Rushen Abbey | |
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![]() Some of the remains of Rushen Abbey | |
Religion | |
Affiliation | Cistercian (dissolved in the 16th century) |
District | 13Ŀ |
Ecclesiastical or organizational status | museum |
Year consecrated | 1134 |
Location | |
Location | Ballasalla, Isle of Man |
Architecture | |
Type | Abbey |
Completed | 1257 |
Materials | stone |
Rushen Abbey is a former abbey on the Isle of Man, located in Ballasalla. Originally home for monks of the Savignac order, [1] it soon came under Cistercian control and remained so until its dissolution. The abbey is located two miles (three kilometres) from Castle Rushen, the politically most important site on the island in medieval times. Both these sites are on the Awin Rosien, a river now called the Silver Burn.
The abbey was founded in 1134, under Óláfr Guðrøðarson's control. He granted the land to Savignac monks from Furness Abbey. In 1147 the abbey came under Cistercian rule following the merging of the Savignac and Cistercian orders. The abbey church dedicated to St Mary was completed in 1257. The abbey was dissolved in the 16th century.
In 1853 the Isle of Man Government bought Rushen Abbey with the intention of turning it into a lunatic asylum, but it was never used for such a purpose, and in 1864 an Act was passed revoking the sale. [2]
In the early 1900s, the abbey ruins became a popular tourist destination, famous for the strawberries and cream served in its gardens. After falling into disrepair after World War II, the abbey was acquired by Manx National Heritage in May 1998, and restorations have now been made. Soon afterwards, excavations began, and archaeologists discovered more about the monks' way of life and practices.
The abbey is now a heritage centre (part of the "Story of Mann") with a building containing artefacts and telling the history of Rushen Abbey and the surrounding area. The remains of the original abbey have been restored and walkways constructed to allow visitors to get a close look. Between April and October the abbey is open to the public and an admission fee is payable. Before accessing the abbey gardens, visitors must walk through a museum that explains the role of the abbey. There is interactive, audio and video material available. At the end of the exhibition, there is an area designed for children, allowing them to build an arch and discover the monastery's history in a way that is more appealing to them. The centre is advertised to children with the phrase "Monky business".
The Chronicle of Mann was compiled at Rushen Abbey, as were many other important documents relating to the island. The abbey is significant in this respect, as it would have been the centre of knowledge and literacy on the island.
Monks from Rushen Abbey would sometimes have farms in the north of the island. A packhorse bridge was built in around 1350 to allow the monks to cross the nearby Silverburn River. Known today as The Monks' Bridge (or The Crossag), it is one of few surviving packhorse bridges in the British Isles.
St Michael's Isle, more commonly referred to as Fort Island, is an island in Malew parish in the Isle of Man, noted for its attractive ruins. It covers an area of 5.14 hectares, is about 400 metres long from west to east, and is connected to the Langness Peninsula, near Derbyhaven, by a narrow causeway. The island itself is made of rocky slate and the soil is very acidic. Nevertheless, it has important communities of maritime plants.
Castletown is a town in the Isle of Man, geographically within the historical parish of Malew but administered separately. Lying at the south of the island, it was the Manx capital until 1869. The centre of town is dominated by Castle Rushen, a well-preserved medieval castle, originally built for a Viking king.
Peel is a seaside town and small fishing port in the Isle of Man, in the historic parish of German but administered separately. Peel is the third largest town in the island after Douglas and Ramsey but the fourth largest settlement, as Onchan has the second largest population but is classified as a village. Until 2016 Peel was also a House of Keys constituency, electing one Member of the House of Keys (MHK), who, from September 2015, was Ray Harmer. Peel has a ruined castle on St Patrick's Isle, and a cathedral, seat of the Diocese of Sodor and Man.
Port Erin is a seaside village in the south-west of the Isle of Man, in the historic parish of Rushen. It was previously a seaside resort before the decline of the tourist trade. Administratively it is designated as a village district, with its own board of commissioners. The district covers around 1 square mile, and is adjacent to: Port St Mary to the south-east; the main part of Arbory and Rushen parish district to the north and east; the sea to the west; and an exclave of Arbory and Rushen parish district to the south. Following recent residential expansion, the settlement is now contiguous with that of Port St Mary, and on 18 July 2018 Tynwald authorised a public enquiry into the proposed expansion of the district boundary to include some of this expansion.
Furness Abbey, or St. Mary of Furness, is a former Catholic monastery located to the north of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The abbey dates back to 1123 and was once the second-wealthiest and most powerful Cistercian monastery in the country, behind Fountains Abbey, prior to its dissolution during the English Reformation. The abbey contains a number of individual Grade I Listed Buildings and is a Scheduled Monument.
Ballasalla is a village in the parish of Malew in the south-east of the Isle of Man. The village is situated close to the Isle of Man Airport and 2 miles (3 km) north-east of the town of Castletown.
Manx National Heritage is the national heritage organisation for the Isle of Man. The organisation manages a significant proportion of the island’s physical heritage assets including over 3,000 acres of coastline and landscape. It holds property, archives, artwork, library and museum collections in trust for the Manx nation. It is the Isle of Man's statutory heritage agency and an Isle of Man registered charity (№ 603).
Cregneash or Cregneish is a small village and tourist destination in the extreme south-west of the Isle of Man, about 1 mi (2 km) from Port Erin. Most of the village is now part of a living museum run by Manx National Heritage. There are also a number of private homes in the village, but their external appearance is controlled to maintain an older look. The village was also home to prominent Manx language speakers, Edward Faragher and Ned Maddrell.
Rushen is one of the six sheadings of the Isle of Man.
Malew is one of the seventeen parishes of the Isle of Man.
Ballasalla railway station is located in the village of Ballasalla in the south of the Isle of Man, close to the airport, and is served on a seasonal basis by the Isle of Man Railway. It forms part of the sole remaining section of the once extensive network that operated across the island. Ballasalla was the usual crossing point for trains, making it popular with photographers, until the introduction of the 2015 timetable which saw all trains passing at Castletown and the effective closure of Ballasalla as a staffed station, save for special events.
Castle Rushen is a medieval castle located in the Isle of Man's historic capital, Castletown, in the south of the island. It towers over the Market Square to the south-east and the harbour to the north-east. The castle is amongst the best examples of medieval castles in Europe and is still in use as a museum and educational centre.
The Chronicles of the Kings of Mann and the Isles or Manx Chronicle is a medieval Latin manuscript relating the early history of the Isle of Man.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Isle of Man:
William Russell was a fourteenth-century Cistercian prelate. He appears to have begun his career as a Cistercian monk at Rushen Abbey on the Isle of Man (Mann), ascending to the rank of abbot there, before being elected Bishop of Mann and the Isles (Sodor). After traveling to Continental Europe for confirmation and consecration, avoiding a trip to the metropolitan in Norway, he returned to the Irish Sea as a legal bishop. A few things are known of his episcopate, particularly his activities in England and a series of provincial statutes apparently promulgated under his leadership.
The Silver Burn or Silverburn River is a small river, about five miles (8 km) long, on the Isle of Man which rises near the South Barrule and flows south. It passes St Mark's and in its lower reaches it flows under the Monks' Bridge at Ballasalla, and reaches the sea at Castletown harbour. Just above Ballasalla, the burn runs through wooded Silverdale Glen, a site which the Manx National Trust acquired in 1966.
Simcocks Advocates is a British law firm based in the Isle of Man. It is one of the Island’s leading offshore legal practices.
Fairy Bridge, Isle of Man is a small bridge over the Santon Burn in the Isle of Man, located on the primary A5 Port Erin to Douglas road, at grid reference 305720, on the parish boundary between Santon and Malew. A superstition associated with the Fairy Bridge is that passers-by must greet the fairies as they cross it; it is considered bad luck not to greet them.
Silverdale Glen is a National Glen and recreational area near the village of Ballasalla in the parish of Malew on the Isle of Man. The recreation site consists of a small boating lake, café, playing fields, and a playground with a Victorian water-powered carousel.