The churchyard of Old Kirk Braddan (Church of St. Brendan) at Braddan Bridge in Braddan.
Parts of Old Kirk Braddan (Church of St. Brendan), Braddan date from the 12th Century, although there was extensive reconstruction and re-roofing in the 1770's.
Old Kirk Braddan is an ancient but much rebuilt church which seems to have been built on or near the site of an earlier keeill (small chapel), believed to date to the 7th Century. Parts of the building appear to date to the 12th Century. The West Gallery was added in 1737 and extended and in 1861. There was a major reconstruction and re-roofing in the 1770s during which the tower was built. The pinnacles on the four corners date from the rebuilding period.
Following a recent detailed investigation by Frank Cowin it is now believed that the nave is substantially original, with just the east end rebuilt, and the tower built anew. This would accord with John Mason Neale's interpretation in 1848 part of which is reproduced below:
'I have seen many a lovely churchyard, both in England and in other lands... But never yet one of such perfect loveliness as Kirk Braddan. It lies to the right of the road , in a little hollow: all round the holy ground tall ashes, limes, and elms shoot up towards the sky, and enshrine the building in a kind of mysterious evening.'
Source: 'An introduction to the architecture of the Isle of Man' by Patricia Tutt (ISBN: 978-1-907945-10-6)
'Surprisingly very Little is recorded about the building of this church.
We know that in May 1773 the Vicar and Wardens made a Presentation to the Ecclesiastical Court stating that the roof and parts of the gable appeared to be in a ruinous and dangerous state.
The Court ordered that the church be viewed by a Jury of experience workmen. Their decision is not preserved in any records but in November of that year the Wardens decided to raise the level of Cess to one shilling for each Quarterland and all other properties were assessed on an area basis in relation to a Quarterland. This would be to cover the cost of works necessary.
The decision was obviously not a popular one for at the following Ecclesiastical Court the Wardens claimed that no fewer than 28 persons had refused to pay their Cess and the Chaplain and Wardens of the Douglas Chapel had not yet paid their contribution.
Whether repairs were started on the church and then it was decided to completely rebuild, or whether the jury recommended that the chapel was in such a dangerous state of repair that it had to be demolished we will never know. We do know that the people of Douglas had complained that the church was becoming so full that they could not use the gallery reserved for them so it is not surprising that a decision was taken to build a new and larger church.
Perhaps influenced by what was taking place in Douglas it was decided to build a large western tower along with the church. The only reference we have to this is in the petition of Robert Lewis in 1774 over the new Cess on his mill when he refers to the assessment being "for the building etc. Reparation of the Church and Belfry (it was not uncommon for towers to be given the wrong architectural term; in 1786 the vicar referred to a grave in the path betwixt the 'steeple' and west stile).'
Source: 'Old Kirk Braddan: short history and tour' by the Friends of Old Kirk Braddan with generous assistance from the Isle of Man Bank and Mr Cecil Clutton CBE.
During the reconstruction 'the tower was added, the windows altered, the door repositioned and the whole building' was remodelled. 'At the same time the defective East end was demolished and rebuilt. The East wall and the South return were demolished to ground level but the North Wall was taken down to about two metres above ground level leaving evidence, although now hidden by plaster work and panelling, of the former windows.
It was during these alteration that corner stones, window jambs and heads were reused and mixed into the new work. Two old window heads were used in the new Tower which confused the Victorian tour guide writers who thus mistakenly believed that the Tower was older than the body of the church.
One of the reused window heads incorporates a piece of carved stone which was originally believed to be part of a Viking age cross but has now been identified as a fragment of Romanesque Carving and thus is more modern but is rare on the Isle of Man.
Source: 'Old Kirk Braddan: short history and tour' by the Friends of Old Kirk Braddan with generous assistance from the Isle of Man Bank and Mr Cecil Clutton CBE.
The the small churchyard surround the church on all sides. It is set on a sloping wooded site and is dominated by a tall obelisk, erected to the memory of Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Henry Murray.
The memorial was provided by the officers of his regiment, the Royal Manx Fencibles. Lord Murray, fifth son of he Duke of Athol and died in December, 1805.
'Near this obelisk is the grave of Henry Hutchinson, the brother-in-law and cousin of the poet Wordsworth, a sailor, who according to the inscription on the headstone (written by Wordsworth), "being of a thoughtful mind, obtained great skill and knowledge of his profession, and endured, in all climates, severe hardships with exemplary courage and fortitude." One inscription on a grave (near the eastern door of the church), that of the Rev. Patrick Thomson, vicar of the church, will attract attention, from the recorded fact that it was set up eleven years before the death (in 1689) of he good vicar, who seems to have had a fancy for having his grave and epitaph ready. He left the parish a legacy of three pounds - not much certainly, but perhaps all he had to leave: and, fearful that the donation might lead to extravagance, desired that two pounds of the same should be banked, and the interest only received "from time to time during time." In what way the eighteen pence or two shillings annually received by the churchwardens is applied to the good of the parish we are unable to say. Another vicar, the Rev. Robert Brown, a man of poetic taste, and author of a poem, "Kirk Braddan by Moonlight" - pretty subject - is also buried in the churchyard.' (
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On 8th February 1921 by Order of His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor under Section 6 of the Burials Act 1881 the Vicar and Wardens were ordered to discontinue burials in the churchyard.
The inscription from the headstone in my photograph reads as follows:
'IN
LOVING REMEMBERANCE
OF
JOHN THOMAS KELLY,
OF RENSCAULT,
WHO DIED AT BALLAGAREY HOUSE
MAROWN
17TH OF JUNE 1886. AGED 66 YEARDS
ALSO
JANE
WIFE OF THE ABOVE
WHO DIED AT BALLAGAREY HOUSE
MAROWN
23RD OF SEPT. 1896. AGED 73 YEARS'