Santon (parish)
Encyclopedia
Santon is a parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. It has an area of approximately eight square miles and is the island's smallest parish, located in the sheading of Middle which is composed of the parishes of Braddan
Braddan
Braddan is an elongated parish in the sheading of Middle in the Isle of Man, stretching from the parishes of Michael and Lezayre in the north, bordering on the parishes of German, Marown and Onchan in the middle and bordering on Santon in the south....
, Marown
Marown
Marown is a parish of the Isle of Man in the sheading of Middle. Historically it was in the sheading of Glenfaba.-Parish:Marown has an area of approximately nine square miles and is the only parish on the island that does not border the sea at some point...
and Santon. Currently the Captain of the Parish
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...
is Donald Gelling
Donald Gelling
Donald James Gelling CBE CP, CInstSMM is a Manx former politician, who is a former Chief Minister of the Isle of Man who served two terms as Head of the Government.-Early life and career:...
.
The parish church is St Sanctain. The parish is now popularly known as Santon instead of the older Santan (see St. Ann(e)below). St Sanctain's stands on the site of an ancient 1500 year old chapel - well before St. Augustine
Augustine of Canterbury
Augustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597...
came from Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
to Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
. The name St Sanctain is of Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
origin and according to legend, the saint was a disciple of St Patrick and Bishop of Cell da Les (Church of Two Forts). Occasioned by an error, the church was referred to as St Ann (or Anne) during the 17th century and this lasted until it was officially corrected in 1891.
The living of St Sanctain's, together with that of twelve other livings in the Isle of Man, is solely in the patronage of the Crown, in the person of Her Majesty the Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, the Lord of Mann
Lord of Mann
The title Lord of Mann is used on the Isle of Man to refer to Queen Elizabeth II, who is the island's Lord Proprietor and head of state.-Relationship with the Crown:The title is not correctly used on its own...
. Before the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
, it was in the hands of the Abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
of Rushen Abbey
Rushen Abbey
Rushen Abbey was an abbey on the Isle of Man, located near Ballasalla. Originally home for monks of the Savignac order, it soon came under Cistercian control and remained so until its dissolution. The abbey is located two miles from Castle Rushen; the most important political entity on the island...
. When the Queen appoints a new vicar, the Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
receives presentment documents signed by the Queen. At the Service of Institution and induction of a new vicar, these documents, together with the new vicar, are presented by the Lieutenant Governor to the Bishop of Sodor and Man
Bishop of Sodor and Man
The Bishop of Sodor and Man is the Ordinary of the Diocese of Sodor and Man in the Province of York in the Church of England. The diocese covers the Isle of Man. The see is in the town of Peel where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of St German, elevated to cathedral status on 1...
with the request that the Bishop institute the nominee of the Crown. This duty is always carried out by the Governor in person.
Boundaries of the parish
To the north of the parish is NewtownNewtown, Isle of Man
Newtown is a community within the parish of Santon, Isle of Man. To the northern part of the community lies Mount Murray and to the north-west the Broogh Fort - an iron age fort dating from the 13th century....
and the recently built estate of Mount Murray
Mount Murray
Mount Murray is a hill often referred to simply as The Mount, located on the northern border of Santon, Marown and Braddan parishes on the Isle of Man. Mount Murray is also home to the Chibbenagh Plantation and nine of the eighteen holes of the Mount Murray Golf Club.Today, a in the grounds of...
where the northern border along the Crogga River Glen
Crogga River
The Crogga River is a river in the Isle of Man.Crogga River issues close to the Mount Murray Hotel and Country Club and meanders slowly downhill into the lake in front of the hotel and then drops to Murray's Lake before becoming the impassable Crogga River Glen on its way down towards Crogga Glen...
is to be found. The western boundary is slightly east of Ballalonna Glen and the modern Fairy Bridge
Fairy Bridge
Fairy Bridge might refer to several locations in China, on the Isle of Man or one on the Isle of Skye.-Builiu River, China:Fairy Bridge is a Natural Bridge over the Buliu River northwest of Fengshan in Guangxi Province, China...
. The coastal extremities stretch from the mouth of the Crogga River
Crogga River
The Crogga River is a river in the Isle of Man.Crogga River issues close to the Mount Murray Hotel and Country Club and meanders slowly downhill into the lake in front of the hotel and then drops to Murray's Lake before becoming the impassable Crogga River Glen on its way down towards Crogga Glen...
at Port Soderick
Port Soderick
Port Soderick is a small hamlet to the south of Douglas, capital of the Isle of Man, once famed for its pleasure grounds and beach. In latter years there have been various attempts to rejuvenate the area, all of which have been unsuccessful to date...
over Santon Head, Port Grenaugh
Port Grenaugh
Port Grenaugh is a bay in the Isle of Man at the end of Glen Grenaugh, Santon and the mouth of an apparently unnamed stream which originates in the Newtown area of the parish by Ballakissack farm....
and Port Soldrick to the mouth of the Santon Burn
Santon Burn
Santon Burn is a water course in the Isle of Man.This small river, or burn, has its origins in the waters of Eairy in the parish of Marown and enters the Irish Sea at Santon Gorge close to Cass-ny-Hawin Head and not far from the bay of Port SoldrickThe course of Santon Burn runs between the...
which rarely encroaches on Santon territory but forms the northwestern (inland) boundary for much of its course.
What the parish lacks in size and good soil is more than compensated by high cliffs, ancient monuments and ruins and breathtakingly beautiful scenery.
All along the Manx coastline, and particularly on the rocky slate headlands of the south, are the remains of promontory forts which date back almost 2,000 years. Four out of more than twenty have been excavated and several, especially in Santon, can be visited using the coastal footpath. All have a rampart on their vulnerable landward side, and excavations at have shown that access to the fort was by a strongly built gate.
The Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
ns who arrived in Mann in the 8th and 9th centuries sometimes re-used these Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
promontory forts, often obliterating the old domestic quarters with their characteristic rectangular houses; the fine example at has been used as the basis of the reconstruction in the House of Manannan.