Malew ( ; gv, Malew) 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 or ...

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 Europ ...

. 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 Malew is now covered by the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

of Castletown. As a result, there is a small

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of the parish district which includes Scarlett point. Other settlements in the parish include

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 Abbe ...

, Derbyhaven and St Mark's.

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-loc ...

, most 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 counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

with five elected

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 in ...

s. Since 1883, an area in the south of the historic parish of Malew has formed the separately administered town of Castletown, with its own town 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 1996) is Roy H. Gelling.

Politics

Malew parish is part of the

Arbory, Castletown & Malew Arbory, Castletown & Malew is a House of Keys constituency in the south of the Isle of Man. It was created for the 2016 general election and elects 2 MHKs; currently Jason Moorhouse and Graham Cregeen. Elections Constituenci ...

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

, which elects two Members to the House of Keys. From 1986 until 2016 the majority of the historic parish was in the Malew and Santon constituency, and before 1986 it was in the Rushen constituency. From 1867 until 2016 Castletown formed its own constituency.

History

It is named after the Celtic saint, Malew, also known as Saint Moluag, whose feast day is 25 June.

Geography

Malew parish covers an area from Langness Peninsula and Scarlett up to Foxdale. The area includes both

Ronaldsway 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, t ...

and Balthane industrial estates and the

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 ...

. The parish is bordered on the east by Castletown and Santon Burn; on the north by the Granite Mountain and the

South Barrule The South Barrule ( gv, Baarool Jiass) is the highest hill in the south of the Isle of Man. It has the remains of a fort on its summit, which is traditionally the home of the Manx god of the sea Mannanan beg mac y Leir. The hill is largely surro ...

; by an irregular line from the South Barrule to Poyll Vaaish on the west; and by the sea on the south. It contains about . Most of the parish is low and undulating, forming much of the southern plain of the island. The northern portion is more hilly, including the

, the highest point of the south of the island at . The Silver Burn river rises near the South Barrule and flows under the Monks Bridge at

, reaching the sea at Castletown harbour. The coast line is low, but rocky and dangerous. Castletown Bay is a deep but exposed and dangerous inlet between Langness and Scarlett. The headlands are Dreswick Point and Langness Point, the two southern extremities of Langness peninsula; and Scarlett Point, a conical mass of sub-columnar basalt. At the northern end of Langness is

St Michael's Isle St Michael's Isle ( gv, Ellan Noo Mael or ), more commonly referred to as Fort Island, is an island in Malew parish in the Isle of Man, noted for its attractive ruins. It covers an area of , is about long from west to east, and is connected ...

. The district is chiefly agricultural. Near the village of Ballasalla are the ruins of Rushen Abbey, founded in 1098, and dissolved late in the reign of

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

, and an ancient packhorse bridge over the Silver Burn, called the Crossag, or Monk's Bridge, too narrow for vehicles. Derbyhaven is a tiny hamlet on an

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmus ...

, with a natural harbour, protected by a small breakwater. St Mark's, in the north of the parish, is a small agricultural village clustered round a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ease is deliberately bu ...

Demographics

The Isle of Man census of 2016 returned a parish population of 2,167, a decrease of 10% from the figure of 2,385 in 2011.

Economy

The former Manx Airlines had its head office on the grounds of Isle of Man Airport. BA Connect (BA CitiExpress) had an engineering base in

, 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.FLYBE TO AXE ENGINEERING BASE
" '' Isle of Man Today''. 9 March 2007. Retrieved on 12 March 2010.

References

External links

Manxnotebook - Malew

Malew Parish Commissioners websiteMalew church website
{{Isle of Man Parishes of the Isle of Man