Qualla: Tower of Refuge https://qualla.com/tower-of-refuge en-us © 2026 Bendyline Wed, 08 Jul 2026 02:40:16 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/s/u/tower-of-refuge-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Tower of Refuge https://qualla.com/tower-of-refuge Tower of Refuge: Introduction https://qualla.com/tower-of-refuge/ Photo credit Gregory J Kingsley, CC BY-SA 3.0. In the early hours of 20 November 1830, the steamer RMS St George struck Conister Rock in Douglas Bay and began to break up. Sir William Hillary rowed out into the storm and helped pull the crew alive from the wreck. He had been organising rescues from this same rock for years, and the St George disaster gave him a singular idea: if the sea was going to keep putting sailors on this stone, then the stone should give them somewhere to wait for help. Two years later, masons were laying the foundations of a small castle in the middle of Douglas Bay.

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Image: Gregory J Kingsley | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/s/u/tower-of-refuge-wp/gcsu-tower-of-refuge-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Tower of Refuge: A Rock with a Reputation https://qualla.com/tower-of-refuge/ Photo credit AlexMcCormac, CC BY-SA 4.0. St Mary's Isle, more commonly called Conister Rock, was a notorious hazard. It crouches a few hundred metres offshore in the centre of Douglas Bay, half-submerged at high tide, partially exposed at low water - exactly the kind of obstacle that has destroyed ships since people fir...

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Image: AlexMcCormac | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/s/u/tower-of-refuge-wp/gcsu-tower-of-refuge-a-rock-with-a-reputation.mp3 0:06 2 full Tower of Refuge: A Castle for the Shipwrecked https://qualla.com/tower-of-refuge/ Photo credit Gregory J Kingsley, CC BY-SA 3.0. Hillary contributed a substantial share of the construction costs himself and raised public subscriptions for the rest. The architect was John Welch, a respected local figure. The total cost came to £254 and 12 shillings - a modest sum even by the standards of the day, but enough...

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Image: Gregory J Kingsley | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/s/u/tower-of-refuge-wp/gcsu-tower-of-refuge-a-castle-for-the-shipwrecked.mp3 0:06 3 full Tower of Refuge: The Rock Keeps Its Habits https://qualla.com/tower-of-refuge/ Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. The tower could not change the geology. Ships kept finding the rock anyway. In 1867 the schooner Thomas Parker was driven onto Conister in a storm. On 2 July 1930, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company vessel RMS Mona ran ashore in broad daylight. After the Mona incident the autho...

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Image: Unknown author | Public domain

]]> Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/s/u/tower-of-refuge-wp/gcsu-tower-of-refuge-the-rock-keeps-its-habits.mp3 0:06 4 full Tower of Refuge: Walks and Custodianship https://qualla.com/tower-of-refuge/ Photo credit Gregory J Kingsley, CC BY-SA 3.0. At low water on spring tides it has always been possible to walk out to Conister Rock from the Douglas shore, though the route is awkward and occasionally treacherous. During restoration work in the early 2000s, a makeshift causeway was constructed to allow construction plant ont...

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Image: Gregory J Kingsley | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/s/u/tower-of-refuge-wp/gcsu-tower-of-refuge-walks-and-custodianship.mp3 0:06 5 full