50 minutes | Friday, 16 September 2022
A major exhibition is currently under way in Port Erin to mark the 130th anniversary of Port Erin Marine Laboratory. The Marine Lab first opened on a site on Mortuary Beach, Port Erin, in 1892 and the The Winkle Pickers exhibition charts the story of the Laboratory from the opening of the original buildings, the move in 1902 to its well-known site on the south-west of Port Erin Bay, through to its closure in 2006. The title of the exhibition, The Winkle Pickers, refers to the nickname that many residents of Port Erin gave to those who worked and studied at the Laboratory.
It was a great tragedy that such a well respected institute had to close in 2006 and good to hear from winkle pickers Peter Duncan, Andy Brand, and Jeremy Paul and Hugh Davidson from the Rushen Heritage Trust.