There is a quiet oasis in the centre of Douglas which provides the opportunity to get away from the sometimes hustle and bustle of daily life.

Somewhere to sit at lunchtime on a nice day with a sandwich and switch off from the everyday grind.

It has stood since the late 18th century and has some interesting stories to tell, which have been nicely interpreted around the adjacent graveyard for all to see. I am talking, of course, about St George’s churchyard.

In the early 1700s, the population of Douglas was approximately 800 people, and at this time the first St Matthew’s Church served as a centre of worship for the population.

However, with the rise in population attributed to the running trade, the prosperity of the town began to increase dramatically.

By the mid part of the 18th century, the population of the town had swelled to more than 3,000, which in turn led to calls for a new church in order to meet demand, St Matthew’s proving to be inadequate for the purpose.

Land was sourced on the outskirts of the town, high on a hill overlooking Douglas Harbour, which at the time was situated in the parish of Braddan.

The town’s gentry (some of whom had profited from the running trade… never!) met the initial cost, raising the necessary money by public subscription.

By 1761, the amount raised totalled £712 (more than £130,000 in today’s money), but after four years money had run out and work subsequently stopped.

Nothing more happened until 1776, when, with further money raised, work recommenced.

An additional sum of £800 had been raised, enabling work to be completed, with the church being consecrated on September 29, 1781. In order to pay off further debts, a charge of 25 guineas was made for a first-class pew and 15 guineas for a second-class pew (do you remember the various classes on the Steam Packet and other forms of transport?).

The completed church could accommodate 1,300 worshippers. Donations of fine embellishments from various benefactors included a silver communion service, made by a London silversmith, which was donated by John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl, with a later addition of a stained glass window funded by Henry Bloom Noble.

My family followed the Methodist tradition, which had first arrived on our island in 1758 but did not really get established until 1775, and John Wesley first visited in 1777.

We attended Bucks Road Church, later amalgamated with Rosemount to become Trinity. The first Catholic church was built in Castletown in the mid-1820s, but those stories are for another day.

Walking around St George’s churchyard, a series of interpretation boards are in prominent positions.

They were officially launched on July 17, 2006, when the then Archdeacon was Andie Brown, who was also Chaplain to the House of Keys.

They were installed as a collaborative project involving Manx National Heritage and the Donald Collister Heritage Trust, so let’s take a look in two parts -this week and next.

A welcoming board states: ‘The stories of some of those buried here reflect the development of Douglas in Georgian and Victorian times.

‘We have reason to be thankful for the philanthropy that those generous Christian gentlefolk displayed in making Douglas a healthier and safer place to live.

‘But you will also find humbler characters, most notably Eleanor “Nelly” Brennan, a washerwoman who bravely nursed many a cholera victim.

‘Near the south-west corner of the church, have a look at the grave of Matthias Kelly, a shipbuilder whose burial in 1784 was the first in this graveyard.

‘It is marked by railings and an elaborate headstone with inscriptions in Greek, Latin and Manx. You will notice a large open grassy space.

‘Take a moment to look at the small plain cross which bears the words “Cholera 1832-33” and think of the (approximately) 120 victims who were buried there during the summer months of 1832 and 1833.’

Next, a board dedicated to Eleanor Wetherell Elliot (1814-1882): ‘A lifelong task of self-denying love and devoted Christian service.

‘The daughter of Mrs Eleanor Wetherell, a gentlewoman of Douglas, both ladies were devout Christians and worked tirelessly for the poor of Douglas, going in places where others would not dare.

‘They were instrumental in recognising the heroic work of the washerwoman Nelly Brennan.

‘When Nelly was no longer allowed to work as a washerwoman for fear that the laundry might carry cholera, their financial support enabled Nelly to continue nursing, particularly among the cholera victims in the epidemic of 1832 and 1833.

‘Nelly’s way of life was a strong influence on the young Eleanor, who came to devote her life to working with the poor and needy of Douglas, beginning with visits to the newly established Widows’ House, which she preferred to the “ordinary female accomplishments of household management”.

‘There she met Phillip Elliot, a young and evidently kind surgeon “whose praises she continually heard sung by the poor suffering women whom he attended”.’

They married soon after, and their life together was a very happy one. There is a memorial window to the couple in the church.

Following on is a board for William Kelly (1731-1806), known by the name of Bill the Psalmer: ‘He was a joyous soul and he had such a love for singing sacred songs.

‘Born in 1731, Willie was a poor, lone man who lived in an attic in Douglas with no window but a small skylight.

‘He is reported to have gazed up through this at the moon and the stars, fancying that they were the eyes of God watching over him in his poverty and solitude.

‘The simple life of happy and devoted Willie exerted a strong influence over Eleanor Wetherell and her mother, two earnest Christian ladies who worked tirelessly for the poor of Douglas.

‘They would not allow him to be forgotten and erected this gravestone in his memory, ensuring that it was freshly painted each year.’

Pierre Henri Josef Baume (1791-1875), ‘The Frenchman’, is the next person to be remembered, described as ‘miserly in life but munificent in death’.

Born in Marseilles, Baume lived in London, Naples and France before moving back to London in 1827, where he started to accumulate wealth by investing in property.

He moved to Manchester in the mid-1850s and was involved with various educational ventures, temperance, and liberal politics.

By the mid-1860s he had moved to the island, where he was fascinated by the Manx way of life.

During his later years, this eccentric character became ‘more than passing rich’, but he lived in a poverty-stricken room over the South Quay archway and his food was ‘just sufficient of quantity to maintain life’.

In fact, his diet seems to have included garden snails and dried peas. However, he left a considerable fortune.

Baume left £50,000 in trust to be used for educational and charitable purposes in the island.

The beneficiaries included King William’s College, the School of Navigation, Ramsey Cottage Hospital, and music scholarships for Manx students.

In part two next week, I look at Samuel Harris, Sir William Hillary, Nelly Brennan, the Field of Strangers, the cholera pit, and the wreck of the Minerva, which are recognised in the churchyard. When you have read the second piece, I hope you may consider a visit to this historic place.