Bishopscourt (previously known as Ballacurry, in gv, the farm of McCurry or O'Curry) consists of a 17th-century mansion house, the St Nicholas (Private Chapel) in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Diocese of Sodor & Man, and the former estate of Ballachurry or Bishopscourt Manse. Previously the official residence of the

Bishop of Sodor and Man The Bishop of Sodor and Man is the Ordinary (officer), Ordinary of the Diocese of Sodor and Man (Manx Gaelic: ''Sodor as Mannin'') in the Province of York in the Church of England. The diocese only covers the Isle of Man. The Peel Cathedral, Cath ...

, the current Bishopscourt House and estate are now in private ownership. Bishopscourt is situated north of

Kirk Michael Michael ( gv, Maayl) is one of the six sheadings of the Isle of Man. It is located on the west of the island (part of the traditional ''North Side'' division) and consists of the three historic parishes of Ballaugh, Jurby and Michael. Histo ...

on the primary A3 Castletown to

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 ...

road and is known as a historic point in the TT races, adjacent to the 16th Milestone road-side marker of the

Snaefell Mountain Course The Isle of Man TT Mountain Course or ''TT Course'' is a street and public rural road circuit located in the Isle of Man, used for motorcycle racing. The motorcycle ''TT Course'' is used principally for the Isle of Man TT Races and also the sep ...

close to the tertiary C19 Orrisdale Loop Road junction. The Bishopscourt

Manse A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...

and the Bishop's Glen form part of the boundary of the parishes of Michael and

Ballaugh Ballaugh ( ; , ) is a small village on the Isle of Man in the parish of Ballaugh (parish), the same name, in the sheading of Michael (parish), Michael. It is the only village in the parish. The parish adjoins Jurby to the north, Lezayre to the e ...

. The bishop's Chapel of St Nicholas was the diocese's

pro-cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefecture or apostolic ...

from 1895 until the estate's sale in 1976.

Description

The current residence dates from the 17th century; the former moated ''King Orry's Tower'' and previous timbered residence was rebuilt by Bishop Thomas Wilson from 1698 after finding the 'house in ruins nothing but a sentient tower and chapel remaining entire'. Bishop Wilson rebuilt in the present castellated baronial style, and it was enlarged by Bishop Claudius Crigan from 1784 onwards. The King Orry's Tower was repaired and restored by Bishop Crigan in preparation 'to reside at Bishopscourt, to repair and even rebuild the ruins of which as all was ruins has cost a very severe expense'. The chapel dating from 1651 adjacent to King Orry's Tower was demolished around 1815 and replaced by a Georgian Chapel on the same site, which itself was replaced by a Victorian Gothic ''Chapel of St. Nicholas'' on a slightly different site by Bishop Horatio Powys. Further renovation occurred after a fire in 1893 destroyed the hall section of Bishopscourt house.''The Fort at Bishopscourt, Isle of Man'' by R A Curphy page 8 Medieval Archaeology

Sources

External links

{{coord, 54, 17, 59, N, 4, 34, 15, W, display=title, region:IM_type:landmark Bishopscourt Registered Buildings of the Isle of Man