'The Romance of a River'
Date(s): 1979
Scope & Content: Text on Colby river compiled for a local film show. McFee starts at the outlet of the river onto Kentraugh beach near the Shore Hotel and describes the Salmon Dub and 'The Jetties' (salmon leaps or stairs constructed by Kentraugh estate workers), the Old Bone Mill (crushed bones into fertiliser for the Kentraugh estate), the upper and lower rabbit warrens owned by the same estate and the Mill-Race and old Ice Box (underground pit storing ice for the Kentraugh estate and mansion). He continues to describe the 'Little Mill' (Corn Mill) with its Methodist connections, natural spring, second stone bridge on the back road to Kentraugh and Old Mill used for grinding Kentraugh corn. He continues via the meadow leading to Ballacregeen (birthplace of Archibald Cregeen) and John Moore's Claddath where three escaped Knockaloe internees were discovered in the undergrowth having made a shelter (details of the discovery are relayed).
The talk brings in details about the 'Hooping Place' on the claddagh by the river, Cubbin's Bridge, places and games children played, methods of fishing, the saw pit, 'California' (tea garden and orchard), Creer the Weavers of Palm Cottage, the place where herring were gutted for salting and winter usage and the eels that gathered, the weavers pool (Dub y Fidther, a deep pool near the Mill wheel at Colby Mill on the Glen Road just above Cannells Bridge crossing the river by the Mill), Colby Mill, mill pond, the Little Glen and the Colby waterfall (artificially built by the monks).
Moving on to the Colby Big Glen, once the property of Kentraugh and in 1979 the Isle of Man Forestry Board, McFee describes its features and the legends associated with it as well as anecdotes and accidents including a fatality. He also recounts an altercation during a public meeting of enquiry involving people protesting at the glen's closure under the ownership of E B Gawne, contravening an ancient right of way giving public access to Ballakilpheric. McFee comments, 'This represents the tenacity and determination of a generation of rural manxmen who were prepared to assert their rights and as T.E. Brown wrote in his Poem to consider important "What e'er is left of ancient heritage preserve it".' (p9).
He moves on to mention Ballachrink stone quarry, the Glashtins cave and Bath, the flax mill, tributary streams, two watersheds (including Scaard reservoir) and Keeill Voirrey.
Language: English
Extent: 1 file
Item name: article
Collection: Manuscript Archive
Level: FILE
ID number: MS 08215/3
Retrieval number: MD 15081/3
Record class: Private
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