The Isle of Man is full of amazing folklore, and Maughold boasts some of the best examples.
A scenic walk from Ramsey to Maughold Head will show this, beginning at Ballure, where the tram and road bridges pass over this beautiful glen. It is well known that fairies live in Ballure glen, and they hold parties here which can last for weeks. Don’t think of these fairies as friendly characters with wings though; Manx fairies are dangerous little people that you want to avoid. As they say in Ramsey; Bee er dty hwoaie – “Be on your north” or beware!
Moving swiftly on, take the second road on the left down towards Maughold Village. This takes you over Lewaigue Bridge, just before the turn off for Jack’s Lane. This bridge, and the glen just over it, is the home of a White Lady. Records of her ghostly appearance go back hundreds of years, but those working at the Venture Centre outdoor pursuits venue nearby report that she’s still to be seen!
The Venture Centre itself is where a man named Ewan Christian attempted to make a machine which would reveal the secrets of the past and future, as well as cast out the devil. Unfortunately for him, after seven years of hard sleepless work, he nodded off at the last moment and the thing exploded after only a few opaque utterances!
At the bottom of the winding narrow Jack’s Lane you will arrive at Port e Vullen and turn right.
At the roadside on the edge of this village once stood one of the Island’s beautiful Norse-Celtic crosses. This was said to have been a cruel and wicked woman who was turned to stone after she cursed the wind when working on a Sunday. A tradition grew up of people making a wish when passing the rock. Happily, although no longer located at Port e Vullen, the stone is still available for your lucky wish, as it now lives inside the cross house at the church of Kirk Maughold.
The parish, village and church all take their name from St Maughold. Living as a bandit in Ireland, Maughold had witnessed St Patrick bringing a man back from the dead and so understood the error of his ways. As penance, he was cast out in a small boat, tied in chains, and he was eventually washed up on the shore close to the village. Maughold grew in faith and goodness until God relieved his suffering and provided him with the key to his chains inside a fish he had caught for his supper.
As he was buried in Maughold graveyard, there is a suspicion that it could have been his bones that were whispering in the church when they were dug up during building improvements in the 1860s. Needless to say, they were reburied very swiftly beneath the church floor!
The large stone basin near the gate out of the back of the graveyard is a sarcophagus once excavated from the graveyard. Some associate it with a very old tale of St Maughold’s tomb where his bones lay invisibly. From that tomb flowed a stream of water which would either cure you of all your ailments, or kill you instantly, depending on your worthiness. Perhaps thankfully, the water no longer flows.
Beyond the graveyard is Maughold Head, a small hill with spectacular views out over the parish and up to the northern tip of the Island. It was from here that the Island’s last wild boar leapt into the sea, trying to escape the Manxmen seeking avenge the havoc it had caused on their land. Upon hitting the water, the boar turned into a porpoise and swam away. Hence, the porpoise is now known as a ‘Muc Varrey’ in Manx, which means ‘Sea Pig’.
Few people realise that on the far side of Maughold Head is one of the Isle of Man’s most important holy wells. Set in a stunning location and reached via a track at the base of the hill, which drops off down the slope and curls back around, this is St Maughold’s Well. It was created by the saint himself, and it is said to have the power to cure your ailments, if you leave a bit of money behind after you drink the water. The best time to take the water is at sunrise on the first Sunday of August.
Even today, babies who are Christened at Kirk Maughold are especially blessed, not only because they will be raised in this beautiful part of the world, but for having baptismal water that is collected straight from the saint’s holy well.
These and many more stories from this area and the rest of the Isle of Man can be found in ‘A Guide to the Folklore Sites of the Isle of Man,’ available from all good Manx bookshops.
Please be aware that walking is always with its dangers. Please do so responsibly, at your own risk, and with enjoyment!
Written by James Franklin, Online & Educational Resources Officer at Culture Vannin, which promotes, supports and celebrates the unique culture of the Isle of Man. Culture Vannin
