Rushen Heritage Centre opens for the new season this week with an exhibition delving into Viking life in the Isle of Man.

The Centre in Bridson Street, Port Erin has four exhibitions lined up for 2025, with Vikings running until May 10.

The Viking exhibition will focus on four hypotheses: a Viking is not a person from a certain place, it is an occupation; Viking helmets were rarely used; the Viking gods are much older than we believe; the place name Rushen could have roots in Viking tradition.

The exhibition is curated by Rushen Heritage Trust board member Staffan Overgaard, who is Swedish and moved to the island 13 years ago.

He said: ‘The Viking legacy lives strong in the Isle of Man, it is even stronger than in the Scandinavian countries.

‘I had some thoughts connected to the Vikings, some I believed in, and a few others did not make sense. I’m not an archaeologist, rune interpreter, DNA scientist or any other scientist who could answer the questions I had. I realise that each faculty can only answer their field. I believe that joint effort and works which are cross-disciplinary are needed.’

The other exhibitions in the programme for 2025:

  • ‘Folklore’, curated by Staffan and RHC team member Violet Cusworth, with assistance from Culture Vannin’s James Franklin – May 13 to July 5.
  • ‘History of mining and quarrying in Rushen’, curated by RHT Board member Ali Graham, with assistance from Pete Geddes and Sue Jones from the Laxey Mines Research Group – July 8 to September 6.
  • ‘Edward Ashton Cannell: A Manxman and his art’, curated by Christa Viohl from the RHC team – September 9 to October 31.

Rushen Heritage Centre will be open 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Saturday, from this week.

For more about Rushen Heritage Centre, email John at [email protected] or phone 464634.