An Historical and Statistical Account of the Isle of Man, from the Earliest Times to the Present Date

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APPENDIX.-CHAPTER I.

NOTE I.-PAGE 2.

DIMENSIONS OF THE ISLAND.

Camden, whose Britannia appeared first in 1586, states the breadth of the Island to be fifteen miles, (vol. ii, p. 1439); and which is confirmed in the Geographical Description of the World, (London, 1659, folio 6.) By Maxwell it is said to be eighteen Scotch miles, equal to 27 English.-Theatre of the World, 1521, p. 187, Appendix Townley's Journal, vol. ii, p. 187.

"See what time can do!" says Polydore Virgil, "this Island of Man is now remote from the land twenty-five miles, which, in old times, was scarce one mile distant from Anglesea, and joined into Wales."-Appendix Townley's Journal in the Isle of Man, Whitehaven, 1791, vol. ii, p. 189. The account of its situation by Hector Boetius is equally strange: "Agricola, the Roman general, determined to pursue his good fortune, prepared to subdue the Isle of Man; but wanting vessels to carry his army over from Scotland, he found means that such as could swim and knew the shallow places of the coast, made shift to pass the gulph, and so got on land to the great wonder of the inhabitants."-Hollinshead's Chronicles of Scotland, edition 1805, vol. i, p. 92.

From the annnal encroachments made by the sea, both on the N.E. and N.W. coasts of the Island, we have no doubt of the dimensions of the Island, as given by Camden, being correct at the time they were taken; but we are not inclined to countenance the assertion of a more ancient historian, that "Man has been separated from the mainland by the washing of the waves of the ocean.”—Paulus Jovius; Appendix Townley, vol. ii, p. 189. The land, gradually undermined and swept away by the sea, is part of the most valuable soil in the Island. The remains of ancient fences, and traces of the plough broken off abruptly at the very edge of the cliff, give attestation to tradition, that the evil has been progressive.—Quayle's View of Agricul ture in the Isle of Man, London, 1812, p. 104. The destruction is not occasioned by the sea acting in a direct line inward, but by what is called the rake of the tide—that is, by the current passing in a parallel line with the coast, scooping out and undermining the land in its progress. Its ravages are thus described by an eye witness : "The level ground along the beach extended a quarter of a mile farther in Bishop Wilson's time than at present; his favourite airing ground, where he used to go out in his old carriage, is washed away. In proceeding along, we saw several empty cells, and before we left the shore, we were so lucky as to see one laid open to view by a fresh fall, but it still retained all its furniture. We found, afterwards, seven or eight graves, in a regular range, laid open by the sea."-Townley's Journal kept in the Isle of Man, 1791, vol. i, p. 172. Feltham, who visited the Island in 1797, says, "Within these last two years, the sand bank at Bishop's Court has suffered considerably from the encroachments of the high tides."-Page 196.

The north end of the Island appears to have undergone the greatest changes. The oldest document perhaps extant, which bears any reference to the topography of the Island, is An Account of the Extent of the Ancient Church-lands, in Johnston's Celto Normanicæ, published at Copenhagen, 1786. In the second division of these, lands, woods, lakes, and islands, are thus described, now nowhere to be found: CHAP. I. E

"This is the line that divides the lands of Kirkercus from the abbey-lands. It begins at the lake of Myreshaw, which is called Hexanappayse, and goes up the dry moar, directly from the place called Monenyrsana, along the wood to the place called Seabba-Ankomathway. It then ascends to Roselan as far as the brook of Gryseth, and so up to Glendrummy, and proceeds up to the King's way to the rock called Craigeth as far as Deeppoole, and descends along the rivulet and Hedaryegorman, and so descends along the river Salaby to the wood of Myreshaw; it encloses three islands in the lake of Myreshaw, and descends along the old moor of Duflock, and so winds along and ends at Hescanakeppage." "The lake of Myreshaw, called Mirescogh, was occupied as a state prison. Donald, a veteran chieftain in Man, a particular friend of Harold Olaveson, was decoyed from the monastry of St. Mary, of Rushen, where he had taken sanctuary, A.D., 1249, by Harold, son of Goddard Don, who had usurped the throne of Man, and by his order was bound and carried to the Isle of Mirescogh, in the lake of Myreshaw, where he was consigned to a strong guard ; but, when sitting in his chamber there, the fetters dropt off his ancles, and he found himself at liberty."-Johnson's Celto Normanicæ, Copenhagen edition, 1786, p. 151. The lake of Mirescogh must have been of considerable extent, and well-stocked with fish, as Thomas, Earl of Derby, granted to Huan, Bishop of Man, in 1505, one-half of the fishing of Mirescogh.-Johnston's Jurisprudence, p. 233.

The names of places often outlast the language of the country at the time they were given, and therefore prove to antiquaries, what well known landmarks are to mariners, guides by which to steer through the surrounding gloom; but some of these hard-sounding words are beyond our ken.

Ancient tradition is likewise strong in support of the Island having been formerly much larger than it is now.1 The native inhabitants say they have been told by their fathers that, in olden times, large fragments were detached from the main Island by internal convulsions, and thrown into the sea, as they suppose, by the power of enchantment; 2 and all that now remains of these huge masses are the Bahama Rig and King William's Bank, both dreaded by mariners as they steer along the coast of Ramsey.3

At the northern extremity of the Isle of Man was formerly a considerable village, which, in the language of the Island, was called Balla-moar-cranstil, or in English "Cranston."-Camden; Heylen; Speed; Ap. Townley's Journal, vol. ii, p. 187. A modern writer thus remarks, "The sea has made great encroachments on the town of Peel; but a few years back many well known properties occupied a site on the margin of the bay, not a vestige of which is now remaining. During the last summer

1 The sea has, likewise, made deep inroads on the opposite shores of Galloway. In the year 1342, Duncan M'Dougal received provisions and stores from Edward III, to furnish his Pele or fortalice which he held out against the Scots. "This fortalice appears to have stood in a small island called Earthholm, on the coast of Galloway."-Robertson's Scotland, i, 624, 625, 629.-Chalmer's Caledonia, vol. iii, p. 376. This island is now nowhere to be seen, which is likewise a proof that the distance between the Isle of Man and the Scottish coast, is yearly becoming greater.

2 Waldron's Description of the Isle of Man, London, 1731, folio, p. 190.

3 These banks are thus described in Quiggin's Mariners' Guide for 1836:-"The Bahama Bank, or Rig, bears N.E. 2 leagues from Ramsey town, and is about 4 miles in length from S.S.E. to N.N.W., with only 6 feet depth of water at the S. end, differing in other parts, from 9 to 12 feet, and is rather more than a mile broad. At the S. end, Clay Head bears S.W. by W. 12 miles, and the Point of Ayre N.N.W. Westerly, 6 miles distant; the N. end bears from the same Point S. E. by S. King William's Bank is 7 miles in length from S. E. to N.W., and a mile broad: the N.W. end is E., 6 miles from the Point of Ayre, and N.E. 11 miles from Maughold Head, from which the S. E. end bears E.N.E. E. 13 miles, and from the Point of Ayre, E.S.E. 12 miles distant. The least depth of water on it is 18 feet.

(1835) two jetties were thrown up here, with the view of counteracting if possible the progress of the waves; but the only way of supporting the veto, Hither shalt thou come but no farther,' is by constructing a breast wall all along the shore below the town; some acres of land might thus be rescued from the devouring element."A Six Days' Tour in the Isle of Man, 1836, p. 146. The Historia Scoticæ Nomenclatura, published at Edinburgh in 1682, also states the Isle of Man to have been of much larger dimensions than it is at present.

The situation of the Island and the distances from its headlands to the opposite headlands and harbours in the channel, will appear distinctly from the following table of the compass bearings and distances, as given by nautical men.