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Collection Highlights

Local Government Board: Planning Applications

Local Government Board: Planning Applications

This collection contains applications for permission to develop land or property submitted to the Isle of Man Local Government Board between 1921 and 1932. The planning applications generally contain two kinds of records:

1. Plans for the structure proposed to be built or altered;
2. Letters from the architect or builder to the Local Government Board, submitting the plan and listing the construction materials to be used.

The plans are hand drawn and some are coloured with watercolours. They can be complemented by a block plan, which is a sketch, or coloured or not, of the property location in the area. The block plan may be in a corner of the same sheet of the main plan. They may be signed or stamped by the architect and are typically marked approved or disapproved by the Local Government Board with a signature and date.

The plans and letters are folded and enclosed in numbered envelopes in ascending order. The envelopes also contain a brief title identifying the type of plan, the requester and if the application was approved or not.

After plan 596, inclusive, the Local Governmnent Board began adding a sticker to the back of the plans which was completed with the date that the application was submitted, inspected and approved or not.

Records of planning applications submitted to the Isle of Man Development Board from 1936 onwards are also held by the Isle of Man Public Record Office. These include an incomplete sequence of planning applications, along with indexes and related records catalogue as S89 (planning application registers), S90 (planning application index maps), S92 (Planning Committeee minutes), S93 (Special Planning Committee draft minutes), S94 (Interim Development Order permits), S95 (microfilms of some planning applications) and S96 (Special Planning Appeals Committee minutes).

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Board of Advertising: Glass Plate Lantern Slides

Board of Advertising: Glass Plate Lantern Slides

This collection comprises 81 glass lantern slides. The slides feature promotional photographs of places and people on the Isle of Man taken by various firms for the Isle of Man Board of Advertising. Photographers include: George Bellis Cowen of Ramsey, Isle of Man; W.H. Skillicorn; Graystone Bird of Bath, UK; and Priestley & Sons Ltd. of Egremont.

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Vehicle Registration Records

Vehicle Registration Records

This series contains the following records relating to the registration of vehicles:

- register for driving licence holders;
- registers of motor vehicles;
- Isle of Man vehicle registration cards;
- application forms for the registration of motor vehicles.

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Department of Infrastructure and predecessors: maps and plans

Department of Infrastructure and predecessors: maps and plans

A large series of infrastructure maps and plans created by the Department of Infrastructure and predecessor bodies. Plans include: harbours, piers, RNLI stations and lighthouses; highway works; sewers and drainage; quarries; airport improvements, and the sea terminal.

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Ballamona Hospital

Ballamona Hospital

This collection contains the records of the Isle of Man Ballamona Hospital from the 19th century to the middle 1990's when the service, as a formal hospital, was closed by the Department of Health and Social Security, giving space to the new Noble's Hospital. The records of Ballamona Hospital provide an important source of information for the history of mental health care on the Island. The records include minutes, accounts, patient records, staff records, visitor records, correspondence, estate management records and plans, photographs, publications and press cuttings.

The collection is an important tool for family history research, as the entirety of the patients' case files appear to have survived and have been transferred to the Isle of Man Public Record Office (IOMPRO). From these records, it is possible to know where and with whom the patient was residing before entering the Hospital, for what reasons they entered the Hospital, how many times they were institutionalised, if they had visitors and additional medical care, such as blood tests or dental procedures. Among the records, it is also possible to find personnel files from members of staff, which can provide details of the hospital's nursing staff, their qualifications, where they studied, their previous jobs, as well as information on the doctors and psychologists that worked and developed their practice in the institution.

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Rolls Office: Tithe Commutation Plans

Rolls Office: Tithe Commutation Plans

This series consists of 2939 individually hand drawn plans showing land held by landowners on the Isle of Man, circa 1840. The plans were originally lodged with the Isle of Man Rolls Office under The Tithe Commutation Act 1839.

The plans are bound into a series of large volumes and are organised by parish. Some parishes extend over more than one volume. The date that the plans were bound is not known, but it appears plans were pasted onto paper or linen before binding. Any plan larger than the volume was folded, sometimes several times and in several directions, to fit.

Plans are numbered sequentially within each parish volume. The plans come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, from 2 inch square to over 2 foot by 4 foot. Some are highly decorated and hancoloured, while others are very rudimentary.

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Records of the Chief Secretary's Office

Records of the Chief Secretary's Office

The records at the Isle of Man Public Record Office now catalogued as S17 comprise a sequence of Government Office subject files. The majority of files stored at the Public Record Office date from the 1930s onwards, however some earlier 19th and 20th century files do exists amongst the series.

The earliest records of the post-revestment Government Office (now known as the Chief Secretary's Office), including Government Letter Books from 1781-1898 and subject files continuing until the 1930s, were transferred to the Manx Museum by the Government Office in the 1950s and are currently held by Manx National Heritage Library and Archives. In 1898, the Government Office appears to have ceased using letter books and moved to a system of storing records in subject files only.

Due to the central role of the Government Office and Government Secretary in all core functions of Government, the subject files in this series are a key source documenting the political and administrative history of the Isle of Man during the 19th and 20th century, including the move to self-governance.

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Companies Registry: Dissolved Company Files

Companies Registry: Dissolved Company Files

Files in this series record the process from the creation and registration of a company with the Companies Registry on the Isle of Man until its dissolution. On creation by the Companies Registry, files were arranged by registration number and chronological order. However, when a registered company was dissolved the Companies Registry retrieved the file from the sequence and stored files relating to dissolved companies separately. This series contains the files for dissolved companies only. Records relating to live registered companies are still held by the Companies Registry.

For companies dissolved between 1865-1981, all surviving files have been retained. From 1982 onwards, files were selected for preservation at the Public Record Office based on a selection criteria (see appraisal field for details) and only a sample of dissolved company files have been retained.

Each dissolved company record should contain the following minimum documentation:
- registration certificate;
- memorandum and articles of association;
- nomination of directors;
- particulars of directors or managers and a summary of capital and shares;
- notice of appointment of receiver;
- receiver's statement of receipts and payments;
- notices to begin striking-off procedures.

The procedure for registration of companies and the contents of these files changed over time, and a number of company files may contain substantially more documents than the minimum. Additional documents may include: returns of allotments; annual returns; mortgage details and resolutions passed at extraordinary general meetings. A number of companies may have more than one file.

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Rolls Office: Tithe Commutation Plans

Rolls Office: Tithe Commutation Plans

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