Kirk Braddan Parish Profile www.welcome.to/kirkbraddan Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 1 Needs of the parish ................................................................................................................................................... 1 The diocese and the wider church ....................................................................................................................... 1 Benefice ....................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Parish ........................................................................................................................................................................ 2-3 Churches and other buildings ........................................................................................................................... 4-6 Church services ...................................................................................................................................................... 7-8 Other members of the team ................................................................................................................................... 8 Parish representation ............................................................................................................................................... 9 Administration ............................................................................................................................................................ 9 Ecumenical activities ................................................................................................................................................. 9 Parish organisations ......................................................................................................................................... 10-12 Financial statement ................................................................................................................................................ 13 Vicarage .................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Introduction The diocese and the wider Church The Isle of Man – where you can… The Bishop is increasing the emphasis on Mission in the diocese. He is replacing the Kirk Braddan, set in the Parish of Braddan in three rural deaneries with four wider mission- the diocese of Sodor and Man is located to focussed groupings of parishes, called the west and south of Douglas, the capital of "mission partnerships". the Isle of Man and has a lot to offer our new incumbent: Braddan is part of the Eastern Mission Partnership, and the new incumbent will be A gifted and supportive team. expected to take part in the life of this Church buildings in reasonable repair, community of parishes. with work in hand. Congregations which are very appreciative. Committed lay members. A parish which has great potential and good relationships with the community. Needs of the parish To continue the development of different styles of worship. To encourage the various organisations within the Church to see themselves as part of the Body of Christ. To develop the Church‟s outreach to and involvement in the overall life of the parish with a particular focus on young people and families living in the local housing estates. Since the Millennium the main focus has been on fund-raising for new indoor toilets, a second hall and store-rooms, to provide facilities for the parish and outside community. There is now a great need to provide for the corporate and individual spiritual growth of the people of the parish. 1 Benefice is currently a proposal to transfer the former area to Santon. Patronage There is also a proposal to transfer the The benefice of Braddan is in the gift of the Kewaigue area in the south-east of the parish Bishop of Sodor and Man. (including the small Ellenbrook residential estate, Kewaigue school and Douglas Head) Pastoral reorganisation to the parish of St Matthew, Douglas. There are currently no proposals for pastoral Population reorganisation affecting the benefice. According to the 2011 Census the population Parish of the parish is 8,105, most of whom live in the suburban areas. The Anagh Coar area Geography comprises a council estate managed by Douglas Corporation and some private The ecclesiastical parish of Braddan in the Isle housing. The Ballaughton and Farmhill areas of Man is about 6 miles long and 2 miles are all private housing. There are small areas wide, and lies to the south and west of the of mixed private and public housing at Union town of Douglas, the capital of the Island, Mills and the Strang, and several areas of which is on the east coast. The parish housing for first-time-buyers. includes the Anagh Coar (pronounced “Anna-ker”), Ballaughton (pronounced “Bal- Employment AFF-ton”) and Farmhill suburbs of Douglas, as well as the village of Union Mills within a rural The population is mostly employed in area stretching from the coast at Douglas Douglas, but there are industrial estates Head to Mount Rule. (principally warehousing and retail) off Peel Road and Cooil Road, a business park off Boundary changes Cooil Road, and some light industry at Union Mills and Tromode. A small proportion of the The ancient ecclesiastical parish of Braddan population is employed in agriculture. was larger, and included most of the borough of Douglas, as well as the remote East and Education West Baldwin valleys to the north. It comprised the Douglas parishes of St The parish includes the state primary schools George's, St Barnabas' (now merged with St at Braddan, Kewaigue, Ballacottier, Anagh George's), St Matthew's, St Thomas' and part Coar and Saddlestone (“Scooil Vallajeelt”). of St Ninian's, which were established in the The incumbent and a supporting team hold 19th and early 20th centuries. The Baldwin regular school assemblies at all those schools area, including the chapel of St Luke's, was using a Scripture Union Ministry Trust transferred to the ecclesiastical parish of (“SuMT”) recommended “Open the Book” Marown in 1978. series. Part of an isolated housing development at Most secondary pupils attend Ballakermeen Mount Murray, to the south-west, is in this High School (co-educational comprehensive) parish and part is within Santon parish. There in Douglas. 2 Local government The Anagh Coar, Ballaughton and Farmhill suburbs are within the borough of Douglas, and the rest of the ecclesiastical parish, including the churches and vicarage, is part of the parish district of Braddan. In recent years a civic service for Braddan Parish Commissioners is held in October/November. Hospitals and homes The new Noble‟s Hospital complex, a NHS general hospital, is within the parish; the former incumbent was (and remains) the hospital chaplain, but it is understood that different arrangements will be made in future. The parish includes Springfield Grange, a large privately residential and nursing home, and Thie Meanagh, a State-run nursing home. Regular services are held at these homes. 3 Churches and other buildings The parish church (Kirk Braddan) The parish church, known as Kirk Braddan, is on the corner of Peel Road and Saddle Road, about ½ mile from the edge of Douglas. Like its predecessor, it is dedicated to St Brendan. The chancel floor is of marble and was designed by Mackey Hugh Baillie Scott. The church contains some fine 19th and early- 20th century stained glass, including 5 of the 7 windows of the chancel apse. Designed by John Loughborough Pearson (1817-1897) in the Early English style, it is a large, pleasant building, built in local pale-red clay brick, with windows, pillars etc. in York stone, and faced outside in local stone. The building is of a simple form, with a nave and Burials in the church and church grounds are north and south aisles, a north transept (fitted prohibited by law. The war memorial in the out as a war memorial chapel in 1952) and grounds, to the south-east of the church, was an apsidal chancel with a high arch and no originally erected in 1921 at the junction of rood screen. The vestry is an undercroft Saddle Road and Peel Road, and was beneath the chancel (the site sloping steeply subsequently moved to its present position. from west to east). The church was built by The tower, on the south side of the chancel public subscription and consecrated on 31st opposite the transept, has a bell-chamber but August 1876. no bells. It originally had a wooden spire, which was blown down in a gale in 1884, re- erected, and again blown down in 1886. J L Pearson in 1888 designed a steep gable roof 4 to replace the spire, but it was never constructed. The organ is housed at the foot of the tower. It is entered in the Protected Buildings Register, and maintained by the Friends of Old Kirk Braddan. It now houses several Celtic and Norse crosses from the period 800-1265, The former parish church (Old Kirk which were found in the parish. Braddan) The present parish church replaced the former parish church on a nearby site which has been used for religious purposes since the earliest times. Rebuilt in 1777 and also dedicated to St Brendan, hence the name of the parish. The names of many of the 17 ancient parishes of the Isle of