Michael Sheading
Michael is one of the six sheadings into which the Isle of Man is divided. It comprises the parishes of Jurby and Ballaugh and Michael, all along the western side of the island, north of the Glenfaba Sheading. The 2011 Manx census recorded a population of 3,568 residents.
The sheading is a mainly agricultural area on the west coast of the island. It was until 2016 a House of Keys constituency.
Geography
The sheading stretches from the Irish Sea in the west, inland to Druidale in the east and from Orrisdale in the north to Glen Cam in the south.
There are few settlements here. The main village is Kirk Michael.
There is a coastal strip, about two miles deep, of agricultural land, and the remainder of the parish consists of moorland, of which the highest points are Slieau Freoaghane (1,601 feet), Sartfell (1490 feet), Slieau Curn (1,152 feet) and Slieau Dhoo (1417 feet), together known as the Michael Hills.
The main road running through Kirk Michael village forms part of the Isle of Man TT road race course, on the A3 leading towards Ballaugh Bridge; the section is called the Snaefell Mountain Course.
About the sheading
The main village in Michael Sheading is Kirk Michael, for which the sheading takes its name.
Local areas of interest include:
- Glen Wyllin village and Glen Wyllin itself (the Glen was once the site of a trout farm but the farm was lost due to coastal erosion). Glen Wyllin now has a seasonal camp site.
- Cooildarry Nature Reserve (in the upper part of Glen Wyllin).
- Bishop's Court, the former residence of the Bishop of Sodor and Man but now a private residence, is about a mile north of Kirk Michael village, on the boundary with Ballaugh Parish. The grounds and chapel of Bishop's Court are opened to the public occasionally.
- Bishop's Court Glen, on the other side of the TT course, and shared with Ballaugh, was once the private garden of the Bishop.
- Mount Aeolus, an artificial mound in Bishop's Court Glem, which resembles Tynwald Hill, and The Cave of the Winds. Until 1987 the mound had two cannon on top. The mound was built under Bishop Mark Hildesley to commemorate the victory of Captain Elliot over the French privateer François Thurot off the coast near Ramsey in 1760.
- Cronk Urleigh: a small hillock near Kirk Michael which until 1428 was the site of the Tynwald Courts.
TT course safety devices at the right-hander entering Kirk Michael
The A3 entering Kirk Michael
Outside links
- Isle of Man Building Control Districts showing parish boundaries
- Glenology - Manx Glens. An ongoing study of Manx glens, their locations and meanings.
- GeoHive Census Information
Outside links
- Location map: 54°16’29"N, 4°33’1"W
- Glenology - Manx Glens. An ongoing study of Manx glens, their locations and meanings.
