Lonan (parish)

Lonan is a parish on the eastern coast of the Isle of Man, in the sheading of Garff and also in the Keys constituency of Garff.

The parish contains the villages of Laxey (formerly in a separate village district, and still a separate ward of Garff) and Baldrine.

The parish extends from Port Groudle in the south to the Snaefell mines and Brandywell Corner (on the TT course to the east of Beinn-y-Phott), a distance of some 6 miles (10 km), and contains an area of 15 square miles (39 km²). It is an upland district, being hilly and barren, and dropping sharply into the sea, with the exception of a few small deep, sheltered glens. The highest point in the parish is Mullagh Ouyr (near Snaefell) at 491 metres (1,611 ft). Its coastline is high and rocky, and broken by several headlands and small bays. The main headlands are Laxey Head, and Clay Head; and the bays are Bulgham Bay, Laxey Bay, Garwick, and Port Groudle. The only significant valleys are Laxey Glen, a popular tourist site, extending from the Snaefell mines to the sea and Glen Roy, which leads into Laxey Glen at Laxey village.

The parish church, All Saints Church, is at Boilley Veen (not marked on most maps, but grid reference 430830). It was built in the 19th century as a more conveniently located substitute for the ancient structure of St Adamnan's Church. This 19th century church closed in October 2014 owing to lack of funds for maintenance, leaving Lonan with no parish church. However according to the parish website, the church is currently (November 2016) open.

Henry Skillicorne, a Bristol sea captain who was later instrumental in developing the spa waters at Cheltenham was born at Ballaragh in this parish in 1678 or 1679.

The population of Lonan parish in the 2011 census was 1,533.

The current Captain of the Parish is Captain Jack Faragher CP.

In May 2016, the parish of Lonan merged for local administrative purposes with Laxey and Maughold to form the Parish District of Garff.