In the middle of the 19th Century, zinc, which was plentiful in some Manx mines,
most notably Laxey, achieved a high value. At its peak, Laxey was producing more
than half of the total British output of zinc.
A mining report of 1963 listed 131 mines and mining trials in the Isle of Man,
though had the minor trials been listed, that number could probably have been
doubled. The heydays of mining activity were during the 19th Century, but as the
century ended very few mines were operating. Indeed, by 1914 only Laxey was left.
It continued work intermittently until 1929.
Manx slate, the main bedrock, provided the main building material for the
Island itself, though there was localised use of limestone in the Castletown area,
sandstone at Peel, and some scattered use of granite.
Some slates were suitable for roofing, while others, most notably those from
Spanish Head, made excellent lintels or floor slabs. Those at Castle Rushen are
fine examples.
Limestone was also burned to provide lime for agricultural use and for building
mortar and limewash. One area of limestone at Poyll Vaaish, changed by volcanic
action into "black marble", has been uses extensively for monuments and flooring
slabs, and it is said to have been exported for use in St. Paul's Cathedral,
London.
In the 18th century, there were industries producing ocher and umber as colouring
agents, jewellers' rouge and china clay flux.
Water Power & Milling
Lack of coal, and of wood, for fuel has precluded such industry as smelting and
iron working, and enforced the use of small-scale water power for such industries as
flour milling, wool and flax weaving, flax scutching, fulling, cotton manufacturing,
and, of course, mining.
The "Little Mill", or "Mwyllin Beg", features in many Manx place names and
usually marks the sites of small corn mills. Often called "horizontal mills",
"click mills" or "Norse mills", these operated by the upper stone having a direct
drive from a horizontal "wheel" or "twirl", rather like a simple turbine.
Harbours in the Isle of Man
In the early days, in order to load or to unload, boats were simply beached.
At this time, the Island's main harbour was Derbyhaven. Other beaches and coves
used during the Viking period (say C. 800 to C. 1265) are often marked by coastal
place names ending in "ick", or other similar sound, even if spelled differently.
It was only after 1700 that harbours began to be improved, and naturally enough,
because of its superior facilities, Douglas won pride of place and eventually
toppled Castletown as the Island's capital. Most of the harbour works that remain
to be seen today date back no earlier than the middle of the 19th century.
The Light that Saves
An island in the middle of the Irish Sea needed, more than most, to alert
shipping to its presence, and it is almost certain that warning fires were lit from
earliest times on The Calf and Landmark Towers were built at Douglas Head and at
Langness in 1816.
Robert Stephenson designed th Point of Ayre and Calf of Man (disused)
lighthouses which were built in 1818. Others followed at Douglas, Langness,
Chicken Rock, Maughold and, most recently, the new Calf Light in 1966.
Manx lighthouses are under the control of the Northern Lights Board. They are
currently being updated to automatic operation.
Mann's Special Relationship with the R.N.L.I.
The body now known as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution was founded by
Sir William Hillary when he lived at Fort Anne (now demolished) on Douglas Head.
Sir William served in the Douglas lifeboat crew, and was injured while rescuing the
crew of the St. George when it foundered on rocks in Douglas Bay. As a result of
his first-hand experience, he had the Tower of Refuge for Shipwrecked Mariners
built, one of the most striking features to be seen on entering Douglas Bay.
Lifeboats today are based at Douglas, Ramsey, Peel, Port Erin and Port St. Mary.
There is no longer a lifeboat at Castletown.
Ship Building in the Isle of Man
Ship building was once carried out extensively on the Island, and the first
King Orry of the Isle of Man Steam Company Fleet was built in Douglas in 1842. The
Ramsey Shipyard produced the magnificent ship the Euterpe in 1863, which was later
to be renamed the Star of India and is currently the centerpiece of the San Diego
Maritime Museum.
Nautical exhibits of interest can be seen at the Manx Museum at Douglas and the
Nautical Museum at Castletown. A 2/3 sized replica of the Gokstad Viking ship
Odin's Raven is on display at Peel.
Making Tracks by Road and Rail
The road system in the Isle of Man was improved and bridge building carried out
in the late 18th century and again about one hundred years later.
The Manx Electric Railway, Steam Railway and Snaefell Mountain Railway are
outstanding examples of Victorian technology The Steam Railway dates from the
1870's and the Electric and Snaefell Mountain Railways from the 1890's. In its
day, the Electric Railway was at the forefront of technology, and it was used as a
model by several American systems.
The "Trade"
The Isle of Man's separate laws and taxation during the early 18th century,
first under the Earls of Derby and later the Dukes of Atholl - as "Lords of Man" -
led to what was known as colloquially as "the trade". Goods such as wines and
spirits were imported from abroad with the benefit of low Manx taxation, and
other goods, such as tobacco and salt, were imported from England claiming
"drawback", (a tax refund). These goods were then exported from the island to be
illegally landed in the "adjacent isles". Some aspects of "the trade" was, in
fact, perfectly licit until Revestment (the buying out of the Manx regalities by
the English Crown) in 1765.
Island of Variety
Numerous types of goods have been produced on the Island over the years, even
in modern times. The Island has produced such diverse products as leather, paper,
rope, wrought iron, herring nets, sail cloth, fishing machinery, explosives, salt,
and, more recently, shoes, small cars, ejection seats for aircraft, and, of course,
world-famous kippers and Manx rock.
There were once more than 100 manufacturers of beer, and the same number of
manufacturers of mineral waters, though these have dwindled over the years and only
a few remain.
Business or Pleasure?
Tourism has long counted as an "industry" in the Isle of Man, and its buildings
and places of entertainment - such as pleasure gardens and glens - must be
included.
Two of the most important survivors of the heyday of Manx holidaymaking are the
Camera Obscura on Douglas Head and the Gaiety Theater on Douglas Promenade, one of
the few late Victorian theaters designed by famous theater architect, Frank
Matcham, to have survived intact.
Information from the Department of Tourism, Leisure and
Transport.
| 
Home