Thie Vanannan | |
 House of Manannan building in Peel. | |
  Location of House of Manannan on the Isle of Man | |
| Established | 1997 |
|---|---|
| Location | Mill Road, Peel, Isle of Man |
| Coordinates | 54°13′18″N4°41′51″W / 54.2218°N 4.6976°W |
The House of Manannan is a museum in Peel in the Isle of Man. It is named after the "great mythological sea god" [1] Manannan and covers the island's Celtic, Viking, and Maritime history.
The museum is located in the former Peel railway station. The original building was built in 1873 and closed in September 1968 with the closure of the Peel line between Douglas and Peel. [2] In 1979 it was used to house Odin's Raven . In 1997 the building was then repurposed and expanded to suit the needs of the museum at a cost of £5.5 million.
In 1998, the museum was awarded National Heritage Museum of the Year, an award shared with the Jersey Maritime Museum in St Helier. [3]
The museum has several permanent exhibitions depicting the Celtic period of the Isle of Man to the modern era, such as a life size reconstruction of a Celtic roundhouse, [4] as well as other attractions based from the 19th century, like a replication of a Peel street. Sea stories are also shared with visitors. [5]
One of its most notable attractions is Odin's Raven, a recreation of a Viking longboat in two-thirds scale. Odin's Raven was made in Norway and then sailed to Peel, arriving on 4 July 1979 as part of the High Court of Tynwald's millennium celebrations. [1]
Apart from the permanent exhibitions, several temporary themed exhibitions are shown in the exhibition gallery each year. Artists such as Edward Kelly have had their work exhibited in the gallery. [6] Other exhibitions have included This Is Christmas which focuses on the celebration of Christmas during the 1950s to 1970s on the Isle of Man. [7]
The museum also has a gift shop and a café. [8] There is limited parking behind the museum. [9]
The Isle of Man or Mann, is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the Celtic nations and is the homeland of the Manx people, a Celtic ethnic group. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Governor. The government of the United Kingdom is responsible for the Isle of Man's military defence and represents it abroad, but the Isle of Man still has a separate international identity.
Tynwald Day is the National Day of the Isle of Man, usually observed on 5 July.
Castletown is a town in the Isle of Man, geographically within the historical parish of Malew but administered separately. Lying at the south of the island, it was the Manx capital until 1869. The centre of town is dominated by Castle Rushen, a well-preserved medieval castle, originally built for a Viking king.
Peel is a seaside town and small fishing port in the Isle of Man, in the historic parish of German but administered separately. Peel is the third largest town in the Island after Douglas and Ramsey but the fourth largest settlement, as Onchan has the second largest population but is classified as a village.
Ramsey is a coastal town in the north of the Isle of Man. It is the second largest town on the Island after Douglas. Its population is 8,288 according to the 2021 Census. It has one of the biggest harbours on the Island, and has a prominent derelict pier, called the Queen's Pier. It was formerly one of the main points of communication with Scotland. Ramsey has also been a route for several invasions by the Vikings and Scots.
Peel Castle is a castle in Peel in the Isle of Man, originally constructed by Norwegians. The castle stands on St Patrick's Isle, which is connected to the town by a causeway. It is now owned by Manx National Heritage and is open to visitors during the summer.
The culture of the Isle of Man is influenced by its Celtic and, to a lesser extent, its Norse origins, though its close proximity to the United Kingdom, popularity as a UK tourist destination, and recent mass immigration by British migrant workers has meant that British influence has been dominant since the Revestment period. Recent revival campaigns have attempted to preserve the surviving vestiges of Manx culture after a long period of Anglicisation, and significant interest in the Manx language, history and musical tradition has been the result.
Manx National Heritage is the national heritage organisation for the Isle of Man. The organisation manages a significant proportion of the Island’s physical heritage assets including over 3,000 acres of coastline and landscape. It holds property, archives, artwork, library and museum collections in trust for the Manx nation. It is the Isle of Man's statutory heritage agency and an Isle of Man registered charity (№ 603).
The Manx are an ethnic group originating on the Isle of Man, in the Irish Sea in Northern Europe. They belong to the diaspora of the Gaelic ethnolinguistic group, which now populate the parts of the British Isles which once were the Kingdom of the Isles and Dál Riata. The Manx are governed through the Tynwald, the legislature of the island, which was introduced by Viking settlers over a thousand years ago. The native mythology and folklores of the Manx belong to the overall Celtic Mythology group, with Manannán mac Lir, the Mooinjer veggey, Buggane, Lhiannan-Shee, Ben-Varrey and the Moddey Dhoo being prominent mythological figures on the island. Their language, Manx Gaelic is derived from Middle Irish, which was introduced by settlers that colonised the island from Gaelic Ireland. However, Manx gaelic later developed in isolation and belongs as a separate Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic languages.
Cronk ny Merriu, located close to Port Grenaugh, is one of the remains of promontory forts in the Isle of Man. Cronk ny Merriu was previously considered by historians to be a prehistoric burial place due to its large grass-covered bank and name, literally translating to "Hill of the Dead". The bank and ditch created a defensive promontory fort at Cronk ny Merriu. Later, a rectangular building of Norse style and layout stood here, part of a system of coastal lookout posts used to protect the coastline and to police beach markets. Excavations of Cronk ny Merriu show that there was very little domestic activity, and that the Norse building likely didn't have permanent residency. It's suggested that the longhouse was primarily a building for those at nearby forts to shelter from harsh weather, rather than a place of defence itself. Although no scientific dating has been done, due to the similarities with fortified headlands throughout the Anglo-Celtic isles, archeologists strongly believe that this site dates back to the Celtic Iron Age.
The Knock y Doonee Ogham Stone is an early medieval memorial stone with inscriptions carved in Latin and Ogham.
Peel Railway Station was a terminus on the Isle of Man Railway; it served the town of Peel in the Isle of Man and was the final stopping place on a line that ran between the city of Douglas and the town. It was part of the Island's first railway line.
Andreas or Kirk Andreas is a village in the Isle of Man, lying in the north of the Island, 5 km from the Island's second town, Ramsey. There is a large, and nowadays little used, airfield in the vicinity.
Archibald Knox, was a Manx designer of Scottish descent. He is best known as being Liberty's primary designer at the height of their success and influence upon British and International design. Knox's work bridged the Arts and Crafts Movement, Celtic Revival, Art Nouveau, and Modernism. He is seen as a leading figure of the Modern Style movement.
HSC Manannan is a 96-metre (315 ft) wave-piercing high-speed catamaran car ferry built by Incat, Australia in 1998. After commercial service in Australia and New Zealand, she was chartered to the US military as Joint Venture (HSV-X1). Now owned and operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, she mainly provides a seasonal service between Douglas Harbour and Port of Liverpool.
Culture Vannin is the trading name for the Manx Heritage Foundation, established in 1982 by the Isle of Man Government to promote Manx culture, heritage and language. It was rebranded in February 2014, having previously been known as the "Manx Heritage Foundation", since the former title "held connotations more towards the cultural history of the island" which were not felt to be accurate to the organisation's progressive approach to invigorating Manx culture. Culture Vannin's motto is "Taking our culture forward".
Barrule was a Celtic and folk trio from the Isle of Man. The band's three members were: Tomas Callister (fiddle), Jamie Smith (accordion) and Adam Rhodes (bouzouki). Barrule's discography included both original and traditional Manx language songs.
The Manx Museum in Douglas, Isle of Man is the national museum of the Isle of Man. It is run by Manx National Heritage. The museum covers 10,000 years the history of the Isle of Man from the Stone Age to the modern era.
Odin's Raven is a 2/3 scale replica of the Gokstad ship, which was sailed from Trondheim to Peel, Isle of Man, by a joint Manx and Norwegian crew. The project formed part of the 1979 Manx Millennium Celebrations, and was conceived and planned by local businessman Robin Bigland.