This weekend will see the Isle of Man Natural History and Antiquarian Society (IoMNHAS) continuing its 2022-23 Winter Programme with a lecture at the Manx Museum in Douglas.

Saturday, January 21’s event beginning at 2.30pm will see Gareth Pugh, project archivist with Manx National Heritage, speaking on ‘The Atholls’ brief reign as the Lords of Mann’.

In the talk he will look at Scottish aristocrat James Murray, the 2nd Duke of Atholl’s inheritance of the Isle of Man following the death of the last of Lancashire’s Earls of Derby to hold the title - James Stanley, the 10th Earl - and the main events of Murray’s period of Lordship up until his death in 1764.

Mr Pugh says: 'The talk will cover the 2nd Duke of Atholl's inheritance of the Isle of Man in 1736, before proceeding to look at his attempts to establish himself there as the Lord of Mann and exploit the island for his own financial gain.

'We then move on to explore two periods of conflict: the Jacobite Rising of 1745, and the dispute between Crown Customs officials and the Manx authorities, between 1748 and 1751, over what the former regarded as the smuggling trade conducted to and from the isle.

'The talk then shortly moves on to cover the 3rd Duke and Duchess of Atholl and the story of the Revestment in 1765, and that event's impact on both the Atholls and the Manx.'

Revestment saw Charlotte, Duchess of Atholl (inheriting as the 2nd Duke’s daughter) and her husband John Murray, later confirmed as the 3rd Duke, having pressure put on them to sell the island for £70,000.

The title of Lord of Mann then passed to the British monarchy, with King George III the first to hold it and King Charles III the most recent to be proclaimed as Lord in 2022. The island’s customs revenues also passed to the British Government up until the mid-1860s. However, the Atholls continued to hold manorial rights and other perquisites in the island until John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl, sold them to the British Treasury in 1828.

As is customary with IoMNHAS lectures, Gareth Pugh’s presentation will be followed by tea or coffee and biscuits.

Those attending IoMNHAS lectures are advised to arrive early to be sure of a seat and non-members will have the opportunity to give a voluntary contribution if they wish.