Footprints of the Past - Ayns Kesmadyn y Traa Chaie

Coastal Gun Batteries

The defence of the Calf was often a concern to the Lords of Mann, and a garrison was maintained at times when Britain’s coasts were being threatened by foreign privateers or even by invasion. Three Parliamentary ships were beaten off after attacking the Calf in 1651, and thereafter defences were strengthened even further.

South Harbour and Grant’s Harbour were both protected by batteries mounting one or two light cannon, which were positioned on level platforms behind protective horseshoe-shaped banks of earth and stone. The battery at Fold Point, overlooking Grant’s Harbour, is still quite visible.

Lazy Beds and Butts

Before the advent of modern ploughs, alternative techniques had to be used to create a good depth of soil for crops. The result was the creation of rows of low, parallel banks, often known as lazy beds or butts. Lazy beds were usually dug by hand in gardens or small enclosures; they were often fertilised with manure or seaweed.

Butts were created by ploughing in opposite directions, so that the soil was folded over to create a slight ridge of deeper topsoil up to four metres wide. The technique also created a slight ditch between each ridge which served for drainage. Over time, repeated ploughing accentuated these features.

Each ridge was wide enough for up to two men to work side by side in the harvest. Horse-drawn reapers could not easily be used on such uneven ground, and the survival of butts indicates where land has not been subject to modern farming for about 150 years. Extensive areas of lazy beds survive on the Calf near Jane’s House and to the east and south of the Observatory, as well as around the periphery of the Meayll peninsula.

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