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. Historic ...

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 Europ ...

, in the island's central valley. It is in the House of Keys constituency of Glenfaba & Peel, 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, instead of ...

, 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: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

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, instead of ...

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 Alexandri ...

, 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 (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, 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 ...

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 ...

(Peel line), the Manx Northern Railway and the Foxdale Railway. 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 pe ...

primary school).

External links

Information about St John's

References

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