This guest book can be found inside The Parish Church of St. John the Baptist, The Royal Chapel in the village of St. John's.
The Parish Church of St. John the Baptist, which is also known as The Royal Chapel is unique amongst Manx churches at not only is it the Parish Church of the village of St. John's, but it is also the National Civic Church for the Island. The Tynwald Church is where the Chapel-Court of Tynwald, the Manx Parliament, meets every year on 5th July, Tynwald Day.
The church is one of the five parish churches in the Parish of the West Coast on the Island. The church holds its regular Sunday service at 11.00 each Sunday.
On Tynwald Day the church building serves two functions. It is the consecrated building used for the religious service that it an integral part of the Tynwald Day ceremonies, later it also acts as a Court House. The Tynwald Benches can be seen in the Chapel of the church, with named seats being marked for the Lieutenant Governor, The Tynwald President and The Tynwald Speaker. (Waymarks for The Tynwald President and the Lieutenant Governor can be found at the following links: (
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The precise history of the site of the church are unclear however is strongly believe that it was the site of an earlier Christian Chapel or Keeill. During the demolition of the previous church the remains of a runic cross dating from around 950 AD. This artefact is on display at the entrance to the church via the South porch. More on this cross fragment can be found at the following links: (
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The current church building which dates from the late 1840’S was designed by Richard Lane and built by Benjamin Lane, both form Manchester in northwest England. The building is Early English Gothic in style and is faced with granite from South Barrule. The chancel steps are of Poolivaaish Marble.
The church has an impressive 85-foot tower above the west door which leads to the processional way which links the church to Tynwald Hill. The tower contains a working clock more details of which can be found at the following link: (
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On the walls of the church are many framed pictures of coats of arms. These are arms are of the successive Lords of Man and the successive Lieutenant Governors from the Isle of Man Purchase Act 1765. Examples can be found at the following links: (
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Other coats of arms displayed in the church are the Tynwald arms on the front of the balcony. See the following link for details: (
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As noted above the church is a site of national ceremony and commemoration and consequently there are a series of memorials dedicated to those who died in the service of their country during both World Wars. See the following links for examples:
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The Manx National War Memorial is situated to the north side of the processional way between the church and Tynwald Hill.
Another noteworthy feature of the church are the stained glass windows which depict biblical sense, characters and saints. For further information can be found at the following link: (
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The church also boasts a fine organ built by R Jackson & Sons of Liverpool and costing £150. It was first installed in the west gallery of the Chapel on 7th March 1852. (
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Last but by no means least there is the finely carved Communion Table dedicated to the memory of the late Lord Bishop Thornton-Duesbury. (
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