Kirk Braddan

About our parish and the Isle of Man

The ecclesiastical parish of Braddan in the Isle of Man is about 6 miles long and 2 miles wide, and lies to the south and west of the town of Douglas, the capital of the Island, which is on the east coast. The parish includes the Anagh Coar, Ballaughton and Farmhill suburbs of Douglas, as well as the villages of Union Mills and Kewaigue within a rural area stretching from the coast at Douglas Head to Mount Rule.

The ancient parish of Braddan was larger, and included much of the urban area of Douglas, as well as the remote East and West Baldwin valleys. It comprised the Douglas parishes of St George's, St Barnabas' (now merged with St George's), St Matthew's, and parts of St Thomas' and St Ninian's, which were established in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Baldwin area, including the chapel of St Luke's, was transferred to the ecclesiastical parish of Marown in 1978.

According to the 2001 Isle of Man Census the population of the parish is 7,250, an increase of 11% over 1996 (6,521). For a breakdown of the population click here.

The Isle of Man — The Diocese of Sodor and Man

The Isle of Man is about 32 miles long and 12 miles wide, and lies in the Irish Sea between England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (Lat 54° 10´ N, Long 4° 30´ W). With a population of about 70,000, it is an autonomous dependency of the British Crown outside the United Kingdom, and has its own government and its own parliament, called "Tynwald".

The island forms a separate diocese of the Church of England, with its own bishop, within the province of York. The diocese is called "Sodor and Man", and the bishop bears the title "Bishop of Sodor and Man": this recalls the time, before the 14th century, when the Isle of Man and the western isles of Scotland (the Sudrys in Old Norse) formed a single kingdom and bishopric. The cathedral church of the diocese is at Peel on the west coast. Isle of Man Parishes and their Churches and Chapels Diocesan Bishop and other officials Isle of Man benefices and their patrons Rural deaneries

Photograph © Peter Killey
www.manxscenes.com