The Nunnery is an estate outside of

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, named after a

religious Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...

foundation on the site, at . The Nunnery is located on Old Castletown Road, Braddan. In 1999, the estate was acquired for the Isle of Man International Business School, now part of the

University College Isle of Man University College Isle of Man (UCM; gv, Colleish-Olloscoill Ellan Vannin) is the primary centre for tertiary, vocational education, higher education and adult education on the British Crown dependency of the Isle of Man, located in the Manx ca ...

History

Monastic era

The Priory of Douglas was a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

s, possibly dating to the reign of

Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles Rǫgnvaldr is an Old Norse name. People * Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson (died 1229), King of the Isles Derived or cognate names Given names include: *'' Raginald'', German *'' Reginold'', German *'' Ragenold'', German *'' Ragenald'', German *'' Reg ...

(1187-1226). King Robert Bruce spent the night at the nunnery on Sunday, May 22, 1313 prior to beginning his siege of Rushen Castle the next day. He took the castle three weeks later. The nunnery was suppressed by

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

in 1540. Nothing remains of the monastery. In 1610, the Nunnery was granted to the Earl of Derby by King James.

Post Dissolution

The buildings were acquired by Richard Calcot, Comptroller of the Isle of Man, who is said to have married the last Prioress, Margaret Goodman. The family occupied a house on the site until their descendants, the Heywoods, sold it to the Taubmans in 1776. A new mansion was built for

John Taubman Major John Taubman (1746–1822) was a Manx politician. He was born in Castletown, Isle of Man, the son of John and Esther (née Christian) Taubman and entered the Manx Parliament, the House of Keys in 1799, following the death of his father. ...

in 1823. It was designed by both John Pinch the elder and his son, John Pinch the younger, of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, built in the " Strawberry Hill"

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style. The only surviving monastic building, St. Bridget's Chapel, served as a

coach house Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

for centuries, but it was restored to its original use as a place of worship in the 1880s. The building was used in this manner until 1998, when new owners evicted the congregation, and it was

deconsecrated Deconsecration, also called secularization, is the act of removing a religious blessing from something that had been previously consecrated by a minister or priest of that religion. The practice is usually performed on churches or synagogues to b ...

as a chapel. The mansion remained in the possession of the Taubman family:

George Taubman Goldie Sir George Dashwood Taubman Goldie (20 May 1846 – 20 August 1925) was a Manx administrator who played a major role in the founding of Nigeria. In many ways, his role was similar to that of Cecil Rhodes elsewhere in Africa but he did ...

was born here in 1846. This remained the case until the estate was acquired by the

Isle of Man International Business School The Isle of Man International Business School ( gv, Scoill Dellal Eddyrashoonagh Vannin) is an institution of higher education on the Isle of Man. The Business School is located in the Nunnery mansion estate, close to the island's capital Doug ...

in 1999 to serve as their site of operations, following which the Isle of Man University Centre was established there in 2008. The Nunnery also served as the home of

Culture Vannin Culture Vannin is the trading name for the Manx Heritage Foundation, established in 1982 by the Isle of Man Government to promote Manx culture, heritage and language. It was rebranded in February 2014, having previously been known as the "Manx Her ...

until its relocation to St. John's in 2016.

References

Sources

* David E. Easson, ''Medieval Religious Houses (Scotland), with an Appendix on the Houses in the Isle of Man'' (1957). * Ian B. Cowan, David E. Easson, ''Medieval Religious Houses (Scotland)'', 2nd ed. (1976). .

External links

Isle of Man Business School

Buildings and structures in the Isle of Man History of the Isle of Man {{Europe-struct-stub