Rushen ( ; gv, Rosien), formally Kirk Christ Rushen, is one of the seventeen historic

parishes 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 m ...

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 the same name. Administratively, part of the historic parish of Rushen, and the majority of the population, is now covered by the

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

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, municipa ...

s of

Port Erin Port Erin ( gv, Purt Çhiarn, meaning ''lord's port'') is a seaside village in the south-west of the Isle of Man, in the historic parish of Rushen. It was previously a seaside resort before the decline of the tourist trade. Administratively it ...

and Port St Mary. As a result, there is an

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 the

Calf of Man Calf of Man ( gv, Yn Cholloo ) is a island, off the southwest coast of the Isle of Man. It is separated from the Isle of Man by a narrow stretch of water called the Calf Sound. Like the nearby rocky islets of Chicken Rock and Kitterland, it i ...

. Other settlements in the parish include

Cregneash Cregneash or Cregneish ( gv, Creneash) is a small village and tourist destination in the extreme south-west of the Isle of Man, about from Port Erin. Most of the village is now part of a living museum run by Manx National Heritage. There ...

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-lo ...

, the majority of the area of the historic parish formed a single parish

, with Commissioners, but this has now been amalgamated with Arbory. (See Arbory and Rushen.) Since the 1880s, two areas of the historic parish of Rushen have been the two separate village districts of Port Erin and Port St Mary, each with its own village 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 1998) is Stanley Ditchfield Clucas.

Politics

Rushen parish is split between two

House of Keys constituencies These are the constituencies used in the elections to the House of Keys, the lower house of the parliament of the Isle of Man. Constituencies from 2016 Constituencies from 1986–2011 The constituencies used for the 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, ...

: Rushen, covering the majority of the parish including Port Erin and Port St Mary, and 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, which covers the eastern part of the historic parish. Each constituency 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 ...

. Before 2016 the whole parish was in the Rushen constituency.

Geography

Rushen parish includes the south-western extremity of the island, together with the

along with its rocky outcrops

Kitterland Kitterland ( gv, Famman Kitterland) is an islet in the Calf Sound between the Isle of Man and the Calf of Man in the Irish Sea. Kitterland is currently owned by the Manx National Trust and has a wealth of bird and marine wildlife. Kitter ...

and

Chicken Rock Chicken Rock ( gv, Carrick ny Kirkey), part of Rushen parish, is the southernmost island administered by the Isle of Man. It lies southwest of the Calf of Man, off Spanish Head on the Manx mainland. The most prominent feature of the rock is the ...

, and contains an area of about . It stretches round the coast from Strandhall (on the coast about halfway between Castletown and Port St Mary) to the precipices west of Cronk ny Irrey Laa (Hill of the Day Watch, also spelled Arrey), known as the Stacks, or the Slogh, a distance of . The principal headlands are Kallow Point, Black Head, Spanish Head (), and Bradda Head (); and the chief inlets are Port St Mary Bay, Perwick Bay, Bay Stacka, Port Erin Bay, and Fleshwick Bay. The west of the parish is hilly, stretching southwards from Cronk ny Irrey Laa (, the highest point in the parish) along the western coast to Lhiattee ny Beinnee, Bradda Hill, Mull Hill, and the Sound, across which the ridge is continued on the Calf. Port St Mary and

are the only significant settlements in the area, although they have now expanded to form a single continuous settlement.

is a small village and folk museum near Mull Hill.

Demographics

The Isle of Man census of 2016 returned a parish population of 1,537, a decrease of 6% from the figure of 1,629 in 2011. At the time of the 2011 census, 2.64% of the parish could speak

Manx Gaelic 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 peopl ...

Rushen Internment Camp in World War Two

Rushen was taken over as a detention camp for more than 3,500 women and children during World War Two. Deemed "enemy aliens" many of the internees were refugees who had already fled persecution in Europe. It was the only civilian camp on the island and many of the detained were billeted with local families as well as in requisitioned boarding houses. Rushen Camp opened on 30 May 1940 and closed in September 1945. (The male detainees were held in Douglas.)

References

External links

Manxnotebook - Rushen
with full description of the parish
Isle of Man Building Control Districts
showing parish boundaries
Great.Outdoors.com/ManxGlens Glenology - Manx Glens
An ongoing study of Manx glens, their locations and meanings.
Rushen Parish CommissionersGeoHive Census InformationConstituency maps and general election results
{{Isle of Man Parishes of the Isle of Man Constituencies of the Isle of Man