Mining & Other Industries

The Isle of Man has traditionally had little in the way of heavy industry except for mining, and the extraction of lead, silver and zinc at Laxey and Foxdale flourished between approximately 1840 and 1920. Handloom weaving was an important occupation in the 19th Century, and one of the last active weavers died in 1904, yet despite a ready local supply of wool textile production never reached the level of industrialisation seen in England.

The Washing Floors of the Great Laxey Mine, around 1900

Other significant industries are connected with agriculture and the sea. Crofting relied heavily on horsepower, and so the saddler and blacksmith were important local craftsmen. Most Manx smithies supplied not just horseshoes but custom made ploughs, tools and other equipment for use on the land. Equally important were the sailmakers, who supplied the once mighty herring fleets sailing out of Peel and other ports. The Isle of Man has a strong tradition of ship building, with yards at Castletown, Douglas and Ramsey, and Manx-built vessels plied their trade across the oceans of the world.

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