Notwithstanding this Island is so populous, you would not think so from viewing the country from an elevation; thick as the cottages are, they do not strike the eye; the walls of the huts are seldom above seven feet high, composed generally of sods of earth, and the roofs thatched with straw, which soon becomes of a murky hue.' (John Feltham, A tour through the Island of Mann in 1797 and 1798, M 09791).
On the reverse of the artwork is handwritten "The following inscriptions are inserted on three sides of the Obelisk in Latin, Welch & English: In the Year / 420 / The Saxons and Picts with / United forces / Made war against the / Britons / In this Valley / To this day called / MAES GARMON / where Christ came down to / The Battle / With those Apostotic Generals / Garmon & Lupus / And fought against the Host / When they cried aloud / HALLELUJAH / Terror discomfits the hostile troops / The Britons triumph / Their enemies being slain / Without bloodshed / A victory gained by Faith and not / By force of Arms / M.P. Viz / This monument was erected / For a memorial of the / HALLELUJAH / VICTORY. Will Latham, 1815."