The Manx Tholtan

A tholtan [ pronounced TOL'tan ] is the ruins of a croft or small house or farm, many hundreds of which can be found around the Island , usually in the hills or secluded glens. All are roofless now, wooden rafters and floors long gone , the stonework remains but slowly returning to nature. For any American relatives reading this, just above the old family farm at Kerrowmoar, there are the remains of a building where John, Andrew, Emily and Wilfreds' grandfather once lived . I think Wilfred brought a small piece of the stonework back to the States . I can still see him standing there, stock still, gazing at the fantastic view down across the countryside to the sea at Langness.....and my mother nudging me and saying, "Look at Wilfred " I think all the years just fell away and he was a boy again.....for nothing had changed .

Many of these ' tholtanyn' had horse walks outside where a horse would walk around turning a geared shaft which operated small machines. I have put two pictures on this blog.....I have been to both these locations ........when I was a bit more energetic and did lots of hill walking .

I have just pulled a picture from my files of the old family farmhouse at Kerrowmoar. No doubt all my American relatives have seen this photograph, but it's a great picture and certainly worth a place on this blog. I have also put on a picture of the cottage as it was a few years ago . Incidentally this house is still occupied, by a person named Garret , whose family were friends of the Kelly family. Small world , eh ! Notice the string of dried fish hanging on the wall at right of the family picture. No fridges in those days . I have the family tree of my Grandmother Kelly, going back to about 1650. No doubt my American cousins have it as well. But how I wish I could go back in time , some 350 years , to see our ancestors, to see how they lived and worked. We know so very little about them !

The later picture of the house shows different windows and a new porch......and the place badly in need of a coat of paint .....but the wall outside the house where some of the kids are sitting , is still there ....but overgrown now!

The name Kerrowmoar means.....big or large quarter. In days long gone by , different parts of the Island were divided into political divisions known as quarterlands. The builder of the family farm may have named the place after the large quarterland it was situated in....... or it just became known as Kerrowmoar due to the fact that it may have been the largest farm in that particular quarterland.........or maybe someone just liked the name. Who knows.?....The answer is lost in the mists of time .