Manx experiences

We spent this past weekend on the Isle of Man. Last year when I went with my Grandparents it was really fun because it's my Grandma's side of the family that comes from the Isle. This time it was just as cool to be there with my Mom and uncle, also from that line of Cannons. But my Aunt Nancy is the one who knew the most about the family history even though she's not a direct descendant. :) We hiked the shore around the Calf of Man, a little island off the south coast. It was so gorgeous (see first photo above), and we even saw seals swimming around the islands!Since I gave family history and island details last year, I thought I'd just post a few shots of the strip (photos by Nancy & Don), along with the above shot of the Manx lamb I ate. (They assured me it was really a Manx lamb.)

The Cannons of Cooilshellagh

This week we made a trip--no, a pilgrimage--to the Isle of Man, which is a beautiful, self-governing island between England and Ireland in the Irish Sea. The reason for the trip is that my Grandma's family, the Cannons, originally came from the Isle of Man, and she's always wanted to visit. We had some fun experiences tracking down Cannon-related places, and this post is dedicated to everyone on the side of the family related to the Cannons. I'll include page references in the Cannon Family book for those who have a copy and want more information. (I'm including lots of details and pictures, so if you aren't related but still care, read the other IoM post--or risk boredom with this one.)

For me, the highlight was finding the Cannon ancestral home/farm Cooilshellagh, translated from the Manx language as Willow Nook. (see page 4) It wasn't easy to find, and I was glad I had done some research before we went or it might have been impossible. It was so exciting to see the farm where my ancestors lived and worked for many generations! Here are some photos of it. (The old stone barn was converted to holiday cottages, but any house once occupied by Cannon ancestors is long gone--see page 5.)

Near Cooilshellagh is the village of Kirk Michael where many of our ancestors are buried. The current church is too new to have been the actual building where our ancestors were christened or married, but the churchyard contains several graves of our ancestors. There was a very helpful man there who showed us around the church and let us examine parish records. I love this photo of actual sheep running between graves there.


We were also fortunate to have found the still-standing home of one of our ancestors, Captain George Cannon (father of the George Cannon who moved the family to America). He's not buried on the island because he died at sea, but we knew his house was still standing in Peel. We knew the street name from pre-trip research, but the SatNav didn't work on the island, and we had terrible maps. Thankfully we bumped into a local who personally escorted us to Orry Lane, where we saw his house. (see page 16)


At the entrance to Cooilshellagh is a plaque dedicated in 1990 by Elder George I. Cannon. It commemorates the 150th anniversary of the family's conversion to the gospel, which led them to join the LDS Church and emigrate to America. Read the plaque's inscription on page 81, and see the photo from September 1990 on page 82.

Uffington post

The Uffington White Horse is a famous prehistoric chalk carving of an animal (they say horse--it looks like a cat to me) on the side of a hill. The white horse has been dated to about 3000 years ago, and Iron Age coins have been found with the image of this horse engraved on them. (Does Jacob's body language show how underwhelmed he was?)

Near Uffington is a tiny village called Stanton Harcourt, where some of my ancestors lived in the 1400s. My ancestors who lived there were the Harcourts, and a couple of them were knights. At this church in the village is a special chapel dedicated to the Harcourts where my ancestors Sir Robert Harcourt and Margaret Byron Harcourt have a tomb.

This is an ancestor on my Grandpa Brough's side, so pay attention if you're on that side of the family. Sir Robert was the sheriff of Leicestershire and Warwickshire, Governor of Vernon in Normandy, High Steward of the University of Oxford, and he became a Knight of the Garter in 1464. He was murdered by members of the Lancastrian party in 1471. Margaret Lady Harcourt's lasting legacy is that hers is one of only 2 surviving examples of tombs where women are portrayed wearing the Order of the Garter. (Go girl!)

While Jacob was gone last week I couldn't sleep, so I filled that time doing family history research, and I'm so glad I did!! This was a fun experience. (You can see the tomb in the background of the photo I'm in above, and I included the below photo from another angle so you can see that Margaret is buried next to him--against the wall.)

East to West

It's been another busy week, so I'll just go chronologically, beginning with this photo of Nick operating a cannon in the Medieval Tunnels at Dover Castle on Monday. The weather was CRAZY that morning--lots of wind and rain.

Later that day we went to Walmer Castle, and the weather wasn't crazy anymore, but we did have to evacuate the castle and wait for the Deal Fire Department to let us back in!

Tuesday we went to an old mansion house, Kirby Hall. It's partially roofless, but it was beautiful. We especially loved all the peacocks wandering around.
Wednesday we went to Stonehenge, then to Stockton (where our ancestor was a vicar in the church there in the 1500s), then to Bath. It rained heavily all day Wednesday; we got soaking wet early and didn't get dry until we got home at 10:30 PM! This is the heel stone at Stonehenge. I think it looks like a thumb. (Notice my umbrella going crazy.)

Here Nick is standing in the Bath Abbey--amazing ceiling! We've alreay mentioned Audley End house a few times on the blog, but Nick and I went there Friday. It was beautiful! Saturday we went back to London and visited many cool sites, including the grave of Karl Marx. We also visited the British Museum and saw the Rosetta Stone and other great art and artifacts.

Stonehenge, Bath, and other Auds and Ends

We had an action-packed weekend, and this entry can only be a partial accounting because we can't possibly fit it all in. Our trip began with a visit to Stonehenge, and let me be roughly the 80-trillionth person to say that Stonehenge rocks! It was amazing, and we had a great time. It's such an iconic place, and it was incredible to be there.

We also made a brief stop in a tiny village called Stockton, which is near Stonehenge. This is a picture of me in front of a church where my ancestor (John Terry) was a vicar in the 1500s! The church was locked up, but we enjoyed visiting the quaint village where my ancestors once lived.

Then we went to Bath, a place I've wanted to visit since I was 15 and began reading Jane Austen. The visit did not disappoint--it's an incredible place! There's definitely not enough blog space to show all the photos of everything we saw and did. (We took 210 photos this weekend.)

Here are the 2 sides of Pulteney Bridge, which crosses the Avon; you can tell why the side on the right is generally the one shown in photos, but we thought the "back" was cute too. Pulteney Bridge is one of only a handful of bridges in the world with shops built on both sides of it.

The Roman Baths were the most amazing part of Bath; they were built there by the Roman Empire about 2000 years ago. This photo also shows the beautiful Bath Abbey above.

This is a photo of the Circus, an example of the breathtaking Georgian architecture. The Roman Baths have been attracting England's elite for hundreds of years, and they've built gorgeous homes for their stays in Bath.

Below is a garden with the Royal Crescent (more Georgian architecture) in the background.

We also discovered this tasty beverage (Belgian chocolate milk), which Jacob described as "liquid awesome." We hope to find it again a little closer to home. We also enjoyed another fabulous pub meal; so far the food here hasn't failed to impress.

On our way home Saturday we made a couple of stops. The first was at Costco, which we've been excited to check out (yes, Dad/Garth, we made a Costco run). We thought they had lots of great products, but it's too far away to make our continued membership worthwhile (not to mention the unfavorable exchage rate).

We also stopped at this house: Audley End House and Gardens. During the winter months they give a special tour of the servants' quarters, which we took. The house was built in the 1600s and includes gorgeous Jacobean ceilings and other great artwork and architectural features from the time of King James. The grounds are extensive and beautiful! We will definitely return to this house (only about 30 minutes from our place) when more of the gardens are blooming this spring. Sometimes the house's reflection can be seen in the Cam, but I love this photo because you can see a beautiful black swan in the Cam instead!

I think this hedge is one of the more amazing garden features at the house.

Below is the view from the back of the house (notice the fountain).