Old Onchan - Picture Gallery 4

Holly Cottage, Governors Road

This view was taken in the 1930s when the cottage on the left was known as Holly Cottage but in 1948 its name changed to Woodlea Cottage on account of its location and the fact there was no longer a large holly bush in the garden.

The trees next door were however to be taken down just over ten years later when the property was purchased by Corkill’s Garage who had their premises on the other side of the wood.

Over a period of time they cleared and levelled the site after much excavation, ready to extend their premises. Here they built a drive through petrol service station, garage shop and large garage for the storage and maintenance of their increasing fleet of coaches. On the right of this photograph can be seen the former Kelly’s the baker shop with one of the former Jubilee Electric Street Lights of 1897 to the left of the door. All the cottages nearby were demolished in the mid 1950s to make way for subsequent road widening. Two new shops with flats over were built to the rear of the site some years after the clearance.

Elm Tree Road and Church Avenue

Taken in the early years of the last century here we see the lower part of the Onchan Nursery Gardens laid out for building purposes by the Spittall family who owned the ground. The dust track running diagonally across the picture is now Elm Tree Road whilst the return road is Church Avenue.

The row of trees are behind the cottages on Main Road which were converted into shops in the 1930s and then demolished in the mid 1970s to make way for Elm Tree House and of course further road widening.

All Aboard

From the Caley Collection comes this view of a village outing in a charabanc. It is loading passengers outside Elm House which originally belonged to the Cain family and then passed through the female line to the Temple family.

The charabanc is possibly that of Mr Ostick who at one time operated Onchan Motors. Elm House was demolished and in 1959 – 60 and Elm Court was built on the site after allowing for road widening. The new flat roofed property is now home to the Onchan Post Office and an insurance company with two flats above.

Our Daily Bread

Most people think that Fargher’s the newsagents have been in their Main Road shop forever but in actual fact it was once a small cottage shop occupied by Thomas E. Caley who set up his baker’s business in the village in the mid 1880s.

In 1911 he greatly altered and extended the premises to provide a modern shop with house alongside and above as shows in the picture. For a period in time Caley’s just used their Onchan bakery in the summer months to supply the many hotels and guesthouses in and around the Port Jack area. The shop was subsequently let as a barber’s and newsagents whilst members of the Caley family lived in the house.

Cottage Crafts

This onetime thatched cottage stood in the middle of Onchan Village and at the time of the photograph was used by Sam Skillicorn the builder, undertaker and contractor. He was the brother of J.T. Skillicorn and for a period was in partnership with him following the death of their father Robert Skillicorn.They then went their separate ways and the name of J.T. Skillicorn continues to this day as an Onchan building firm.

This cottage was demolished in the post war years to make way for Mr W.A. Caley’s new bakers and confectioners shop with living accommodation above which was constructed in 1949. The business finally closed on 21 st May 2005 due to changing shopping habits after serving Onchan for around 120 years.

Port Jack Glen - Before

A view of Port Jack Glen taken at a time when it was leased by Onchan Commissioners from Douglas Corporation in whom it had been vested in 1892 by the developers of the Howstrake Estate.

At that time Onchan Commissioners did not exist hence the small gorge which became the glen and the brews around Port Jack and Sea Cliff Road as far as Onchan Harbour were passed to Douglas Town Commissioners for safe keeping.

Port Jack Glen - After

After lots of negotiations Douglas Corporation agreed to sell the glen and headlands to Onchan Village Commissioners who in 1960 commenced a winter work scheme to enhance the glen.

An additional entrance was created from Royal Avenue West so that guests in the boarding houses had easier access to this sun trap. Concrete bridges replaced the rustic timber versions and the natural banks to the stream and pools were replaced by stone walls. Planting also took place on the rocky outcrops.

Before Onchan Park

A view taken in the 1940s shows the land in the foreground which became part of Onchan Park following its compulsory purchase.

The building on the right is St Anthony’s Church, erected in 1923 having originally been a recreation hut at the Alien Internee Camp at Knockaloe in the west of the island.

In 1986 this corrugated building was demolished and replaced by the present day modern church building, also dedicated to St Anthony, and provided at the sole expense of Mr Albert Gubay.

Summerhill Road 1

This photograph was taken from the drive of the property opposite shows numbers 84 and 86 Summerhill Road. Plans for these semi-detached properties were approved by Onchan Village Commissioners in 1923 and they were built by the Skillcorn family.

To the downside of these properties can be seen the top end of Strathallan Terrace (See Tour of Onchan – Around the Edges) which was built on land at one time part of the Strathallan Park development originally started in the 1850s.

Summerhill Road 2

This property was built on land auctioned off from the Hague Estate in 1927. The three acre site was purchased by a Douglas merchant who decided to make his home in Onchan as was the case with some of the other houses built in Summerhill Road.

The house was designed by R.H. Cain the architect of Douglas who designed several other properties in the area and elsewhere in Onchan. He was not a chartered architect but was very accurate in his work and his services were much sought after. He also designed large extensions to the Majestic Hotel. To the right of the house can be seen the wooden garage or motor store as they were often called. The property is now well screened by the trees which have grown in the garden.

ALL ABOARD

Pictured outside the Manx Arms Hotel is Albert Ostick's Albion 29 seater charabanc about to set off on a trip full of Onchan people.  Everyone is in their Sunday best and there are two little Union Jacks attached to the windscreen - were they heading to Tynwald Fair? 

Mr Ostick originally opened his Queens Garage in former stables  behind Queens Road which many years later became the workshop and stores of J.T. Skillicorn the builder.  He moved his business to Tynwald Street in Douglas and later to Derby Square having formed Onchan Motors Limited in the meantime.  Can you recognise any of the people in the photograph?

MANX CAR RACE 1936

This picture which comes from long time Onchan resident, Ronnie Brew show motor racing around the Willaston Circuit with cars, having come down from Signpost Corner. 

Here W.J. Everitt (No 12) has just passed Raymond Mays alongside Birchley Terrace.  The whole terrace was built by Ned Quayle in the early part of the twentieth century and they were the last houses as you left Onchan Village via the Hillberry Road. 

The crowd with their backs to the camera are standing in the grounds of the Nursery Hotel.  The sod hedge opposite the houses was removed to make way for widening the corner.  The post and wire fence was subsequently replaced by metal railings and then in the immediate post war years the whole of the course was widened and a new stone wall was built as a boundary to all the fields extending from the 1930s bungalows on Hillberry Road (which were in the Parish of Onchan) to Mount View Terrace. 

In the late 1960s and early 1970s J.J. McArd and Son, the building firm from Port Erin built the Ballachurry Park Estate behind the wall.  This section of road was part of the Clypse Course used by motorbikes in the late 1950s and early 60s.  They travelled in the opposite direction and the bikes used were of low capacity i.e. 50cc and 125cc but also sidecars.  Later these were transferred to the TT Course.