St. John's, Isle of Man
Encyclopedia
The village of St John's is a small village on the A1 Douglas
to Peel road in the central valley of the Isle of Man
.
Tynwald Hill, the original assembly place for the Isle of Man parliament
, Tynwald
, is the scene of the annual ceremony when the laws of the Isle of Man are proclaimed in English
and Manx
every July 5. Tynwald Day
attracts thousands of spectators to watch the ceremony and participate in the Tynwald Fair.
The Anglican church in the village is dedicated to St John and the village and parish are named for the church. Within the church are reserved seats with name plaques for members of both chambers of the Manx parliament, whilst in the adjacent church hall is an exhibition detailing the history of the Tynwald. The village is dominated by , a steep hill to its south. The Tynwald National Park (also known as the Arboretum) is situated on the north side of the village.
Opposite the church is the site of the ancient pound where stray animals were placed until claimed. If unclaimed after a year and a day they became the property of the Lord of Mann
, whilst the recovery fee for reclaimed animals was shared equally between the Lord of Mann and the pound official. Also displayed on that site are large stones from a 2300 BC burial chamber found locally.
Since 2003, the former St John's School building has been used by the (the Manx language
primary school).
Douglas, Isle of Man
right|thumb|250px|Douglas Promenade, which runs nearly the entire length of beachfront in Douglasright|thumb|250px|Sea terminal in DouglasDouglas is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,218 people . It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and a sweeping...
to Peel road in the central valley 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...
.
Tynwald Hill, the original assembly place for the Isle of Man parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
, Tynwald
Tynwald
The Tynwald , or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It is claimed to be the oldest continuous parliamentary body in the world, consisting of the directly elected House of Keys and the indirectly chosen Legislative Council.The Houses sit jointly, for...
, is the scene of the annual ceremony when the laws of the Isle of Man are proclaimed in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Manx
Manx language
Manx , also known as Manx Gaelic, and as the Manks language, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, historically spoken by the Manx people. Only a small minority of the Island's population is fluent in the language, but a larger minority has some knowledge of it...
every July 5. Tynwald Day
Tynwald Day
Tynwald Day is the National Day of the Isle of Man, usually occurring on 5 July.On this day the Isle's legislature, Tynwald, meets at St John's, instead of its usual meeting place, Douglas. The session is held partly in the Royal Chapel of St John the Baptist and partly in the open air on the...
attracts thousands of spectators to watch the ceremony and participate in the Tynwald Fair.
The Anglican church in the village is dedicated to St John and the village and parish are named for the church. Within the church are reserved seats with name plaques for members of both chambers of the Manx parliament, whilst in the adjacent church hall is an exhibition detailing the history of the Tynwald. The village is dominated by , a steep hill to its south. The Tynwald National Park (also known as the Arboretum) is situated on the north side of the village.
Opposite the church is the site of the ancient pound where stray animals were placed until claimed. If unclaimed after a year and a day they became the property of 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...
, whilst the recovery fee for reclaimed animals was shared equally between the Lord of Mann and the pound official. Also displayed on that site are large stones from a 2300 BC burial chamber found locally.
Since 2003, the former St John's School building has been used by the (the Manx language
Manx language
Manx , also known as Manx Gaelic, and as the Manks language, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, historically spoken by the Manx people. Only a small minority of the Island's population is fluent in the language, but a larger minority has some knowledge of it...
primary school).