Dreswick Point is the southernmost point of the main island of the
Isle of Man
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. It is the southern tip of the
Langness Peninsula
Langness ( gv, Langlish) is a peninsula which protrudes two kilometres at the southern extremity of the Isle of Man. Signifying a cape or extended promontory, ''Langness'' literally means "long promontory" in Old Norse. Formerly an island, Lang ...
in the south-east of the island, some 2½ miles (4 km) from
Castletown.
Langness Lighthouse
Langness Lighthouse was established in 1880 to guide boats into Castletown. The lighthouse keeper's cottages were formerly owned by TV car journalist
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes ''Top Gear'' and ''The Grand Tour'' alongside Rich ...
, who featured the lighthouse in an episode of ''
Top Gear'' (series 07, Episode 1). Before this time, a landmark known as the
Herring Tower
The Herring Tower is situated on the Langness Peninsula in the south of the Isle of Man. It was built by Thomas Brine in 1823. The tower was built as a daymark and was based on the style of the tower of Peel Castle. Since 1991 the Herring Towe ...
held a lighted flare to guide fishing boats. The lighthouse is a
Registered Building.
The Potato Grave
Near the lighthouse is a turf covered mound, known as the potato grave. In 1832 a ship carrying
Irish workers to the Isle of Man to help with the digging of
potatoes
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...
was lost with all hands and over the intervening days the bodies of those who perished were washed ashore. At this time on the Isle of Man it was customary bury the bodies of people washed ashore behind a hedge in the place it had been found, and so a
communal grave was dug and all 32 bodies placed within it.
No stone marks the resting place of these souls, their only memorial is a turf covered mound.
[Isle of Man Times, Friday, October 14, 1960; Page: 4]
See also
*
List of lighthouses in the Isle of Man
References
External links
Northern Lighthouses BoardPhotos of the Herring Tower
Headlands of the Isle of Man
Lighthouses in the Isle of Man
Registered Buildings of the Isle of Man
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