St John's
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|---|---|
  St John's Location within theIsle of Man | |
| OS grid reference | SC277818 |
| Parish | German |
| Sheading | Glenfaba |
| Crown dependency | Isle of Man |
| Post town | ISLE OF MAN |
| Postcode district | IM4 |
| Dialling code | 01624 |
| Police | Isle of Man |
| Fire | Isle of Man |
| Ambulance | Isle of Man |
| House of Keys | Glenfaba & Peel |
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St John's (Manx:BalleyKeeill Eoin) is a small village in the sheading ofGlenfaba in theIsle of Man, in the Island's central valley.[1] It is in theHouse of Keys constituency ofGlenfaba & Peel, which elects two MHKs.[2]
Tynwald Hill, the original assembly place for the Isle of Manparliament,Tynwald, is the scene of the annual ceremony in which the laws of the Isle of Man are promulgated inEnglish andManx, usually[3] on 5 July.Tynwald Day attracts thousands of spectators to watch the ceremony and participate in the Tynwald Fair.
Tynwald Day, 5 July, corresponded to St John's feast day by theJulian calendar, which was the date held to be midsummer day; so Tynwald Day was a midsummer fair.[4]
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The Anglican church in the village is dedicated to St John and the village takes its name from the church. Within the church are reserved seats with name plaques for members of both branches of the Manx parliament, whilst in the adjacent church hall is an exhibition detailing the history of Tynwald.
The village is dominated bySlieau Whallian, a steep hill to its south. TheTynwald National Park (also known as the Arboretum) is situated on the east side of the village.[5]
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 theLord of Mann, whilst the recovery fee for reclaimed animals was shared equally between the Lord of Mann and the pound official, the "pindar".[6] Also displayed on that site are large stones from a 2300 BC burial chamber found locally.
The main commercial venture of the village is Tynwald Mills, which claims to be the only department store in the island.[7]
The village is on theA1Douglas toPeel road. It is also close to the junction with theA3, which leads in a southerly direction to Foxdale and Castletown, and northerly to Kirk Michael, Ballaugh, Sulby and Ramsey. It is thus conveniently located for access from all parts of the Island (even before these roads were built), which is believed to have been a consideration in the original location of Tynwald here.
Thevillage's railway station has long since closed. In its day it was a major railway junction, in the context of the Isle of Man: it was on theIsle of Man Railway (Peel line), theManx Northern Railway and theFoxdale Railway. The trackbed of the Isle of Man Railway is now used as a footpath, named the Steam Heritage Trail.
Since 2003, the former St John's School building has been used by theBunscoill Ghaelgagh (theManx language primary school).