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The Isle of Man Natural History and Antiquarian Society’s new initiative, Traditional Buildings of Mann, now has its own website www.tbm.im.
The aim is to raise awareness of the island’s traditional buildings, both rural and urban, and to encourage local communities to find out more about the buildings in their area.
One of the project’s organisers, Catriona Mackie, said: ‘Traditional buildings are an important part of this island’s heritage.
‘By learning more about them, we also learn about the people who built them and who lived in them.
‘Relatively little research has been done on the island’s traditional buildings and we still have much to learn about how they developed over time and how the lives of the people who lived in them also changed.’
‘Traditional buildings come in many different shapes and sizes, ranging from small cottages and agricultural buildings to large farmsteads and urban townhouses.
‘The idea of the project is to encourage community groups and individuals to look at the buildings in their area and to begin to research and document them. We hope that by beginning to create a record of buildings we can start to document regional building styles and materials as well as the history of individual families and communities.’
There are a number of ways in which people can take part in researching and recording the island’s traditional buildings. These include taking photographs, collecting stories from local people, and finding out the history of a building using the Manx Museum’s library or by studying old maps. People could also take measurements and draw up simple plans to document the existing appearance of a building.
‘Whatever your area of interest or your level of expertise, there’s something that you can do to help.
The society’s role will be to facilitate independent local projects and to help provide advice and training. The society has been running a series of free workshops over the summer and two more events are planned for September.
On Saturday, September 8, a session will be held in the Manx Museum looking at how to research the history of a building using maps, photographs and documents.
On Saturday, September 15, a session will be held at Balladoole Farm in Arbory. A variety of techniques for recording buildings will be explored and there will be the opportunity for hands-on experience.
To book for these free events email the excursion secretary, Jonathan Kewley, at castletown(at)manx.net.
For more information about the project and excursions, visit the project website at www.tbm.im.
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Weather for Isle of Man
Wednesday 22 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 6 C to 12 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: North west
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Sunny spells
Temperature: 6 C to 11 C
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