St John's ( gv, Balley

Keeill Keeill (also ''keill, keeil''; plural ''kialteenyn'') is a Manx Gaelic word for a chapel. Etymology The word is a Gaelic loanword from Latin ''cella'', which originally meant a storeroom, or a small room. In both English, and the Goidelic languag ...

Eoin) is a small village in the sheading of

Glenfaba Glenfaba ( ; gv, Glion Faba) 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 two historic parishes of German and Patrick. Historical ...

in 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 ...

, in the island's central valley. It is in the

House of Keys The House of Keys () is the directly elected lower house of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, the other branch being the Legislative Council. History The oldest known reference to the name is in a document of 1417, written in ...

constituency of

Glenfaba & Peel Glenfaba & Peel is a House of Keys constituency in the west of the Isle of Man. It was created for the 2016 general election and elects 2 MHKs;https://www.gov.im/media/629303/map7glenfabaandpeel.pdf currently Kate Lord-Brennan and Tim Crookall ...

, which elects two MHKs.

Tynwald Day

Tynwald Hill Tynwald Day ( gv, Laa Tinvaal) is the National Day of the Isle of Man, usually observed on 5 July (if this is a Saturday or Sunday, then on the following Monday). On this day, the Island's legislature, Tynwald, meets at St John's, Isle of Man, ...

, the original assembly place for the Isle of Man

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Tynwald Tynwald ( gv, Tinvaal), or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald ( gv, Ard-whaiyl Tinvaal) or Tynwald Court, is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It consists of two chambers, known as the branches of Tynwald: the directly elected House of ...

, is the scene of the annual ceremony in which the laws of the Isle of Man are promulgated in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and Manx, usually on July 5.

Tynwald Day Tynwald Day ( gv, Laa Tinvaal) is the National Day of the Isle of Man, usually observed on 5 July (if this is a Saturday or Sunday, then on the following Monday). On this day, the Island's legislature, Tynwald, meets at St John's, Isle of Man, ...

attracts thousands of spectators to watch the ceremony and participate in the Tynwald Fair. Tynwald Day, July 5, corresponded to St John's feast day by the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...

, which was the date held to be midsummer day; so Tynwald Day was a midsummer fair. Chapel of St John (Tynwald Church)

The Anglican church in the village is dedicated to St John and the village takes its name from the church. Within the church are reserved seats with name plaques for members of both branches of the Manx parliament, whilst in the adjacent church hall is an exhibition detailing the history of Tynwald.

Other features of the village

The village is dominated by , a steep hill to its south. The

Tynwald National Park Tynwald ( gv, Tinvaal), or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald ( gv, Ard-whaiyl Tinvaal) or Tynwald Court, is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It consists of two chambers, known as the branches of Tynwald: the directly elected House of ...

(also known as the Arboretum) is situated on the east side of the village. Opposite the church is the site of the ancient pound where stray animals were placed until claimed. If unclaimed after a year and a day they became the property of the

Lord of Mann The lord of Mann ( gv, Çhiarn Vannin) is the lord proprietor and head of state of the Isle of Man. The current lord proprietor and head of state is Charles III. Before 1504 the head of state was known as King of Mann. Relationship with th ...

, whilst the recovery fee for reclaimed animals was shared equally between the Lord of Mann and the pound official, the "pindar". Also displayed on that site are large stones from a 2300 BC burial chamber found locally. The main commercial venture of the village is Tynwald Mills, which claims to be the only department store in the island.

Road transport

The village is on the A1

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 Civil W ...

to Peel road. It is also close to the junction with the A3, which leads in a southerly direction to Foxdale and Castletown, and northerly to Kirk Michael, Ballaugh, Sulby and Ramsey. It is thus conveniently located for access from all parts of the island (even before these roads were built), which is believed to have been a consideration in the original location of Tynwald here.

Former railway station

The village's railway station has long since closed. In its day it was a major railway junction, in the context of the Isle of Man: it was 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 ...

(Peel line), the

Manx Northern Railway The Manx Northern Railway (MNR) was the second common carrier railway built in the Isle of Man. It operated as an independent concern only from 1879 to 1905. History When the people in the town of Ramsey realised their town was not going to ...

and the

Foxdale Railway The Foxdale Railway was a narrow gauge branch line which ran from St. John's to Foxdale on the Isle of Man. History The line was officially opened by the Foxdale Railway Company Ltd. (registered on ) on allowing rail access to the lead mini ...

. The trackbed of the Isle of Man Railway is now used as a footpath, named the Steam Heritage Trail.

Primary school

Since 2003, the former St John's School building has been used by the (the

Manx language Manx ( or , pronounced or ), also known as Manx Gaelic, is a Gaelic language of the insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family. Manx is the historical language of the Manx peop ...

primary school).

External links

Information about St John's

References

{{Isle of Man Saint John's, Isle of Man