Ballaugh ( ; ) is one of the seventeen

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 on the west of the island (part of the traditional ''North Side'' division) in the sheading of

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

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 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 1993) is Charles Edgar Cowin.

Politics

Ballaugh 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), Mich ...

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 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 Lat ...

. Before 2016, it was in the

constituency.

Geography

Ballaugh is a mainly agricultural district on the north-western coast of the island. Ballaugh runs for some along the north-west coastline of the island. The average breadth of the parish is about and it covers an area of around . The south-east corner is hilly and the remainder is low, including part of the marshy depression of the Curraghs. The only village in the parish is

Ballaugh Ballaugh ( ; , ) is a small village in the Isle of Man in the parish of the same name, in the sheading of Michael. It is the only village in the parish. The parish adjoins Jurby to the north, Lezayre to the east, Michael to the south and south- ...

History

There are in Ballaugh a number of sites of historical interest. There is a heritage group who holds regular meetings and arrange walks around the area. Research into the social history of the area, in particular the isolated Glen Dhoo, is being carried out. The name 'Ballaugh' derives from the Manx ''Balley-ny-Loghey'' or "the place of the lake" cognate with loch and lough. The Ballaugh Curraghs is all that remains of this lake. The lake, which measured up to a mile in length, was drained by the excavation about 300 years ago of the silted-up Lhen Trench which, during the last ice age, is believed to have been a meltwater channel flowing north to south from the melting ice front.

Demographics

The Isle of Man census of 2016 returned a parish population of 1,032, a decrease of 1% from the figure of 1,042 in 2011.

Curraghs Wildlife Park and Ballaugh Curragh

One mile east of the village is Curraghs Wildlife Park, which was formerly run by the island's Department of Community, Culture and Leisure and is a haven for all sorts of

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

wildlife. Most of the park is laid out in geographical sections, representing different continents of the world and the animals that can be found there. The central part of the park has a different format and contains specific animal exhibits and visitor attractions. The park is located next to Ballaugh Curragh

, the first wildlife site on the island to be internationally recognised, when in 2006, it was designated a Ramsar wetland of international importance. The site qualifies for international status as it has excellent examples of wetland habitats characteristic of the island and the region: bog pools, marshy

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

woodland, modified bog and willow scrub (known as curragh). It also has on occasion, the largest number of winter roosting

hen harrier The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Palearctic, Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. It bird migration, migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian ...

s in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

and has a breeding habitat for a highly endangered migratory bird, the

corn crake The corn crake, corncrake or landrail (''Crex crex'') is a bird in the rail family. It breeds in Europe and Asia as far east as western China, and migrates to Africa for the Northern Hemisphere's winter. It is a medium-sized crake with buff ...

. In 2005, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry designated Ballaugh Curragh as an "

Area of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

". There are three partners involved in the Curragh: Curraghs Wildlife Park,

Manx National Heritage Manx National Heritage () is the national heritage organisation for the Isle of Man. The organisation manages a significant proportion of the Island’s physical heritage assets including over 3,000 acres of coastline and landscape. It holds pro ...

and the Manx Wildlife Trust.

References

External links

IOM Guide: Kirk BallaughManx National HeritageIsle of Man Building Control Districts
showing parish boundaries
Glenology - Manx Glens
{{Isle of Man Parishes of the Isle of Man