maptoptown

Take a virtual walk around the 'Top of the Town' using the map below. The map and the text is taken from a brochure produced by Peel Heritage Trust for its guided walk on 11 July 2001 Click the numbers on the map to read descriptions of the buildings Back to walks page

Extract from map by Vic Bates Cartographer Ltd 2001

1 Atholl Place
	Atholl Place has for generations been called the 'Top of the Town'. The description comes from the time in the early 1800s when the area was the most easterly part of Peel, as there were very few houses outside this area. The Corrin's map of 1784 confirms this. back to map

2 St German's
	The Parish Church of St German was built in the 1880s. the Parish Chuurch in the market Place was deemed inadequate and the 'new church' as it was then called, built. It became the Isle of Man Cathedral in 1982. There are leaflets inside the Church which describe the building and its history. The ring of 8 bells was restored in 1999 - in time to ring in the Millenium. back to map

3 Lyndale Avenue
	We leave the Cathedral Grounds by a well used path into Lyndale Avenue. This short terrace of houses was built in the 1920s by 'Lancey' (Lancelot?) Quilliam. The terrace was built in two stages, and you can, in fact, see the join! back to map

4 The 'Donkey Field'
	The field opposite is owned by the Irving family and is designated for "ecclesiastical use" according to the Peel Local Plan. Residents have called it the "donkey field" for years. Being so close to the Cathedral, in the town centre and facing a green field surrounded by trees, makes these artesan type cottages very desirable houses indeed. back to map

5 Wesleyan Sunday School
	We leave Lyndale Avenue and walk uphill (the only bit!), crossing Albany Road to the Wesleyan Sunday School and day school which was founded by the Methodist Church. It is now two houses. Philip Christian had much earlier bequeathed the provision of free education for the children of Peel in the formation of the Clothworkers’ School in Christian Street. The Wesleyan Church subsequently founded a day school, also free, but apparently the pupils who sat next to the stove had to pay a penny a week. back to map

6 Ballawattleworth House
	Ballawattleworth House was once occupied by the Graves family, which owned the Graves Shipyard and Timber Yard in Mill Road. It has been used as a residential home. back to map

7 Rheast lane
	Walk on 25 yards or so and turn right into Rheast Lane. It is a blessing that Rheast Lane is so narrow. It certainly slows down the traffic to and from the Golf Club. It seems likely that it was at one time the lane which led to Douglas, however, the ‘main road’ as we know it was marked on the first Ordnance Survey map of 1869. back to map

8 Philip Christian's birthplace
	Philip Christian’s birthplace can be found next to Balla Cotch, presently owned by the Fittons. This area was once called Scotch Quarter, a clear reference to Quarterlands which was a system for allocating lands to hill farmers. One school of thought was that it was owned by someone called Scott and it became Scotch Quarter. back to map

9 Balla Cotch
	H.C. Cowley, the founder of Cowleys Chemist, describes the area in his account of wandering around Peel as a boy. He suggested that the stone balls on the top of the pillars going into the kitchen garden at Ballacotch were cannon balls from the Castle garrison. The diameter of the balls are 10 inches - you can imagine the size of the cannon which fired them! back to map

10 Queen's Drive
	Queen’s Drive has only been built since the war. What was a T-junction (Douglas and Albany Road) became a cross roads and perhaps the busiest part of Peel for traffic. back to map

11 Woodlands
	It’s a pleasant wander down Rheast Lane towards the White House. Next door is Woodlands, a former farmhouse with many stables behind the house. It’s also the site of one of the many wells dotted around Peel. back to map

12 The Grove
	Tynwald Grove is a fine new development completed by Jonathan Irving on the site of his Uncle Jack’s house. The late Jack Irving was a true Peel character who ran the Pop Factory in Atholl Street. He was a founder member of Mec Vannin. When he died, it was realised that his house couldn’t realistically be restored and it was demolished. There are many features of other Peel properties in the seven houses. back to map

13 The Whitehouse
	There has always been a tradition for Manx music and entertainment in the Whitehouse and the present landlords, the Keigs, continue to encourage groups to come and perform in the many rooms. The pub is honest and ungentrified. The original building was small, but there were huge extensions in the 1920s - more than doubling its size. The central bar was at one time temporary! In the yard at the back is the remains of a blacksmith’s forge - no doubt for shoeing horses for the stables at the Royal and the Peel Castle, which were both coaching inns. back to map

14 Shipyard
	It’s hard to believe that Atholl Street at one time housed a shipyard. It could have been where Langs Garage or CGB Contractors stand now, or indeed both. The boats were launched down Bridge Street when it was just a track with no houses. back to map

15 Methodist Church
	Please spend a few moments in the Methodist Church... back to map

16&17 Centenary Hall
	... and also the Centenary Hall opposite (so named because it was built in 1877, a hundred years after John Wesley came to Peel). The fine building next door to the Centenary Hall was once occupied by a Peel doctor. back to map

18 The Royal Hotel
	The Royal Hotel is an old coaching inn. The wooden doors hide the horses entrance into the rear yard. The stables were on the other side of the road in the present bus station. The sandstone walls can still be seen - if only they could speak! It’s interesting that an area which was once used as stables is now used to stable buses. There was once a scheme to use the area for a car park and move the bus terminus to Market Place. IOM Transport sensibly abandoned that idea. The Royal Hotel has been predominately owned by generations of the Moffat family. The left-hand third of the symmetrical building is now a private house and painted a different colour. It is a shame that the cast iron balcony above the wooden doors was removed recently. back to map

19 Isle of Man Bank
	The Isle of Man Bank is the only prominent building in Peel built in the 1960s style. Its curved frontage points towards, and seems to focus its attention onto Atholl Place - the 'Top of the Town'. back to map

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