The Tholtans at Crammag, above Sulby Reservoir.
A lovely hike down to this group of tholtans this afternoon, whenever I visit these tholtans I always wonder what life was like for these people!
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Peter Killey
“I always wonder what life was like for these people!”
It looks idyllic in the pictures but must have been pretty tough, especially in winter.
My great grandmother,Eleanor Margaret Cowley, was born at Crammag in 1835.Her husband John Quayle was born at Ballaskella in 1815.They had 11 children,the second youngest being my grandfather,George, who was born in 1874.I believed they farmed at Narradale. The younger members of this large family left the Island to pursue their careers mostly in the North of England and my grandfather and two of his brothers set up successful clothing and haberdashery shops in Stockport.
Their eldest brother,John Henry,took over the farm but died in 1939.
I am afraid I have not been to the Island since the early 1950`s but the family records are quite interesting and include some photographs of the manx farms and houses in the 1920`s
Ian Quayle Jones.
Chris,
I am afraid the photographs seem to be in the Sulby and Lezayre areas. As you are no doubt aware Crammag which lies at the head of Sulby glen is now a ruin but it overlooks the reservoir and is a very beautiful spot. Narradale is still inhabited by a Quayle but is no longer a working farmhouse.
My father spoke about cycling up to one of these cottages with his parents on a Sunday to have a very basic lunch and sing hymns .I think this must have been in the 1930s.