Nissen Huts & Baldwin's Jag : A History of Jurby

Due to its unnatural flatness, and prefabricated architecture Jurby is unfairly viewed by modern Manxmen and women as a flaw in the “gem of God’s Earth”. We think of the village, if we pay it any heed at all, in the same manner that an Imperial Englishman thought of Australia – inhospitable, far away and only fit for convicts. If we venture there it is only to pick up a wedding gift for an unpopular relative or a comfortable away win for our football team.

However, as can be attested by everyone who recalls the wondrous and educational Jurby Junk bus of the early eighties (a kind of proto Private Finance Initiative between Isle of Man Transport and the popular tat emporium) this unflattering perception is erroneous. Jurby has played a noble and intriguing role in the development of the Manx nation.

It is time to redress the balance and help Jurby regain it’s rightful place amongst the family of Manx conurbations. In this spirit Declan is proud to present the following serialisation of Prof. Stella Artois’ groundbreaking new book “Nissan Huts and Baldwin’s Jag : A History of Jurby” (Pixton Publishing, 2003, 2 for 50p). In this exclusive extract Prof. Artois describes the difficult Post War Huts.

Distant, Distinct and Distressing : 1945 to 1950

Despite its pivotal wartime role in the Isle of Man’s defeat of Nazi Germany, the onset of peace meant that Jurby once again retreated to the cobwebbed recesses of the Manx public’s thoughts. Whether this neglect was the result of deliberate institutional prejudice or forgetfulness we cannot be sure. Certain historians may allege that Stalinist pressure was placed on the cartographers of the 1947 Ordinance Survey Map, but all we really know is that Jurby does not appear on the chart – replaced by the legend HERE BE DEMONS.

The profile of the village was raised marginally during this period by it’s MHK Inkermann Cannon, who developed acute agoraphobia after being spooked by a mis-firing Velocette on Prospect Hill and refusing to leave the Tynwald Chamber, took to sleeping on a camp bed beneath the Speaker’s Bench.

The House of Keys’ only ever present member played an active role in the activities of the House. Although given Cannon’s immobility and the cancellation of the weekly charabanc services to the village, how representative of his constituents were his contributions is debate. Where there is no argument is in the general recognition of his five hour oration during the first reading of the Witchcraft (Electrical Devices) Amendment Bill as the characteristic product of a unique and idiosyncratic mind.

Of the ordinary people of Jurby little is known. Certain archaeological excavations on the school playing grounds have found evidence of early earthworks and hinted at the existence of an iron-age forge, leading several academics to speculate that the villagers essentially lead a hunter gatherer existence, divorced from the growing prosperity of the rest of the Island.

Shake, Rattle and Roll : the 1950’s

The arrival of the welfare state, electricity and the emancipation of the local slave population led to the only event of note that occurred in Jurby in the 1950’s – the invention of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Throughout the preceding half century the Jurby Hotel had played host to impromptu acoustic jam sessions. The music played was mainly a variant of folk that had evolved in the village and its hinterland over many generations – called Country and North-Western. This indigenous art form gradually blended with the music which the slave population had created from the Negro spirituals of their forefathers – The Blues.

With the availability of disposable cash from “the Dole” and a regular electrical supply it was only a matter of time before Rock ‘n’ Roll was born. The music a vibrant and rebellious marriage of the poor local black and white communities swept the village like wildfire. Propelled by real drums, and electric guitar the riotous “gigs” at the Jurby Hotel gave birth to many of the legends that are today revered by the Rock cognoscenti – Jerry Lee Quaggin, Chuck Convery, Blind (Drunk) Al Quirk and Little Dickie all cut their musical chops at these historic sessions.

Unfortunately, Jurby’s musical pioneers were not the ones to benefit from the eventual Global spread of their creation. The wartime Commanding Officer of the American garrison, Colonel Tom Parker, returned to his old haunts in 1952 to reminisce. After a drunken and electrically enthralling Blind Al performance, Parker left, taking with him Blind Al’s signature tune “That’s Alright Yesser”, which he gave to his young truck-driving protégée Elvis Presley.

Crisis! the 1960's

Once again, like a match struck in a darkened room, Jurby briefly flared into the world’s vision. A hard left cabal, capitalising on the discontent engendered by the widespread poverty of the area, seized control of the Parish Council. Recognising an opportunity to alleviate the hardship of the area by a swift injection of Soviet Roubles, they signed a deal with Nikita Khrushchev to station Russian cruise missiles on the airfield. For a long weekend in September 1962 the world held its breath.

The trouble was eventually averted by Welfare Relief concessions from Tynwald and a successful sortie into rebel territory by the Manx Expeditionary Forces, led by a youthful Edgar Quine.

Despite this humiliation, tangible benefits for the local populace materialised from the debacle. The concessions secured from Tynwald led to the establishment of a doctor’s practise, and a new school meant childhood literacy rates rose through the psychological 50% mark.

Spend! Spend! Spend! : the 1970's

After the hardship of the previous decades, old timers recall the seventies as Jurby’s Golden Age. The discovery that the village was sitting on a lake of oil, saw the place awash with cash. Although, hindsight tells the astute observer, that these new riches were not spent wisely, it was an exhilarating time for the locals.

When Don Revie quit as England’s football manager to assume the vacant post at the local Combination side, his new signings – George Best, Rodney Marsh and Stan Bowles, brought skills and crowds rarely witnessed, before or since, in this North-Western outpost of Manx Sport. As well as greatly boosting the Hotel’s bar takings the maverick stars lifted the side to an unprecedented achievement of Combination Division Two champions two years running.

The wise heads who argued for a degree of financial prudence went unheeded as Jurby went as cash crazy as a lottery winner with a week to live. The Rolling Stones played a six month residency at the schoolhall, Picasso arrived in town to capture the Parish Council on canvas and pensioners outings to Monte Carlo became the norm.

By the end of the decade, the oil was depleted, the bank empty and the villagers had nothing, other than the mother of all hangovers, to show for their brush with riches.