Events

ALL LECTURES ARE HELD IN THE MANX MUSEUM LECTURE THEATRE, KINGSWOOD GROVE / CRELLIN’S HILL, DOUGLAS

AT 2.30 P.M. FOLLOWED BY TEA

With one exception:       28 March 2026:         AGM in the Manx Museum Lecture Theatre at 2.00 pm

2025

Saturday 18 October (Presidential Lecture)
Dave Martin
The Manx Salt and Alkali Company Limited
Dave Martin will speak on salt making, both on- and off-Island; how the search for Manx coal led to the discovery of brine and development of a salt making industry, the uses of that salt and brine, and the problems they faced.

Saturday 15 November
Howard Parkin
IOM Dark Skies
A talk about the IOM Dark skies, light pollution and its effects, not just on astronomy but on wildlife, nature and the environment

Saturday 13 December
Dr Euan McArthur
The Isle of Man in English historical literature, c.1648–1776
A study of how the Island’s past and present was viewed by a range of British observers, based on the speaker’s PhD thesis. Man was variously comprehended by greater political designs or schemes of thought, or regarded as a curiosity fit for admiration or castigation.

2026

Saturday 31 January
Dr Susan Nicol
The Island’s Secret Role in the Liberation of Occupied Norway
In 1944 the Island was a key staging post for Norwegians escaping Nazi occupation, as well as an intelligence base for managing the real threat of a security collapse at the moment of Norwegian liberation. No written accounts survive (if they were ever written). This talk tells what we know, and something of the people who were here.

Saturday 28 February
Prof Angela Little
‘Taxes again!’: the drivers of ‘Education for All’ on the Isle of Man
This talk explores the political, economic, religious, social and environmental drivers of ‘Education for All’ on the Isle of Man over time from an international perspective.

Saturday 28 March
Annual General Meeting at 2 pm
Followed by Isobel Grimley
Illuminating Young Medieval Lives on the Isle of Man
Young people who experience early life adversity are particularly vulnerable to health challenges, many of which can leave lasting traces on their skeletons. This talk will present research undertaken on the skeletal remains of medieval children, adolescents and young adults buried on the Isle of Man. The research draws on the concept of frailty and the application of a novel osteological method, as well as analyses of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes to explore growing up medieval.

Any changes to the programme will be advised to members by email,
via our web site: www.manxantiquarians.com and on Bluesky’:  @IOMNHAS
and Facebook: www.facebook.com/IsleofManNaturalHistoryandAntiquarianSociety