Andreas or ''Kirk Andreas'' ( glv, Andreas) is a village on the
Isle of Man
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, lying in the north of the island, 5 km from the island's second town,
Ramsey
Ramsey may refer to:
Geography British Isles
* Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, a small market town in England
* Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England
** Ramsey and Parkeston, a civil parish formerly called just "Ramsey"
* Ramsey, Isle of Man, t ...
. There is a large, and nowadays little used, airfield in the vicinity.
Location
Andreas lies at an altitude of about 20 metres, in the centre of the island's northern plain, in the parish of
Andreas
Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, the Netherlands, and Indonesia. The name ...
, which takes in part of the sandy lands known as the Curragh, and to the north contains low, rounded hills, lying between Port Cranstal and Blue Head.
It is further within the
sheading
Local government ( gv, gurneilys ynnydagh) in the Isle of Man was formerly based on six sheadings, which were divided into seventeen parishes (today referred to as "ancient parishes"). The island is today divided for local government purposes i ...
of
Ayre
Ayre ( ; gv, Inver Ayre) is one of the six sheadings of the Isle of Man.
It is located in the north of the island (part of the traditional ''North Side'' division) and consists of the three historic parishes of Andreas, Bride and (Kirk Chris ...
.
A now little-used
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
airfield is about 1 km to the east of the village.
History
Both the village and the parish take their name from
Saint Andrew. Evidence for human habitation of the area stretches back to pre-Christian era. The
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
Ballavarry Burial Mound can be found a short distance outside of the village.
St Andrew's Church, the parish church for Andreas, was most likely built on the site of a much older early Christian
keeill (small chapel).
Several medieval Manx carved stone crosses with slabs have been discovered in the vicinity of the parish church. Eleven slabs are now on display in St Andrew's Church.
Many of the crosses illustrate the shared Celtic and Norse history of the Isle of Man. For example, ''Thorwald's Cross'' has a Christian cross as its central theme but it also depicts Norse mythological figure
Odin being devoured by the wolf
Fenrir
Fenrir (Old Norse: ; "fen-dweller")Orchard (1997:42). or Fenrisúlfr (O.N.: ; "Fenrir's wolf", often translated "Fenris-wolf"),Simek (2007:81). also referred to as Hróðvitnir (O.N.: ; "fame-wolf")Simek (2007:160). and Vánagandr (O.N.: ; " ...
at the Battle of
Ragnarök.
The old
rectory in Andreas village was the most significant residential building in the village for centuries. William Blundell's ''A History of the Isle of Man'' (1648-1656) makes reference to the rectory during the time of
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
Samuel Rutter. It is now a registered building.
For much of the history of the village, the community was primarily based around agriculture. In recent years many inhabitants of the village now commute daily to Ramsey or
Douglas
Douglas may refer to:
People
* Douglas (given name)
* Douglas (surname)
Animals
* Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking
*Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...
.
World War II
During the war the
Royal Air Force Station Andreas was home to several squadrons, including 457 and 452 squadrons
RAAF
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colours =
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,
93 Squadron RAF, an Air Sea Rescue Squadron and
No.11 Air Gunnery School. The airfield operated from 1941 to 1946, and had three runways. Subsequently and up to the present day, it has limited use for agriculture
light aircraft
A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997.
Light aircraft are used as utility aircraft co ...
activity and
gliding
There are also 23 military graves at
St Andrew's Church from WWII.
Access and facilities
Road links
The A9, A17, A19, B2, B3, and B14 roads all converge on the village. The nearest town,
Ramsey
Ramsey may refer to:
Geography British Isles
* Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, a small market town in England
* Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England
** Ramsey and Parkeston, a civil parish formerly called just "Ramsey"
* Ramsey, Isle of Man, t ...
, is 5 km to the south east of the village
The village is served by a
Bus Vannin
Bus Vannin ( gv, Barroose Vannin) - styled as ''bus'' vannin - is the government-owned and operated bus service on the Isle of Man. The name was adopted in June 2009 to replace Isle of Man Transport. The company was founded on 1 October 1976,< ...
routes and an on-demand service.
Education
The village has a primary school, Andreas Primary School, which takes children from ages 4 to 11. It also has a breakfast club. The school takes children from across a wide but defined area, some brought by government-sponsored bus. It was originally built in 1903, with the current building dating primarily from 1977. The school logo features a cross based on Viking cross-slabs in the village church, a Viking ship based on a local ship burial at
Knock y Doonee and the
Manx Arms.
After year six, pupils generally attend either
Queen Elizabeth II High School
Queen Elizabeth II High School (commonly referred to as simply QE2) is a mixed comprehensive school in Peel, Isle of Man.
The school teaches the years 7-11 as well as a sixth form for years 12–13. Queen Elizabeth II High School follows the ...
in
Peel or
Ramsey Grammar School
Ramsey Grammar School is a coeducational comprehensive secondary school located in Ramsey, on the Isle of Man.
History
A grammar school has existed in Ramsey since 1681. It moved to Lezayre Road in 1933 and was housed in a building that now f ...
in Ramsey.
Entertainment
There is also a parish hall, built in 1939, which hosts a youth club, the local Women's Institute, parties, exhibitions and sports such as badminton and bowls.
There is one pub and restaurant in the village, the ''Grosvenor''. After temporarily closing in late 2019, it has since reopened.
Sport
Ayre United are based in the village. Founded there in 1967, they compete in the
Isle of Man Football League
The Isle of Man Football League is the senior football league on the Isle of Man and is run by the Isle of Man Football Association. Although the league is affiliated with The Football Association, it does not form a part of the English footba ...
and play their home games at Andreas Playing Fields
where they have a clubhouse, built up from an old RAF building brought from
Jurby airfield. They were the first club on the island to install floodlights. They won the Manx FA Cup in the 2002-3 season.
Churches and chapels
The first church in the vicinity was ''Cabbal Vaartyn'' (''St Martin's Chapel'') which has also been recorded as being named ''Keeil Colomb'', on what today is the road between Andreas and The Lhen, and then, after the formation of regular parishes, between 1270 and 1344, a church was built in Andreas itself, dedicated to the village's patron saint,
St Andrew
Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Pete ...
.
The current building,
St Andrew's Church, was built in 1802 with stone from
Sulby Glen, and is the Anglican parish church, in the
Church of England Diocese of Sodor and Man. A 120-foot bell tower was built in 1869, but reduced in height during World War II.
The bell tower has never been restored to its original height.
Also in the parish is St Jude's Chapel, built in 1869 in a Romanesque style with a square tower.
In March 2005 the Friends of St Jude's took over the upkeep of the chapel and successfully campaigned against its demolition. It is now used for occasional services including weddings, funerals and christenings.
Local government and representation
The village has no separate local government, but the Parish of Andreas is overseen by Parish Commissioners, responsible for such aspects as public parks and leisure areas, street lighting and cleaning, certain housing matters and local roads.
Andreas is in the
Keys constituency of
Ayre & Michael Ayre & Michael is a House of Keys constituency in the north of the Isle of Man. It was created for the 2016 general election and elects 2 MHK
It is easily the largest Keys constituency in area, and includes the parishes of Michael (parish), Micha ...
.
Gallery
References
{{Isle of Man
Villages in the Isle of Man