Santon (), historically Santan, is one of the seventeen historic

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

es of the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

. It is located in the south-east of the island (part of the traditional ''South Side'' division) in the sheading of

Middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

. Settlements in the parish include Newtown.

Local government

For the purposes of

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

, the whole 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 county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

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 incl ...

s. 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 2003) is

Donald James Gelling Donald James Gelling Order of the British Empire, CBE Captain of the Parish, CP, CInstSMM (born 5 July 1938) is a Isle of Man, Manx former politician, who is a former Chief Minister of the Isle of Man who served two terms as Head of the Governm ...

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

Politics

Santon parish is part of the

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

, which elects two members to 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 Lat ...

. From 1986 until 2016 it was in the

Malew and Santon Malew and Santon was a House of Keys Constituencies, House of Keys constituency in the Isle of Man. The constituency was created in 1986. It elected one Member of the House of Keys, MHK and the constituency covered the parishes of Malew and Sant ...

constituency.

Geography

It has an area of approximately and is the island's smallest parish. The parish is now popularly known as Santon instead of the older Santan. Currently the

is Mr

Donald Gelling Donald James Gelling CBE CP, CInstSMM (born 5 July 1938) is a Manx former politician, who is a former Chief Minister of the Isle of Man who served two terms as Head of the Government. Early life and career Gelling was born on Tynwald Day ...

. To the north of the parish is Newtown and the recently built estate of

Mount Murray Mount Murray is a hill above sea level on the Isle of Man located at the northern end of Santon, near the boundaries with Marown and Braddan parishes. It is named after Lord Henry Murray, 4th Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man. Often ...

where the northern border along the Crogga River Glen is to be found. The western boundary is slightly east of Ballalonna Glen and the modern Fairy Bridge. The coastal extremities stretch from the mouth of the

Crogga River The Crogga River is a river in the Isle of Man. Crogga River issues close to the Mount Murray Hotel and Country Club and meanders slowly downhill into the lake in front of the hotel (across which the 18th and later the 9th hole used to be played) ...

Port Soderick Port Soderick () is a small hamlet to the south of Douglas, capital of the Isle of Man, once famed for its pleasure grounds and beach. In later years there have been various attempts to rejuvenate the area, all of which have been unsuccessful to ...

over Santon Head,

Port Grenaugh Port Grenaugh is a cove in the south-east of the Isle of Man at the foot of Glen Grenaugh, in the parish of Santon, and the mouth of Grace's stream which originates in the Newtown area of the parish by Ballakissack farm. Close by is Cronk ny ...

and Port Soldrick to the mouth of the

Santon Burn Santon Burn is a watercourse in the Isle of Man. This small river, or Burn (stream), burn, has its origins in the waters of Eairy in the parish of Marown (Ordnance Survey Landranger SC296779) and enters the Irish Sea at Santon Gorge close to C ...

which rarely encroaches on Santon territory but forms the northwestern (inland) boundary for much of its course. While the parish lacks size and good soil, it does have some high cliffs, ancient monuments, ruins, and various other scenery. All along the Manx coastline, and particularly on the rocky slate headlands of the south, are the remains of

promontory forts A promontory fort is a defensive structure located above a steep cliff, often only connected to the mainland by a small neck of land, thus using the topography to reduce the ramparts needed. The oldest known promontory fort is Amnya I in Siber ...

which date back almost 2,000 years. Four out of more than twenty have been excavated and several, especially in Santon, can be visited using the coastal footpath. All have a rampart on their vulnerable landward side, and excavations at have shown that access to the fort was by a strongly built gate.Promontory Forts - Isle of Man Government Manx National Heritage
/ref> The

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

ns who arrived in Mann in the 8th and 9th centuries sometimes re-used these

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

promontory forts, often obliterating the old domestic quarters with their characteristic rectangular houses; the fine example at has been used as the basis of the reconstruction in the House of Manannan.

Demographics

The Isle of Man census of 2016 returned a parish population of 700, an increase of 1.3% from the figure of 691 in 2011.

Ecclesiastical parish

The ecclesiastical parish of Santon no longer exists as a separate area. Until 1 November 2012 it was coterminous with the civil parish (see below), but on that date part of the ecclesiastical parish of Braddan between Mount Murray and Port Walberry, including part of the Mount Murray estate, Port Soderick and Quine's Hill, was transferred to the parish of Santon. On 1 February 2013 the parish of Santon and the parish of Malew (except a detached part of the latter to the west of Castletown) were united to form a new ecclesiastical parish of Malew and Santon. The parish church of the former parish of Santon, which is now one of the four parish churches of the united parish, is St Sanctain. St Sanctain's stands on the site of an ancient 1500-year-old chapel - well before

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

came from

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

. The name St Sanctain is of Irish origin and according to legend, the saint was a disciple of

St Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints being Brigid of Kildare and Columba ...

and Bishop of Cell da Les (Church of Two Forts). Occasioned by an error, the church was referred to as St Ann (or Anne) during the 17th century and this lasted until it was officially corrected in 1891. The living of Santon was in the patronage of the Crown, in the person of Her Majesty the Queen, the

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 ...

. Before the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it was in the hands of the

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

Rushen Abbey Rushen Abbey is a former abbey on the Isle of Man, located in Ballasalla. Originally home for monks of the Savignac order, it soon came under Cistercian control and remained so until its dissolution. The abbey is located from Castle Rushen, t ...

. The united benefice of Malew and Santon is also in the patronage of the Crown. When the Queen appoints a new vicar, the

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

receives presentment documents signed by the Queen. At the Service of Institution and induction of a new vicar, these documents, together with the new vicar, are presented by the Lieutenant Governor to 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 ...

with the request that the Bishop institute the nominee of the Crown. This duty is always carried out by the Governor in person.

References

External links

map of the parish
* ttp://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/parishes/sn/santan.htm Manx notebook Kirk Santan - St Sanctainbr>Manx notebook - SantanIsle of Man Building Control DistrictsGlenology - Manx GlensWebsite of the Santon Parish Commissioners
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santon (Parish) Parishes of the Isle of Man