MANX residents are being asked to contribute to an updating of the BBC’s Domesday Project to give future generations a snapshot of life in the Isle of Man over the decades.
The project spans the whole of the British Isles and was launched in 1986 when the BBC asked 1 million people to contribute their images and words.
Now the Isle of Man is being asked to again contribute to the project and revisit the past to help update the Island’s archive and document everyday life.
By exploring the images and articles from the original project it will be enable readers to see how much the Isle of Man has changed, and how much has stayed the same.
Douglas, Laxey, Ramsey and Sulby are just a few of the areas which were documented back in 1996 and many interesting facts were recorded.
In 1986, for example, people in the Isle of Man expressed concerns about the diminishing Manx culture. It led to a lot of work over recent years and culture, especially the Manx language, has experienced an unexpected and welcome revival.
Other contributors from 1986 give a fascinating account of island farming, the life of a housewife and the daily routine of school children.
The BBC is now inviting more contributors to get involved and help document how Isle of Man life has changed over the past 25 years.
The idea is based on William the Conqueror’s original Domesday Book, published in 1086, which contained records for 13,418 settlements in the English counties south of the rivers Ribble and Tees (the border with Scotland at the time).
It was designed to give the ruler knowledge of the land and assets owned by individuals so that additional taxes could be raised. William the Conqueror died before it was published.
It was written by an observer of the survey that "there was no single hide nor a yard of land, nor indeed one ox nor one cow nor one pig which was left out".
The original Domesday Book is still in existence and is currently housed in a specially made chest at The National Archives in Kew, London.
The nature of the information collected led people to compare it to the Last Judgement, or 'Doomsday', described in the Bible, when the deeds of Christians written in the Book of Life were to be placed before God for judgement. This name was not adopted until the late 12th Century.
Anyone who would like to contribute to the BBC project can visit the Domesday Reloaded website, search for the Isle of Man and upload updated images and information.
The BBC will accept updated text and pictures for the Domesday Project until October 31.
www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/story
