Property Records - Deeds

The law of property on the Island differs (and in the past even more so) in many significant aspects from that of England. Until the abolition, in 1911, of the Lord's Rent, all landowners were legally tenants of the Lord of Man, paying both rent and fines (i.e. a tax) on transfer (alienation). Under the 1702 Act of Settlement any alienation of the tenancy either by sale or mortgage needed to be recorded in the Rolls Office - the officially recorded (or enrolled) deed, agreement etc thus gave official title to the land. Hence unlike England all deeds were centralised from that date allowing a much more convenient search than for the more widely dispersed deeds in England. Prior to this Act it was a voluntary act of the parties to record such transfers in the Court Records.

Deeds dating from c.1680 to 1840 are kept at the Manx Museum where they may be consulted - later deeds are kept at the General Registry. Until c.1680's (dates differ between parishes) they can be found in the Libri Cancellarii but after this and especially after the Act of Settlement (1702) such deeds were kept in the Record Office where they were accepted (enrolled) in May and October each year. Indices to these deeds exist in the Manx Museum (not online, though the index books were filmed by the Mormons): Some deeds of sale relating to Abbeyland property are enrolled in Lib Mon

Three main indices exist:

• North Side Sales - NSS
• South Side Sales - SSS
• Castletown Deeds - CDds

In all indices they are indexed by Month and Year of enrollment and then by Grantor and Grantee.

Two partial and fuller card indices also exist -

• German Old Deeds - deeds in Kk German (including Peel) pre 1800
• Douglas Deeds

However none of the indices directly give the location (or address) of the property.

I have transcribed several to help in researching property records eg several for Peel

• NSS German Oct 1783(3)

References

N.W. Alcock Old Title Deeds. A guide for Local and Family Historians Chichester:Phillimore 1986 (ISBN 0-85033-593-0) - gives a good introduction though covers only English law.