| 2007 Centenary
year |
 The
Ward Library was opened on 26 September 1907 by Thomas Kneen,
Clerk of the Rolls, and is named after its benefactor, James
Kewley Ward, a successful businessman and politician in Canada,
and who was born in 1819 on the site where the library now
stands.
Two
Peel ladies who emigrated to Ohio, USA, Anne and Flo Crellin
gave over 2,000 books and various amounts of money to the library.
A childrens section was set up in 1961 and with the purchase
of two bookcases, the Americans' books were placed in the Crellin
Section in 1972.
In
1986 the closure of the Isle of Man Board of Education Rural
Library in Douglas resulted in 2,000 books being transfered
to the Ward Library.
A
great number of books have been donated over the years, beginning
with 200 in 1907 and today the Library has over 15,000 books
on its shelves along with a large collection of audio tapes
and large print books for the visually impaired. |
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| The Manx Reference Collection |
The
Library has an excellent Manx collection, which is housed in
the magnificent oak Sophia Morrison Memorial Bookcase, donated
to the Ward Library by the friends of Mis Morrison in 1934.
In
1952 the Sophia Morrison Reference Room was added to the main
Library building, funded with money from the Carnegie Trust.
Sophia
Morrison was born in Peel on 27 may 1859 and due to her continual contact with
Manx speaking fishermen and farmers she became fluent in the Manx language.
She became one of the earliest Manx Nationalists to realize the need to preserve
the Manx individuality and culture.
Sophia
joined forces with William Cashen, and other native speakers to establish,
in Peel, a class for the study of manx Gaelic and the relationship with Irish
and Scottish Gaelic. |
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| The Librarians |
The
first Librarian, Henry Halsall, served until his untimely death
in 1928, when his niece, Emma Halsall, who had been assiting
him, was appointed to take his place. Miss Halsall who subsequently
became Mrs Clark, was Librarian until her retirement in 1960.
After Mrs D Cannon had been employed for a short while, Mrs
Myrtle Nicholson began her 23 year service as Librarian.
When
Mrs Nicholson retired in 1984, Mrs Carol Horton, who had been
one of the first child subscribers, took over. |
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