The Nunnery is an

estate Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representativ ...

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 ...

on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

, named after a

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

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) 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 capital Douglas. History Founded as t ...

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 Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

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: *'' Rægnald'' *'' Ragenald'', German *'' Ragenold'', German *''Raghnall'', Irish and Scottish Gael ...

(1187-1226). King

Robert Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England. He fought successfully dur ...

spent the night at the nunnery on Sunday, May 22, 1313 prior to beginning his siege of

Castle Rushen Castle Rushen () is a medieval castle located in the Isle of Man's historic capital, Castletown, in the south of the Island. It towers over the Market Square to the south-east and the harbour to the north-east. The castle is amongst the best e ...

the next day. He took the castle three weeks later. The nunnery was suppressed as part of the dissolution of the monasteries 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 known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...

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 in 1823. It was designed by 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 or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

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

coach house A ''carriage house'', also called a ''remise'' or ''coach house'', is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two st ...

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 referred to as decommissioning or ''secularization'' (a term also used for the external confiscation of church property), is the removal of a religious sanction and blessing from something that had been previously consec ...

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 () 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 Douglas. It provides various academic degree ...

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 He ...

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 Catholic Church in the Isle of Man History of the Isle of Man {{IsleofMan-struct-stub