Ballakilpheric | |
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Ballakilpheric. Looking down the road leading to Colby | |
Location within the
Isle of Man | |
Crown dependency | Isle of Man |
Post town | ISLE OF MAN |
Postcode district | IM |
Police | Isle of Man |
Fire | Isle of Man |
Ambulance | Isle of Man |
Ballakilpheric ( Manx: Balley Keeill Pherick; [1] meaning "settlement of St Patrick's church") is a small village in the parish of Rushen (recently amalgamated with Arbory for administrative purposes) in the southwest of the Isle of Man, 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) northwest of the larger village of Colby, and 8 kilometres (5 mi) by road northeast of Port Erin. It is the main settlement on the B44 road. The small Colby River flows to the east of the village, [2] and forms the boundary with Arbory parish. Ballakilpheric Methodist Chapel lies at the top of the hill.
There were several Neolithic stones in the vicinity. [3] At the Ballakilpheric Standing stone site (grid reference 222716), in 1878 four stones were still standing together in a crescent, but by 1900 there were two, 10 ft (3.0 m) tall and 28 ft (8.5 m) apart and now there is just one. [4] An Early Bronze Age flat axehead was unearthed in a field near Ballakelly Cottage in the village in 1975; it is currently part of the Manx National Heritage Collection. [5] An archaeological find of early medieval artifacts in the area is known as the Ballakilpheric hoard. [6]
Ballakilpheric Methodist Chapel is situated at the top of a hill.[ citation needed] There is a large white house called Burn Brae, past Ballakilpheric Farm, [7] and another large house called Belle Abbey House. [8]
A traditional harvest festival is held at Ballakilpheric Methodist Chapel in September. [9] The Manx Gaelic language singing group Caarjyn Cooidjagh released a CD entitled Ballakilpheric. The album features traditional songs from the Isle of Man. [10]