Police History

Late 19th century

In 1841-42, the new Courthouse and Police Station in Athol Street was built by the Independent Order of Oddfellows. This was purchased by the Government in 1856 and served as Douglas Courthouse and police station for more than a century. The Courthouse was demolished during 2007, although its facade has been retained to be incorporated in a new development.

Full details of the police officers outside Douglas don’t survive. However, Castletown police suffered a tragedy in 1851 when the Chief Constable John Craige and one of his men Constable John Wright were carrying out their responsibilities for shipwreck. The brig Lily was on rocks on Kitterland in the Sound when gunpowder on board was ignited and they were amongst 22 men killed in the explosion.

In Ramsey, the Courthouse was acquired in 1800 by William Christian who was known as Christian Noe. He is thought to have been an eccentric and it’s recorded he had the right to sit in court with his hat on, although it’s not known if he ever availed himself of the privilege.

The Chief Constable of Ramsey in 1856 was Claudious A. Bennett who served until 1863, assisted by three constables. Mr Bennett was followed as Chief Constable at Ramsey by William Kermode, a Manxman who had joined the Liverpool Police Force in 1857. Mr Kermode was a fluent speaker of the Manx language which was an asset when much of the community also spoke Manx Gaelic.

In 1853, the status of police was improved with an increase in salary to £40 per year for Chief Constables and £30pa for Constables, made with a requirement the police be available for night duty for the first time. They were still grossly underpaid compared with English forces of the same period. And with a force of 20 serving the whole Island, little advance was made in ensuring law and order for the Manx community. In 1860, Douglas Town Commissioners put pressure on the Home Secretary stating that there were only eight policemen for duty in the town excluding the Chief Constable and the town had a population of 14,000 which swelled to more than 20,000 in the summer months. The UK Government responded that such a force was inadequate but felt it should not be a charge upon the UK Customs but rather down to the inhabitants of Douglas through a tax on them.

Local newspapers heaped on the pressure and in 1861 the Lieutenant Governor called for a complete report on the state of the police under their control from each of the High Bailiffs. Following receipt of their reports, Governor Loch wrote to the Secretary of State on 2nd April 1863 seeking to appoint a Chief of Police, to report directly to him, and seeking to increase the pay and numbers of police. His proposal was approved in July 1863.

Information up to the 1980s reproduced from the book Isle of Man Constabulary by George Turnbull, by kind permission of the publishers, Mansk-Svenska Publishing Company Limited, of Peel, Isle of Man.

The Department of Home Affairs also gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Manx National Heritage. Old photos reproduced by kind permission of Manx National Heritage.