Ballabeg

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There are several small villages and hamlets with the name Ballabeg in the Isle of Man.

The name Ballabeg derives from the Manx Balley Beg which means small farm, although the spelling is different it is pronounced the same as the English Ballabeg.

Of the several Ballabegs in the Isle of Man the most well-known, and most populous, is a village is the south of the Island near to Castletown. The village is famed for its tiny shop and Post Office (closed in April 2006), Parish Church (Kirk Arbory), Methodist Chapel and railway station, served by the Manx steam railway. It also has Arbory Primary School, serving the villages of Ballabeg and Colby, as well as the outlying areas. Its largest house is Parville, a large residence with landscaped grounds in the centre of the village. The Parish Church has a large churchyard with many graves dating back at least to the mid-1700s, although there has been a church on the site for much longer. Its most famous occupant is Captain John Quilliam, who steered the "Victory" at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Every two years a parish festival, Laa Columb Killey, is held in the parish of Arbory. This festival alternates between Ballabeg and Colby, and is in commemoration of the parish's patron saint, Columba. Laa Columb Killey is Manx for St. Columba's Day.

There is another Ballabeg located six miles north of the capital, Douglas, close to the town of Laxey. The hamlet only consists of a farm and a handful of houses but is also famed for its beautiful little tram station which celebrated its centenary in 2005. When the Manx Electric Railway was built through Ballabeg in 1894 an ancient Celtic keeill and adjoining burial ground were discovered. The keeill was known as Keeill Killanne, shortened to Kilkillane and gives its names a nearby stream known as Strooan ny Carlane / Kilane and a house in the hamlet called Kilan. No known traces of the keeill survive today. Many lintel graves were found at the site, while it is believed that the bodies were exhumed and removed, while a large wooden cross and plaque, since removed, marked the site for many years.

A small white cottage, known as the schoolhouse, still stands in Ballabeg next to the site of the former keeill. The building was used as a schoolhouse, religious chapel and social cottage where the locals would gather to play music and tell stories. Today it is currently being used as a wearhouse.

[edit] Sources

Manx Archaeological Register, available from the Centre for Manx Studies (Laare-Studeyrys Manninagh)