William Cashen

Epithet: Folklorist, Manx Gaelic linguist (1838-1912)

Record type: Biographies

Biography: From ‘New Manx Worthies’ (2006):

A native of the west coast village of Dalby, William Cashen belonged to a fishing/crofting family which moved to the nearby Niarbyl. His native language being Manx Gaelic, he learned to speak English only after the age of nine. At fifteen he was apprenticed to a master mariner in Whitehaven and sailed, firstly around the Irish Sea, but later as far as the East Indies, China and Australia.

A colourful account of his life published as a memorial notice in the ‘Manx Quarterly’ in 1912, and very probably written by Sophia Morrison, claimed that in his early 20s, as a crew member of the Whitehaven schooner Western Trader, he was shipwrecked in Peel Bay. According to this account the vessel was driven ashore on rocks at Traie Fogag, where the crew were rescued by James Greggor, a fisherman, and James Morrison, who later became Peel harbourmaster. Badly injured, Cashen was cared for during his recovery by the daughter of a Peel family, Susanna Cowell, who later became his wife.

After this incident he settled back in Peel, going to the herrings. According to the memorial notice he was one of the leaders of a fishermen’s revolt against harbour dues proposed by Lieutenant Governor Sir Henry Brougham Loch ‘in the early sixties’. In fact the protest march described, of some 1200 fishermen to St Johns on Tynwald Day, took place in 1874. In anticipation of possible violence the Governor had called guards armed with ball cartridges from the garrison at Castletown, but the tension was defused by the procession of fishermen breaking up into small groups as they approached St Johns. The ‘Quarterly’ memorial attributes this to an instruction from Cashen (‘It was this due to Mr Cashin’s [sic] foresight and influence that the remonstrance was presented quietly, and that the fears of Governor Loch did not materialise in actual trouble’). In fact the ‘Manx Sun’ simply listed him as amongst the deputation, and not as a leader. An advocate, a Mr Adams, spoke on behalf of the Peel fishermen.

The ’Quarterly’ account also describes Cashen as having been a strike leader in his fishing days, leading a cessation of work which forced the Peel boat owners to put wages for winter work overhauling the boats up from nine shillings per week to fourteen.

William Cashen was subsequently appointed as assistant to James Morrison, the harbour master at Peel whom he credited as having saved his life. Ironically, one of his duties was to collect the harbour dues to which he had so much objected.

From 1896 on, he spent sixteen years as custodian of Peel Castle, where he became noted for his ‘homely yet delightfully terse and quaint descriptions of the castle, and his fascinating relation of the many legends associated with the ancient pile’.

During the August 1902 visit of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra to Peel Castle, according to the ‘Manx Quarterly’ memorial, after the king has signed ‘his autograph book’ Cashen asked, ‘And won’t the missus sign too?’ Despite the alarm of officials at this request, the queen laughed and complied. He also blessed the royal couple in Manx, and at his own expense subsequently placed a plaque in the castle to mark their visit.

Realising that he was witnessing the decline of the Manx language and the increasing use of English, William Cashen decided to record his memories of Manx folklore and music. His collection of folk songs appeared in A.W. Moore’s ‘Manx Ballads and Music.’ His folklore notes were published by Sophia Morrison in 1912, shortly after William’s death. This occurred very suddenly on June 3rd, in the turnstile hut at the entrance to Peel Castle, just as he finished his midday lunch.

Biography written by Leslie Quilliam with additional material by Valerie Cottle.

(With thanks to Culture Vannin as publishers of the book: Kelly, Dollin (general editor), ‘New Manx Worthies’, Manx Heritage Foundation/Culture Vannin, 2006, pp.70-1.)

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Nationality: Manx

Gender: Male

Date of birth: 1838

Date of death: 3 June 1912

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