Bishopscourt (previously known as Ballacurry, in ) 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 State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

Diocese of Sodor and Man The Diocese of Sodor and Man is a diocese of the Church of England. It is one of only two Church of England dioceses not within the United Kingdom (the other is the Diocese in Europe). Originally much larger, today it covers just the Isle of Man ...

, and the former estate of Ballachurry or Bishopscourt Manse.

History

Previously the official residence of the

Bishop of Sodor and Man The Bishop of Sodor and Man is the 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 Cathedral Church of St German where ...

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

Kirk Michael Michael () 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. Historic pa ...

on the primary A3 Castletown to

Ramsey Ramsey may refer to: Companies *Ramsey (retailer), Turkish clothing retailer People * Ramsey (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Ramsey (surname), including a list of people with the surname * Baron de Ramsey, a title i ...

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'' or ''Snaefell Mountain Course'' or ''Elmo’s Mountain Course'' is a street and Road racing, public rural road circuit located in the Isle of Man, used for motorcycle racing. The motorcycle ''T ...

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 in the Isle of Man in the parish of the same name, in the sheading of Michael. It is the only village in the parish. The parish adjoins Jurby to the north, Lezayre to the east, Michael to the south and south- ...

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

pro-cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish Church (building), 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 prefect ...

from 1895 until the estate's sale in 1976. One of its former owners was Lord Bishop George Lloyd of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

, who married his daughter to the son of Chancellor David Yale. From 1643 to 1651, the 7th Earl of Derby,

Lord of Mann The Lord of Mann () is the lord proprietor and head of state of the Isle of Man, currently King Charles III. Before 1504, the title was King of Mann. Relationship with the Crown Since 1399, the King of Mann, kings and lords of Mann were ...

and the grandson of the 17th Earl of Oxford, used the palace as his summer estate while the see was vacant.Bishopscourt
Historic Houses Association, Buckingham Palace Road, London, Accessed 4 March 2024 During the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

under

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially a ...

, Commander-in-Chief

Thomas Fairfax Sir Thomas Fairfax (17 January 1612 – 12 November 1671) was an English army officer and politician who commanded the New Model Army from 1645 to 1650 during the English Civil War. Because of his dark hair, he was known as "Black Tom" to his l ...

, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, appointed

James Chaloner James Chaloner (1602–1660) was an English politician on the Parliamentary side in the English Civil War, and commissioner at the trial of King Charles I. Biography Chaloner was born in the parish of St Olave Silver Street, London, the ...

Governor of the Isle of Man A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

, and he used the palace as his primary residence. The palace is over 700 years old and was sold around 2020 for about 6 million pounds.Isle of Man’s Ancient Bishops Palace Selling for £6M
Beckie Strum, Mansion Global, 3 October 2019, Accessed 4 March 2024

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 Claudius Crigan (5 April 1813) was an Anglican clergyman who served in the Church of England as the Bishop of Sodor and Man from 1784 to 1813. A native of Omagh, County Tyrone, Ireland, he was educated at Trinity College, Dublin."Alumni Dublinen ...

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 Horatio Powys (20 November 1805 – 31 May 1877) was a priest in the Church of England and Bishop of Sodor and Man. Powys was the third son of Thomas Powys, 2nd Baron Lilford (1775–1825), by Henrietta Maria, eldest daughter of Robert Verno ...

. 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 A tree was planted in the garden by King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

in 1920 during a visit.

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