Tower of Refuge

A small castellated stone tower standing on Conister Rock in the middle of Douglas Bay, built in 1832 on the initiative of Sir William Hillary after the wreck of the steamer St George on the same rock two years earlier. Hillary, who later founded the RNLI, funded much of the tower himself; it was originally stocked with bread, water and a bell so that sailors wrecked on the rock had somewhere to shelter and signal for rescue. The rock claimed further wrecks after the tower was built, including the passenger ferry Mona in 1930. It's reached today by a causeway and remains in the care of the RNLI.