and Douglas enjoyed a trip to Port Erin, where they walked in the footsteps of the 3,000 women and children who were interned during the second World War.  

Led by our WW2 Internment HAT, classes from Arbory, Castletown, Rushen Primary and Schoill yn Jubilee arrived by steam train at Port Erin station - many dressed in outfits of the time - and were taken on a guided tour of the seaside town by volunteers Doreen Moule and Ali Graham, who have developed special resource packs for teaching in schools. 

The resource packs, which will soon be available to schools across the whole island, include detailed teaching presentations, posters, notes for a Walk and Talk in Port Erin, wartime recipes, registration cards and a map. If you are interested in a school resource pack, please contact Doreen on 834826.    

Rushen Heritage Trust are also keen to develop strong links with education across the island and this year we’re pleased to announce our second college placement with University College Isle of Man. Studying a two-year degree in History and Heritage, Rory Murphy hopes to bring the passion he has for heritage to his work placement and help spread the word of the beauty of the south of the island.   

“I’m a keen walker too,” says Rory, “so I’m also looking forward to the future development of the Isle of Man Walks app and being able to assist in any way I can with Rushen Heritage Trust’s programme.”   Rory will join the Story of the Land HAT from the end of April to early June to get involved with their major projects as part of his work placement.

- 30th March 2017