• Maritime History
• Manx Monarchs
• Sites
• Ancient Burial Sites
• Castles
• Peel Castle
• The Armoury
• The Bowling Green
• St German's Cathedral
• St Patrick's Chapel
• St Patrick's Church
• The Gatehouse
• The Guard House
• The Half Moon Battery
• The Hall
• A Kitchen
• The Lord's House
• The Magazine
• The Moddey Dhoo
• The New Battery
• The Pagan Lady
• The People of St Patrick's Isle
• The Postern Gate
• The Round Battery
• The Round Tower
• Toilet
• The Wall
• The Warwick Tower
• Ceremonial Sites
• Churches and Monasteries
• Forts
• Keeills
• Stone Crosses
• Stone Circles
• Towers
• Timelines
• Vikings

Peel Castle - The Armoury

A view of the Armoury from the Half Moon Battery.

The Armoury "a few paces south of St. Patrick’s Church" and the Hall were built after 1580, and probably after 1593. Ferdinand, the fifth Earl of Derby, thought "fit to erect again my two garrisons of the castles of Rushen and Peele". This was because of the danger to the island from a war with Spain. In the 1590’s Spain was preparing to land a force in Ireland and considered using the Isle of Man as a base for their galleys to interrupt English support for their troops in Ireland.

Queen Elizabeth, on the sudden death of the fifth Earl, took the island under her control. Her Governor, Sir Thomas Gerrard, was ordered to review the island’s defence. By 1595 he had spent £460 on the arms and ammunition required.