Almshouse Lane, Douglas, after demolition, Isle of Man, 1932-34 (b/w photo)

On the back of this photograph John James Frowde writes, "Almshouse Lane practically all gone. The west end of Almshouse on R. R centre, Spittal's house being demolished, and the large old mansion, no 11 Seneschal Lane in full view for the first time ever. The semi-dormers on the top floor of no 11 were a feature in many of the old houses, and Great Nelson St, (the name supplying the date), has them up most of the eastern side. And Great Nelson St has, like Senna Road, a charmingly broken roof line that is a delight to the eye. In many old English towns, Chichester for example, this absence of regularity of roof-line is stressed in the guide books as a special allurement for visitors with a sense of the artistic. Here, very soon, visitors from industrial areas will see the straight roof-lines of their own monotonous streets." Additional note: "Alas 'Black Bob's' in Lower Church St, probably the best specimen of this type of attic windows."