Baldrine ( Manx: ''Balley drine'' 'blackthorn town') is a village in 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 close to the east coast of the island, about 3 km south of

Laxey Laxey () is a village on the east coast of the Isle of Man. Its name derives from the Old Norse ''Laxa'' meaning 'Salmon River'. Its key distinguishing features are its three working vintage railways and the largest working waterwheel in the wo ...

and 6 km NE of Douglas. It is in the historic parish of Lonan, in the sheading of

Garff Garff () is one of the six sheadings of the Isle of Man. It is located on the east of the island (part of the traditional ''South Side'' division) and consists of the two historic parishes of Lonan (parish), Lonan and Maughold (parish), Maugh ...

. For administrative purposes it is in the parish district of Garff, and it is also in the House of Keys constituency of Garff.

Geography

Baldrine is located on the A2 road, the coast road between Douglas and Ramsey and the area includes three halts (or stations) on the Manx Electric Railway: Baldrine, Sunnycott and Garwick Glen. The River Gawne flows through the village and then through Garwick Glen down towards Garwick Beach at Garwick Bay (part of Laxey Bay). Also within the bounds of Baldrine is Ballannette Country Park, a nature reserve which includes a group of lakes and bird watching locations. The country park is a registered Dark Sky Park, where light pollution is restricted.

History

The name of the village dates back to at least 1643 and comes from the Manx words ''balley drine'', which translates to "town of the

blackthorn ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is an Old World species of flowering plant in the rose family, Rosaceae. It is locally naturalized in parts of the New World. The fruits are used to make sloe gin in Britain and patxaran in Basq ...

". It has had two Primitive Methodist chapels, the first was built in 1843, under the direction of Anne Kelly, a resident of nearby Barroose. Her husband, Thomas Kelly, sold of land for the chapel for 2 shillings. Anne Kelly laid the first stone, and prayed upon it for the head of the church to bless the building. The building would cost £100 to erect. The second chapel was built in 1883 when the congregation started to exceed the first chapel's capacity, at a cost of £383. The new chapel could seat 118, and included a

Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

for the local children. In 1850, the Liverpool Arms

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

was opened in the village. The pub was shut in 2017, and the brewery that owned it put it up for sale, on the understanding that it would no longer be a pub. However, the local council did not allow the change of use, stating that the building should remain a pub. In 2018 Laxey Bay was designated as a

Marine Nature Reserve Marine nature reserve (MNR) is a conservation designation officially awarded by a government to a marine reserve of national significance. Republic of Ireland Lough Hyne, a marine lake off of County Cork, is Ireland's only marine nature reserve. Un ...

Other places of worship

Baldrine has a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

church and a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...

temple and monastery.https://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/islands-first-buddhist-temple-now-open-to-the-public-581996 Media Isle of Man: Island’s first Buddhist temple now open to the public

References

{{reflist Villages in the Isle of Man