The Court, Isle of Man (The Gatehouse Record)

The Court

In the parish of German.
On the Isle of Man.

OS Map Grid Reference: SC26748444
Latitude 54.22421° Longitude -4.66115°

The Court has been described as a Palace although is doubtful that it was such.

There are no visible remains.

Description

Remains of a fort at the head of a slight hollow, a circular mound 53 yards diam is enclosed by a rectangular earthen bank 90 yards by 60 yards. Many stones were removed from the mound some years ago (Kermode 1930)
There is nothing left of this feature. It may have been a courtyard farmhouse but I have found nothing on the surface when the land is under the plough (Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments).
The earthwork is grass covered and has been under the plough to such an extent that all features have been spread though otherwise as portrayed on OS 25" of 1868-9. It consists of a ditch which, from A -B, seems no more than the normal south side of a water course - probably natural slopes. From B - D is a vague ditch 15.0m wide and 0.4m deep with the best preserved portion at 10.0m wide and 0.6m deep being from C to D. At D is a weak N-S water course which completes the enclosure by flowing through A. The central mound is spread with no very definite termination but is about 20.0m across and 1.0m high with a rather flat top. Between the foot of the mound and the ditch to the NE is the site of a comparatively modern building now demolished as judged by the building material fragments that remain. Immediately to the south of the ditch which skirts the southern side of the mound is ground higher than the mound could ever have been. The ditch cannot seriously be classified as defensive. No stonework or surrounding bank is visible. In attempting to classify this earthwork two points at once spring to mind. They are the name - The Court - and the weak ditch. Both name and ditch have their parallel at Bishop's Court is removed from the early 12th C Cathedral of St German's - for which see SC 28 SW 5 by more than 8 miles this site is barely 2 miles away. For Bishops Court see SC 39 SW 8. There is little early documentation of the island and it seems possible that this site is a temporary Bishop's Palace or the predecessor of the present Bishop's Court (F1 JR 11.11.55).
I had once thought that it might have been the site of a Bishop's residence. The name The Court survives as a place name in various parts of the Island. Mr Leask the late inspector of Ancient Monuments for Eire compared the ditch at Bishop's Lands though boundaries may have changed. I am not convinced that it is the site of a Bishop's Palace (Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments).
Since the AO investigation the field in which this feature was situated has been ploughed up. No trace of the ditch remains and it has been deleted from field document. The mound is only identifiable with the 6" Sheet, and there are many natural undulations nearby (SS Reviser, 15.02.56).

Comments (by Philip Davis)

The site has been ploughed out. The site appears isolated, with no roads or paths leading to the site, but it is a relatively short ride from Peel and St German's cathedral.

Sources of information, references and further reading

The National Monument Record number(s), or equivalent, for this site is/are 30392.
Further information may be available from http://www.gov.im/mnh/.

Books
- Kermode, P.M.C., 1930, List of Manx Antiquities (Douglas) p. 15 online copy

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown.
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This record last updated on Tuesday, April 18, 2017

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