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A selection of new Isle of Man titles...
The Foxdale Mines by Henry Timperley
NEW - June 2026
Discover the untold final chapters of one of the richest lead-silver mining operations in the British Isles.
For decades, vintage photographs of the Isle of Man's Foxdale Mines have captivated historians and locals alike. While the early origins of these famous grounds are well-documented, the final, most dramatic decades of their century-long run have remained shrouded in mystery.
Focusing on the pivotal years between 1866 and the mines' closure in July 1911, this book serves as an indispensable visual companion to a bygone era.
Through a comprehensive treasure trove of rare photographs, you will step directly into the historical landscapes, meet the unforgettable characters who labored underground, and witness the immense trials they faced.
Complete with an accessible overview of local geology and fascinating breakdowns of historical engineering methods, this book bridges the gap between image and history. It is a must-read for industrial historians, photography enthusiasts, and anyone captivated by Manx heritage.
88 pages. 210x210mm. Printed on gloss art paper, perfect bound with laminated covers.
Queen's Pier Ramsey by Robert Stimpson
Only a few left!
New - June 2026
To reserve a pick-up of this book in either shop, please phone 833376. The price above included a postage supplement of £2 as it is a very heavy book.
With the Foreword written by His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor, Sir John Lorimer, here is the complete history of the pier from the perspective of the people who used it, loved it, walked it, worked it, hated it, protected it and are now restoring it!
The lives of dozens of holiday makers, workers, passengers and users are described, showing the problems and challenges encountered from its earliest origins in the 1850’s, building it in the 1880’s, to its use, decline, decay and triumphant modern restoration! Featuring over 340 photographs and drawings and including details of all sponsor’s plaque messages up to bay 8.
This book on the Queens Pier, Ramsey is the most detailed work I have ever read on a British Isles pleasure pier. It is a fine tribute to this outstanding pier, which is being commendably restored by the Queens Pier Restoration Trust. – Martin Easdown, Archivist, The National Piers Society
Superbly researched and lavishly illustrated, this book brings together the extraordinary story of this masterpiece of Victorian engineering which, in its heyday, was the landing and departure place for hundreds of thousands of visitors, including numerous visits by members of the Royal Family. Packed with facts, anecdotes and insights, the book will take an important place in recording and telling the story of the Isle of Man. – Charles Guard MBE
210mm x 280mm Hardback, 343pp
Please note, this is a very heavy book and the price includes a £2 postage supplement.
A Grim Awakening: The First World War Diaries of Manx Soldier John McCauley
NEW : April 2026
Edited by John Manley
No other Manx war diary has ever been published. Manx literature following the First World War mainly focused on the island’s experience of alien internment on the island, whilst private John McCauley’s first-hand war memoir is unique; he is a war writer in a category of his own, providing readers with an intimate insight into the thoughts of a regular First World War soldier at the Western Front in France. John McCauley fought in some of the most famous First World War battles including at Neuve Chapelle, Thiepval Ridge, the Somme and Devil’s Trench in Delville Wood. Additionally, during 1916, John McCauley served with British forces in Egypt guarding the vital Suez Canal link for Britain.
A5 Paperback
138 pages
Railways of the Isle of Man: Locomotive, Tram and Rolling Stock Directory
NEW : MAY 2025
by Barry Edwards
The first edition of this book was published over 25 years ago. This new edition updates the first and includes The Laxey Mine Railway and Ramsey Pier Tramway, bringing the total number of items listed to over 780.
Build dates, works numbers, types, numbers of seats, names, dimensions and where applicable, disposal dates are all included. Around 175 photographs illustrate the wide variety of stock, many published for the first time.
This directory will appeal to enthusiasts who have an interest in the Isle of Man's unique heritage transport network.
A4 Paperback
Skeealyn Ferrish Ass Mannin (Fairytales from the Isle of Man) by Dora Broome
New : Published Dec 2023
Manx educational charity Mooinjer Veggey has published a Manx translation of Fairytales from the Isle of Man by Dora Broome.
With new illustrations by Jay Cover and a foreword by Sue Woolley about Dora’s life.
Dora Broome’s Fairytales from the Isle of Man was originally published in 1951.
Since then it has been translated by the late Brian Stowell.
Please note, this book is in Manx only.
Douglas: past & present, Volume I
NEW - in stock now
Written by Ray Stanfield with George Hobbs and Sara Goodwins
“Falcon Cliff does not denote the nesting place of raptors but was a marketing ploy by the owners Philip Garrett and Carre Tupper in 1838. They wanted an impressive name for the plot of land they were selling by the rather unusual means of a lottery.”
Another in the series of past and present books. Douglas past & present Volume I joins Port Erin, Peel, Castletown and Ramsey.
Volume II will follow in the early summer of 2026.
From the Publisher...
"Putting together a book containing photographs drawn from old postcards always brings home how personal, and often treasured, such items were.
A century ago most ordinary people couldn't afford photography except occasionally a formal portrait to celebrate a wedding. And with its heavy, specialised equipment, and chemical processes to produce the picture, most people couldn't understand it either, so it’s always pleasing when postcards reveal something of the personal lives of those sending or receiving them. A particular favourite in Douglas past & present, Volume I is the wife of the manager of the Granville Hotel whose card, showing the hotel, announces proudly that her husband has just been made manager of it (page 46).
Even rarer than senders featuring on the postcards, however, is a photographer appearing on one. There were a number of photographers working in Douglas including a widow who was continuing her husband’s work, but pictures of them are relatively rare. Douglas past & present, Volume I offers us a tantalising glimpse on page 86, as a photographer is obviously photographing an event happening on the cable car at 12.00. Unfortunately we can’t see what it is!"
Paperback
Lady Isabella - The Great Laxey Wheel by Andrew Scarffe BEM
NEW - March 2026
A little over one hundred and seventy-five years ago, the Laxey Mining Company began the construction of a waterwheel to pump water out of the lowest depths of the Great Laxey Mine. But this was not to be a simple and ordinary waterwheel - it was to be the biggest waterwheel in the world. Christened Lady Isabella, in honour of Lady Isabella Hope, the wife of the Island's then Lt Governor Sir Charles Hope, it was painted brightly in white, red and black and decorated with the largest ever casting of the Three Legs of Man. A spiral staircase wound around a tower to a viewing platform mounted on top of the waterwheel from where the more intrepid could view the surrounding countryside. Water to power the waterwheel was fed through an underground pipe, invisible to onlookers, perhaps with the intention of deliberately confusing them. Situated in the mouth of a valley from where it could be seen from as far as possible, it was intended to make a statement to be a conspicuous symbol of Victorian engineering skill, of the importance of the Laxey Mining Company and of the wealth which lay beneath Laxey's hillsides.
Remarkably, the Lady Isabella still turns today and it is still the largest waterwheel in the world! As one of the Isle of Man's most popular tourist attractions, it is visited by many thousands of tourists each year.
This booklet recalls the history of the Lady Isabella, how the recent preservation work was carried out and how the waterwheel works.
Andrew Scarffe BEM
Paperback 54 pages, 20cm x 20cm
Manx Myths, Customs & Curiosities by Lauren Metcalfe
NEW
Dive into a different history of the ancient and fascinating Isle of Man.
From the true story of 'Jinny the Witch' to helpful Folklore Creatures, from bygone Victorian attractions to quirky Manx inventions, this little island is full to the brim with captivating stories to tell.
Manx Myths, Customs and Curiosities brings to you a myriad of historical stories about the people, customs and places that make the Isle of Man unique, with some spooky stories and peculiar facts that make you realise how amazing this gem in the middle of the Irish Sea really is.
Paperback A5 201 pages
Isle of Man (Slow Travel) by Emma Craig
NEW - Jan 2026 - Guide to the Isle of Man
Part of Bradt's distinctive, award-winning series of 'Slow' travel guides to British regions, Isle of Man (Slow Travel) is a new guidebook celebrating this self-governing Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea. Written with intimate detail and insider tips by an author born and raised on the island, it offers a more personal, off-beat selection of places to explore than other guides, and its text is infused with vibrant stories and local voices. Easily accessible from mainland Britain yet different enough to feel like a real adventure, the Isle of Man is a remarkable destination in the heart of the British Isles.
With a strong sense of their own cultural and political identity, Manx people take great pride in their blend of Celtic and Viking roots. At a thousand-plus years old, the Manx parliament (Tynwald) claims to be the world's oldest continuous parliamentary assembly, while music and cultural events celebrate the island's status as one of the six Celtic nations. Folklore and superstition are entwined with everyday life in ways largely forgotten elsewhere: children still celebrate Hop tu Naa instead of Halloween, bonfires are lit for Oie Voaldyn on 30 April - and woe betide anyone who forgets to greet the fairies as they cross Fairy Bridge.
Often described as 'the British Isles in miniature', this island of 50km by 21km harbours flat plains in the north, rugged hills down its spine, beautiful sandy beaches in the west and craggy cliffs dimpled with smugglers' coves in the east and south. Whether along main roads linking its major settlements (Douglas, Ramsey, Peel and Castletown) or winding country lanes, from steam trains or footpaths lined with coconut-scented gorse, it is hard to find a spot that doesn't provide a stunning view - whether out to sea, down a valley to an old fishing port or across heather-dappled hills. From basking sharks to four-horned loaghtan sheep, the Isle of Man TT motorbike race to Cregneash's folk village, ghost stories to the Great Laxey Wheel, Neolithic standing stones to the world's oldest tram, Bradt's Isle of Man (Slow Travel) is the essential guide for discovering this under-the-radar destination.
Format: Paperback / softback 232 pages
Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides
Published: Jan 2026
Douglas Past & Present Vol II by Ray Stanfield
NEW 30 July 2026
Once a haven for smugglers who hid from revenue men in the tiny
winding streets, Douglas became the respectable host to thousands of holidaymakers seeking entertainment overseas. It is still the main port for seafaring visitors. Over the years Douglas has reinvented itself several times, becoming a financial centre, a destination for cruise ships, the island’s entertainment capital and shopping hub.
Today Douglas is the Isle of Man’s biggest conurbation and only city
making it the island’s preferred venue for trade, finance, overnment...
and fun.
See also : https://www.bridge-bookshop.com/store/p1378/Douglas-past-and-present-Volume-I.html for the first volume.
Paperback
21 cm x 21 cm
128 Pages
Colour and sepia photographs throughout
Fifty Years of Isle of Man National Transport by Barry Edwards
NEW July 2026
During 1966 the Tynwald Transport Commission suggested that amalgamating the services offered by Isle of Man Road Services and Douglas Corporation would be financially beneficial. It was to be a further ten years before, on 1st October 1976, the Government owned, Isle of Man National Transport, was officially registered.
This book tells the story of those 50 years, from the days of an almost entirely secondhand fleet, through to today with one of the most modern fleets operating anywhere. Various liveries are illustrated among the 200 or so images, included most previously unpublished, that cover the wide variety of vehicle types that have seen service during the 50 years.
Blackboards Publishing
A4 Paperback
165 Pages
Colour photographs
Castle Rushen : The Story of a Great Castle by Jackie Sloane
NEW July 2026
Written by local author Jackie Sloane, this 186-page book offers a deep dive into the 800-year history of Castle Rushen in Castletown, widely considered one of the best-preserved and most complete medieval castles in Europe. Drawing on her 16 years of experience as a custodian at the fortress and over a decade of dedicated research, the author blends sweeping political and military history with an intimate look at the social history of the everyday people who inhabited the castle.
Castle Rushen stands tall in the heart of Castletown, the ancient capital of the Isle of Man. The early foundation fortress being first constructed under Viking rule from as early as 1180, with a more established castle dating from the 14th century constructed by the Earls of Salisbury. Changing and developing over the many centuries, the castle remained under the control of the various rulers of Mann, including over three hundred years of the Stanley Kings and Lords rule of the Island. This is the story from the castle's first construction, to how over eight hundred years on, through Norse, Scots, English and Manx rule it remains one of the most complete medieval castles in Europe. Along with the history of the building, it is the story of the hundreds of people who were involved through its many centuries of use and what the everyday lives of these people and others of the time was like.
Hound House Books
Paperback 25c x 21 cm
186 Pages
Colour photographs
Blein ny Gaelgey
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