Ronaldsway () is a place in the parish of
Malew
Malew ( ; gv, Malew) is one of the seventeen parishes of the Isle of Man.
It is located in the south of the island (part of the traditional ''South Side'' division) in the sheading of Rushen.
Administratively, part of the historic parish of ...
in the south 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 Europe ...
, between the village of
Ballasalla
Ballasalla () is a village in the parish of Malew in the south-east of the Isle of Man. The village is situated close to the Isle of Man Airport and north-east of the town of Castletown.
History
Ballasalla grew up around nearby Rushen Abbey. ...
and the town of
Castletown.
Features
It is notable as the location of
Isle of Man Airport
Isle of Man Airport ( Manx: ''Purt Aer Vannin'', also known as Ronaldsway Airport) is the main civilian airport on the Isle of Man. It is located in the south of the island at Ronaldsway near Castletown, southwest of Douglas, the island's c ...
and historically of RNAS Ronaldsway, together with the adjoining customs free zone and industrial estate.
The place name is derived from the
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
personal name ''
Rǫgnvaldr
Rǫgnvaldr is an Old Norse language, Old Norse name.
People
* Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson (died 1229), King of the Isles
Derived or cognate names
Given names include:
*''Raginald'', German
*''Reginold'', German
*''Ragenold'', German
*''Ragenald'' ...
'' and the Old Norse element ''vað'' meaning "
ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
", or alternatively ''vágr'' meaning "large, narrow bay" as in
Stornoway
Stornoway (; gd, Steòrnabhagh; sco, Stornowa) is the main town of the Western Isles and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland.
The town's population is around 6,953, making it by far the largest town in the Outer Hebrides, as well a ...
. It is possible that the
eponym
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
of Ronaldsway is
Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles
Rǫgnvaldr is an Old Norse name.
People
* Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson (died 1229), King of the Isles
Derived or cognate names
Given names include:
*'' Raginald'', German
*'' Reginold'', German
*'' Ragenold'', German
*'' Ragenald'', German
*'' Reg ...
(died 1229). The site was once a landing place for
Castle Rushen
Castle Rushen ( gv, Cashtal Rosien) is a medieval castle located in the Isle of Man's historic capital, Castletown, in the south of the island. It towers over the Market Square to the south-east and the harbour to the north-east. The castle is ...
and
Castletown. Ronaldsway first appears on record in the ''
Chronicle of Mann
The ''Chronicles of the Kings of Mann and the Isles''
– British Library ( la, Chron ...
'', which documents an instance when Rǫgnvaldr's half-brother,
Óláfr (died 1237), landed on the island in 1224, and confronted him for a share of the
kingdom
Kingdom commonly refers to:
* A monarchy ruled by a king or queen
* Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy
Kingdom may also refer to:
Arts and media Television
* ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
.
Ronaldsway is the site of the
Battle of Ronaldsway
The Battle of Ronaldsway took place in 1275 at Ronaldsway in the southern part of the Isle of Man between a Scottish army and the Manx. The battle crushed the final attempt by the Manx to re-establish the Norse Sudreyar dynasty. As the battl ...
, fought in October 1275, in which a Manx revolt led by
Guðrøðr Magnússon
Guðrøðr Magnússon ( fl. 1275), also known as Godred Magnusson, was an illegitimate son of Magnús Óláfsson, King of Mann and the Isles. In 1275, whilst Mann was under Scottish overlordship, Guðrøðr led an unsuccessful revolt on the i ...
(fl. 1275) was crushed by Scottish royal forces.
Ronaldsway is one of the 22
coastal weather stations whose conditions are reported in the
BBC Shipping Forecast.
There is a
request stop
In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a stop or station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or dropped off. In this way, st ...
on the
Isle of Man railway
The Isle of Man Railway (IMR) ( gv, Raad Yiarn Vannin) is a narrow gauge steam-operated railway connecting Douglas with Castletown and Port Erin on the Isle of Man. The line is narrow gauge and long. It is the remainder of what was a much ...
located just west of the Ronaldsway Industrial Estate on the
Silverburn river.
BA Connect
BA Connect was a wholly-owned subsidiary airline of British Airways. It was headquartered in Didsbury, Manchester, England, it operated a network of domestic and European services from a number of airports in the United Kingdom on behalf of Bri ...
(BA CitiExpress) had an engineering base in Ronaldsway, employing 110 people. After
Flybe
Flybe (pronounced ), styled as flybe, is a British airline based at Birmingham Airport, England.
History
The airline traces its history back to Jersey European Airways, which was set up in 1979 following the merger of Intra Airways and Expre ...
acquired BA Connect, Flybe announced that it would discontinue the base.
Archaeology
While the airfield
runway
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...
at
Ronaldsway Airport
Ronaldsway () is a place in the parish of Malew in the south of the Isle of Man, between the village of Ballasalla and the town of Castletown.
Features
It is notable as the location of Isle of Man Airport and historically of RNAS Ronaldsway, to ...
was being extended during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, a sunken-floored structure was uncovered dating from the third millennium BC in the late
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
era. The distinctive nature of the finds, including pots and stone tools, gave rise to the name
Ronaldsway culture
The Ronaldsway Culture was the way of life of a Stone Age people on the Isle of Man. Sometimes referred to as Manx Ronaldsway, it dates from the later Neolithic and from the third millennium BC, but more precise dating is a matter of debate.
The c ...
, and similar artefacts have been found elsewhere.
[Timothy Darvill]
''Ronaldsway Culture''
in ''Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology'', (Oxford University Press, 2002)
Climate
Ronaldsway has an
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
(
Cfb) with short, mild summers and long, cool winters. Ronaldsway has very cloudy and rainy winters.
References
Geography of the Isle of Man
{{IsleofMan-geo-stub