A new season of Rushen Heritage Trust talks gets underway next week with Dave Martin exploring ‘Bridges in the Landscape’.

Dave, a past president of the Isle of Man Natural History & Antiquarian Society and Trustee of the Manx Museum & National Trust, will take the audience on a tour of bridges around the Isle of Man, looking at how they evolved, the threats they have faced – including residents armed with explosives! – and the links they provide to the past and future.

Each of the Trust’s 2022-23 season of talks takes place at Erin Arts Centre, with ‘Bridges in the Landscape’ starting at 7.30pm (doors open 7pm) on Monday, November 7th.

Tickets are £5 – or £4 for Friends of Rushen Heritage Trust – and available online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/erinartscentre or from Erin Arts Centre and Rushen Heritage Centre (Bridson Street, Port Erin).

John Quirk, RHT Coordinator, said: ‘We have a first-rate ine-up of speakers and topics for this season, with Dave Martin getting us underway next week. Dave delivered a superb talk for us earlier in the year, about LiDAR (light detection and ranging) surveying and other digital archaeology used on the Isle of Man, and I’m sure that anyone who was in the audience that night will want to hear Dave talk again.

‘In December, John Wright will recount the tragic story of the brig Lily disaster of 1852. John has written a book to mark the 170th anniversary, which Rushen Heritage Trust is publishing later this month. In January, Elizabeth Corlett, Outreach and Archive Officer at the Isle of Man Public Record Office, will reveal some fascinating items from the archives, while February will see Culture Vannin’s James Franklin exploring the folklore of Port Erin. In March, Pete Geddes from the Laxey Mines Research Group will delve into Bradda Mines, and Yvonne Cresswell, retired Curator of Social History at Manx National Heritage, will round the season off in style with a talk about renowned Manx artist William Hoggatt.’

The full line-up of speakers for the 2022-23 season:

  • November 7 – Dave Martin: Bridges in the Landscape
  • December 5 – John Wright: The Explosion That Shook Port St Mary
  • January 9 – Elizabeth Corlett: Southern Travels Through the Archives
  • February 6 – James Franklin: The Folklore of Port Erin
  • March 6 – Pete Geddes: Deep Inside Bradda Mines
  • April 3 – Yvonne Cresswell: William Hoggatt – A Passion for the Manx Landscape

For more details, contact John at rushenht@gmail.com or on 464634.