Andreas ( or ; gv, Skeerey Andreas) is one of the seventeen

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 o ...

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 Europe ...

. 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 Chris ...

. The main settlement in the parish in the village of Andreas, which is also known as Kirk Andreas.

History

There are several ancient monuments and sites located in the parish of Andreas. Ballavarry Burial Mound is a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

burial mound found a short distance outside of the village of Andreas. Knock y Doonee is a significant historical and archaeological site in Andreas. Archaeological excavations on the area have uncovered a bilingual ogham stone in Latin and Ogham; a Christian keeill (a small chapel); a Christian carved stone cross; and a

Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...

boat burial. Severa
carved stone crosses
and slabs have been discovered in Andreas. Although many of the crosses are extant only as fragments and are located in the Manx Museum, ''Thorwald's Cross'' for example can be viewed at St Andrew's Church. Several early Christian Manx keeills have been recorded throughout the parish although most have been destroyed when their remaining stones were removed for the construction of other buildings during the 19th century. * Knock y Doonee keeill. * Keeill Tushtag. * Ballagonnell Keeill. * Ardonan keeill.

Geography

Andreas borders Jurby to the west, Bride to the east and

Lezayre Lezayre ( ; gv, Creest ny h-Ayrey), formally Kirk Christ Lezayre, is one of the seventeen historic parishes of the Isle of Man. It is located in the north of the island (part of the traditional ''North Side'' division) in the sheading of Ayre. ...

to the south. The

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

is to the north. The parish is low-lying. The most significant inland water feature is the Lhen Trench, which runs for about 7 km north–south, in parallel with the boundary with Jurby. To the north the Scottish

Southern Uplands The Southern Uplands ( gd, Na Monaidhean a Deas) are the southernmost and least populous of mainland Scotland's three major geographic areas (the other two being the Central Lowlands and the Grampian Mountains and the Highlands, as illustrate ...

and the

Mull of Galloway The Mull of Galloway ( gd, Maol nan Gall, ; ) is the southernmost point of Scotland. It is situated in Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway, at the end of the Rhins of Galloway peninsula. The Mull has one of the last remaining sections of natur ...

can sometimes clearly be seen. The total area is about . The village of Andreas or Kirk Andreas is the only significant settlement in the parish. The nearest town,

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 ...

, is 4 miles or 6 km away.

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-l ...

, 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, municipa ...

with 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 2003) is Dorothy Sayle.

Politics

Andreas 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, 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 L ...

. Before 2016 it was in the

constituency.

Demographics

The Isle of Man census of 2016 returned a parish population of 1,397, a decrease of 2.1% from the figure of 1,426 in 2011.

Landmarks

Churches

St Andrew's Church in Andreas village was built in 1802 using stone from Sulby Glen as there was no local stone quarries. Although a large 120 ft bell tower was added in 1860, it was dismantled in 1945 to improve the safety of nearby

RAF Andreas Royal Air Force Andreas or more simply RAF Andreas is a former Royal Air Force station in the Isle of Man which was operational between 1941 and 1946. It was built in fields between Andreas and Bride in the north of the island. As was common p ...

. The bell tower has never been restored to its original height. St Jude's Church is also located in the hamlet of St Jude's, was built in 1839. The Lhen Nature Reserve

Andreas Airfield

Near the middle of the parish is the former RAF Andreas airfield which operated between 1941 to 1946. It is home to a small number of privately owned light aircraft and also used by a gliding club.

Cronk y Bing Nature Reserve

Cronk y Bing is the site of a nature reserve in Andreas which extends all the way to the north tip of the Isle of Man at the

Point of Ayre The Point of Ayre ( gv, Kione ny Hayrey)''Place Names of The Isle of Man – Da Ny Manninee Dooie Volume Three. Sheading of Ayre: (Kirk Andreas, Kirk Bride and Kirk Christ Lezayre)'' page 258 ''Kirk Bride'' by George Broderick – Turbingen ...

. It consists of

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...

land and extensive sand dunes. Plants such as marram grass, pyramidal orchid, and sea bindweed dominate the area.

References

External links

Manxnotebook Andreas
Detail about Manx parishes and description of the parish.

with full description of the parish and photographs

Isle of Man Building Control Districts
showing parish boundaries
Glenology - Manx Glens
An ongoing study of Manx glens, their locations and meanings. {{Authority control Parishes of the Isle of Man