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. 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 (since 2003) is Donald James Gelling, CBE.

Politics

Santon parish is part of the Middle

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. 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 Captain of the Parish is Mr Donald Gelling. 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 and Port Soldrick to the mouth of the Santon Burn 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 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 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 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. 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 ...

of Rushen Abbey. 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 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 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