Fairy Ground, Douglas, Isle of Man, 1932-34 (b/w photo)

On the back of this photograph John James Frowde writes, "In the cellar of the Bull's Head there was a blocked up arch. Before leaving, the son of the tenant had the curiosity to ascertain what was the other side. He found himself in a dark cellar of the house on the quayside, which, with the Bull's Head were back to back. This was an arrangement I have heard of, or read about, all my life. When a smuggler was hard pressed by the Preventives, he could slip into a house, pass via the cellar, into the house behind, and thence into the street, with a maze of lanes handy in which to efface himself. The house of the Quay is numbered 54 on print 1 this route. On the house front there is a poster advertising overalls." Additional annotation: "The end of the rubble, indicated at foot by 'l', indicates the restrictive width of the Fairy Ground at this point, owing to nos 5 & 6 protruding across the roadway, leaving just room for a single cart to pass."