A family’s renovation of a tholtan at the Sloc in Rushen is the subject new exhibition opening at Rushen Heritage Centre.
Opening tomorrow, ‘Rollage ny Twoaie: Renovating a Tholtan’ will show how Katie Newton-O’Meara and Mark O´Meara purchased the shell of a ruined farmhouse and two derelict barns three years ago and they work to turn it into a family home.
The exhibition at the heritage centre in Bridson Street, Port Erin, has been curated by Staffan Overgaard from Rushen Heritage Trust, working closely with Katie and Mark.
For Sale
The tholtan, situated on the right-hand side of the A36 heading towards the Sloc corner at Scard. was known as ‘Croit-e-Kirkjufal’ – which roughly translates to ‘Croft at the Church Mountain’ – when Katie and Mark bought the property in July 2021.
Katie said: “It was a beautiful golden evening, and we saw the “for sale” sign. We pulled over, and we both fell in love with the place. With the budget we had, we knew we would have to carry out most of the work ourselves. We changed the name to “Rollage ny Twoaie”, which means “North Star” in Manx Gaelic – it seemed the perfect name for a property gazing out across the south of the island.”
It’s not known when the farmhouse and outbuildings date to, but they are marked on the 1840 Tithe Plan, and an original single-storey building may have been built here in the early 18th century.
It’s a fascinating story, both of the site’s rich history, and the incredible journey that Katie and Mark have been on over the last few years, which we are sure will intrigue visitors to the heritage centre. We would like to thank them for sharing their dream project with us.
Staffan Overgaard, Rushen Heritage Trust
The exhibition tells the history of the site and its owners through the years, before charting the obstacles Katie and Mark have faced in bringing an abandoned property back to life, from clearing the site – it was overgrown, with fuchsia 12 feet high in places – and bringing utilities to it, to navigating the planning route.
DIY
Katie and Mark have learned how to do much of the work themselves, being brilliantly supported by family and friends.
Mark said: “‘”With it being a well-known landmark, the planning conditions were tight and insisted on the retention of the original buildings which were deemed structurally viable. However, the permission was for a two-storey large extension which overwhelmed the original structures and so we applied for a much smaller extension which would suit the site, and our budget, much better.
“We moved into the large barn, which was phase one of the project, in August this year. We are now working towards phase two, which is connecting the house and rear barn to the larger barn and making them all into one four-bedroom property.”
Trust
This is the final exhibition of the season for the heritage centre, which will officially close for the winter on November 2.
However, the centre will continue to open on certain days each week as a ‘warm space’ between November and the end of February, as it has for the last three years.
Run by volunteers, Rushen Heritage Centre features a series of exhibitions each season, acts as a visitor information centre in collaboration with Visit Isle of Man, and sells Rushen Heritage Trust books and merchandise.
It also sells RHT greetings cards featuring scenes from around Rushen, and a selection of other books and maps relating to Rushen.
Find out more about the exhibition and trust here.
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