Garff () is one of the six
sheading
Local government in the Isle of Man was formerly based on six sheadings, which were divided into seventeen parishes (today referred to as "ancient parishes"). The island is today divided for local government purposes into town districts, villa ...
s 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 east of the island (part of the traditional ''South Side'' division) and consists of the two historic
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
Lonan and
Maughold. Before 1796 it also included the parish of
Onchan
Onchan (; ) is a large village in the parish of Onchan (parish), Onchan on the Isle of Man. It is at the north end of Douglas Bay. Administratively a district, it has the second largest population of settlements on the island, after Douglas, Isl ...
.
Administratively, since May 2016 the sheading of Garff has been covered by a single Garff
local authority
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 ...
, a parish district, formed by merging the former
village
A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
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 ...
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 ...
with the parish districts of Lonan and Maughold.
The
town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
of
Ramsey, which is administered separately, covers areas of two historic parishes (Maughold, and
Lezayre
Lezayre ( ; ), 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.
Administratively, par ...
in the sheading of
Ayre
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 Christ) Lezayre.
T ...
). It is treated as part of Garff for some purposes, e.g. the coroner.
Other settlements in the sheading include
Baldrine and
Ballabeg
Ballabeg () is a village on the Isle of Man. It is in the parish of Arbory (parish), Arbory in the Local government in the Isle of Man, sheading of Rushen, in the south of the island near Castletown, Isle of Man, Castletown. There are several ...
(both in the parish of Lonan), and
Ballure in the parish of Maughold.
Etymology
The origin of the name is uncertain.
Kneen (1925)
suggests that it derives from the Norse ''gröf'' (N.B. not ''grðf'', which is a typo there), meaning a pit or ravine (cognate with "grave").
MHKs and elections
Garff is also a
House of Keys constituency (excluding (most of) Onchan). It was originally a three-seat constituency, but this was reduced to two seats in 1893 and one seat in 1986. Until 2016 it was heavily under-represented by having only a single MHK. However in the 2016 general election it elected 2 MHKs (the new constituency also includes the (sparsely populated) parish of Onchan, i.e. excluding the village of Onchan).
Election results since 2016
In 2014,
Tynwald
Tynwald (), or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald () 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 of Keys and the indirectly chosen Leg ...
approved recommendations from the Boundary Review Commission which saw the reform of the Island's electoral boundaries.
See also
*
Local government in the Isle of Man
*
Laxey Bay
*
Ramsey Bay
References
External links
Constituency maps and general election results
{{House of Keys constituencies
Sheadings of the Isle of Man
Constituencies of the Isle of Man