Museums on the Air - 27th - 28th June 2009

This Special Event Station is operated from Castletown, here on the Isle of Man.  The Station is located in the 'Old Grammar School' which is one of the many museums supported by Manx National Heritage. Within the radius of one hundred yards of the Old Grammar School are three other museums of national importance and worldwide interest; hence the callsign GB4MNH.

These museums are:

The Old Grammar School.

This small white-washed building (photo right) has witnessed many changes in the life of the community that it was built to serve over 650 years ago, it was the first town church for the settlement that grew up around Castle Rushen, fortress of the Norse Kings of Mann and the Isles. The main wing is the oldest roofed structure in the Isle of Man, older than all but the lowest courses of masonry of the castle itself. St. Mary's Chapel was also used as a school from at least 1570 and served exclusively in that capacity after 1702.

It is best known for the Academic School, forerunner of the King Williams College and the Grammar School which finally closed in 1930. The building was only saved from demolition by the Museum Trustees nailing a Preservation Order onto its door in 1950! The interior is fitted out in the manner of a Victorian schoolroom.

Castle Rushen.

One of Europe's most finely preserved medieval castles with its origins in the Norse period. This formidable structure has been held by both Scottish and English kings before the Lordship of Mann was granted to various English noblemen. During the English Civil War the castle was one of the last Royalist strongholds. During the 18th century the castle fell into gradual decay and for a time during the 19th century was the Islands prison.

Following the construction of a purpose built prison and extensive restoration of the fabric of the castle it was handed over by the British Crown to the Manx Government in 1929.

The Old House of Keys.

Situated opposite Castle Rushen, this building was the home of the Manx Parliament and the centre of Manx political life in the 19th century. The precise origin of the title 'Keys' is unknown. One possible explanation is that it is derived from an old Norse word meaning 'chosen'.

Another explanation is that the English administrators during the 15th and 16th centuries were unable to pronounce the Gaelic phrases for 'four and twenty' (the number of members); the nearest they could get to it being 'Keys'!

Incidentally, in 1866 the House of Keys voted to accept elections by the people (but not without a great deal of controversy) and similarly in 1881 women were given the vote for the House of Keys electrons on the Isle of Man - the first women in the world to be given the vote in national elections.

The Nautical Museum.

The home of the yacht 'Peggy' which was built by George Quayle (1751-1835) in 1789. he yacht was a schooner-rigged, clinker  built boat 26th 5in overall length with a 7ft 8in beam and an inside depth of 4ft. Ribs and floor of Oak and main planking of pine with hull fastenings of iron. The size of Peggy was probably determined by the man o'war launch of the day. General dimensions are about the size of the Bounty's launch in which Captain Bligh made his amazing 4000 mile voyage. Her lines however, have a much more streamlined appearance and she was undoubtedly much fast. Peggy however never sailed outside the confines of the Irish Sea, was armed with eight small cannon and half a dozen fowling pieces. When she was built wars with the French were once more in the offing and the seas around the Isle of Man were, at such times, the haunt of privateers; there is no record of the Peggy being molested during her local voyages! The most fascinating thing about the Peggy is that for more than a century and a half she remained undisturbed in her boat cellar and almost forgotten. In 1935 she was rediscovered and, to cut a long story short, after restoration finally went on view to the public in 1951.