Lezayre ( ; gv, Creest ny h-Ayrey), formally Kirk Christ Lezayre, is one of the seventeen historic

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

es of the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

. It is located in the north of the island (part of the traditional ''North Side'' division) in the sheading 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 Chri ...

. Administratively, part of the historic parish of Lezayre is now part of the town of

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 ...

. Other settlements in the parish include Glen Auldyn and Sulby.

Local government

For the purposes of

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loc ...

, most of the historic parish forms a single parish

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

with

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

s. Since 1865, an area in the east of the historic parish of Lezayre has been part of the separately administered town of Ramsey, with its own town commissioners. The

Captain of the Parish The Captain of the Parish is an official in each parish in the Isle of Man—formerly the title was ''Captain of the Parish Militia'', but it is now only a titular honour. Historically the Captain of the Parish was authorised to raise his own mi ...

(since 2005) is Denis Duggan.

Politics

Lezayre parish is part of the

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 ...

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

, which elects two Members to the House of Keys. Before 2016 it was in the

constituency, and since 1867 Ramsey has formed its own constituency.

Geography

The parish is bounded by

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

and

Ballaugh Ballaugh ( ; , ) is a small village on 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 sout ...

to the west, Andreas and Bride to the north, the town of

and the parishes of Lonan and Maughold to the east, and Braddan to the south. Its area is about . The name means "of", "at" or "towards" the Ayre. Lezayre is primarily rural and mountainous, and includes the summit of Snaefell, the highest point of the island, and much of the mountain sections of the TT course. It also includes most of the course of the Sulby river, the longest river on the island;

Tholt-y-Will Sulby Glen is a partly wooded glen in the parish of Lezayre in the Isle of Man. It runs north to south and is about 5 km (3 miles) long. In places the floor of the glen is only 50 metres wide, with steep sides. The Sulby River rises in the n ...

Glen; and part of

Sulby Reservoir The Sulby Reservoir is the largest reservoir or lake in the Isle of Man, with an area of . The reservoir Sulby is an impounding reservoir. The dam was completed in 1982 and has a rock-fill embankment high. The reservoir's capacity is and the ...

. Most of the settlement in the parish is stretched along the main road from Ramsey towards Peel, including the village of Sulby and the small village of Churchtown centred on the parish church. Much of the northern part of the Millennium Way passes through the parish.

Demographics

The Isle of Man census of 2016 returned a parish population of 1,276, a decrease of 0.5% from the figure of 1,282 in 2011.

Churches

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 Brit ...

parish church of Kirk Christ, Lezayre was built in 1835. It is likely that it is so called to distinguish it from the other Kirk Christ, located in the sheading of Rushen. One of its windows was erected by stained glass painter and art dealer

Daniel Cottier Daniel Cottier (1838–1891) was a British artist and designer born in Anderston, Glasgow, Scotland. His work was said to be influenced by the writing of John Ruskin, the paintings of the Dante Gabriel Rossetti and the work of William Morris. H ...

, whose father and grandfather were born in the parish. In 2013, it was closed and the diocese is looking to sell the building.IOMtoday "Room with a pew - Listed church up for sale"
, Adrian Darbyshire, 5 February 2015 There are two other Church of England churches in the parish: St. Stephen's, Sulby and St. Fingan's, a small converted Methodist chapel in Glen Auldyn. Sulby has a prominent

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

church.

References

Sources

Lezayre Parish community and local government information

Manxnotebook - Lezayre
with full description of the parish
Isle of Man Building Control Districts
showing parish boundaries
Glenology - Manx Glens
An ongoing study of Manx glens, their locations and meanings. {{Use British English, date=February 2016 Parishes of the Isle of Man