Colby
| |
|---|---|
 Colby Glen | |
  Colby Location within theIsle of Man | |
| Population | 289 |
| OS grid reference | SC233702 |
| Parish | Arbory |
| Sheading | Rushen |
| Crown dependency | Isle of Man |
| Post town | ISLE OF MAN |
| Postcode district | IM9 |
| Dialling code | 01624 |
| Police | Isle of Man |
| Fire | Isle of Man |
| Ambulance | Isle of Man |
| House of Keys | Rushen |
| |
Colby (Manx:Colby) is a small village in the south of theIsle of Man in the parish ofArbory. It lies on theA7 road between the towns ofCastletown andPort Erin and close to the similarly sized village ofBallabeg.
The name Colby is ofScandinavian origin, and is thought to derive from theViking wordscol (meaning hill) andbyr (meaning farm).[1]
The village has arailway station on theIsle of Man Steam Railway and is home to Colby Glen, one of the seventeenNational Manx Glens.[2]
The village is home toColbyFootball Club who play in theIsle of Man Football League and are based at Station Road.
Colby has long been associated withMethodism.John Wesley preached at Balladoole in 1781, invited to do so by a local family. The first Methodist preacher arrived in the village in 1822 and a local house was set up as the Preaching House forPrimitive Methodists.[1] By 1883 two Methodist chapels were built, ColbyPrimitive Methodist Chapel on Main Road which closed in 1950, when the two chapels united and is now a private house. Colby Wesleyan Methodist Chapel on Station Road was also built in 1833.[3]
Colby Glen is a small valley just north of the village, with ash, beech, elm, and sycamore trees. It is 2.0 hectares or 4.9 acres (20,000 m2). The Colby river runs through it. It is one of the officially-listedManx National Glens.