A tour through Peel in the past

A tour through Peel in the past

Tue, 16 Jul 2024

Illegal betting shops, falling through the mortuary roof and machine-gunning fascists on the promenade… the new video tour of Peel full of surprises.

A new film has been released, offering some amazing stories of Peel’s streets.

Led by Albert Frost, the stories he tells of the city stretch back into the 1930s, including unusual locations and fascinating characters.

Viewers will hear tales of machine-gunning fascists on the promenade, falling through a mortuary roof, illegal betting shops, cattle being driven through the streets, the gutters running red with blood from the slaughter houses, after-hours RAF parties in The Marine, the distinctive smell of the herring girls, the true story of how the Bismarck was sunk and much else besides.

Culture Vannin first spoke to Albert Frost in 2020 for an oral history recording. However, it soon became apparent that his stories of Peel in the past deserved something more, and so this film was created.

James Franklin, Online & Educational Resources Officer at Culture Vannin, says:

“Anyone who has met Albert Frost will know what a national treasure he is. His memory of life in the past is phenomenal, and all of his stories are told with such vividness and joy. These stories of Peel are an important record which we feel privileged to be able to help share with future generations.”

The route taken in the film starts on Tynwald Road and comes down to the Creg Malin before moving along the promenade to the harbour and then on to end at Moore’s kipper house.

The film was created by Culture Vannin as a part of their offering of over 1,000 films exploring the Isle of Man’s history, folklore, music, dance, language and more. All are publicly available for anyone to enjoy online.

‘A Walk Around Peel with Albert Frost’ is available in a full one-hour version of the complete tour, or as 39 separate parts. All are available on the Culture Vannin website or YouTube channel.