It is located in the south of the island (part of the traditional South Side division) in the sheading of the same name.
Administratively, part of the historic parish of Rushen, and the majority of the population, is now covered by the villagedistricts of Port Erin and Port St Mary. As a result, there is an exclave of the parish district which includes the Calf of Man.
Other settlements in the parish include Cregneash.
Since the 1880s, two areas of the historic parish of Rushen have been the separate village districts of Port Erin and Port St Mary, each with its own village commissioners.[3][4]
Rushen parish is split between two House of Keys constituencies: Rushen, covering the majority of the parish including Port Erin and Port St Mary, and the Arbory, Castletown & Malew constituency, which covers the eastern part of the historic parish. Each constituency elects two Members to the House of Keys. Before 2016, the whole parish was in the Rushen constituency.
Geography
Rushen parish includes the southwestern extremity of the island, together with the Calf of Man, along with its rocky outcrops Kitterland and Chicken Rock, and encompasses an area of about 10 square miles (26 km2). It stretches along the coast from Strandhall (located about halfway between Castletown and Port St Mary) to the precipices west of Cronk ny Irrey Laa (Hill of the Day Watch, also spelled Arrey), known as the Stacks or the Slogh, covering a distance of 16 miles (26 km). The principal headlands are Kallow Point, Black Head, Spanish Head (350 feet (110 m)), and Bradda Head (766 feet (233 m)); and the main inlets include Port St Mary Bay, Perwick Bay, Bay Stacka, Port Erin Bay, and Fleshwick Bay.
The west of the parish is hilly, extending southwards from Cronk ny Irrey Laa (437 metres (1,434 ft), the highest point in the parish) along the western coast to Lhiattee ny Beinnee, Bradda Hill, Mull Hill, and the Sound, across which the ridge continues onto the Calf.
Port St Mary and Port Erin are the only significant settlements in the area, although they have now expanded to form a single continuous settlement. Cregneash is a small village and folk museum near Mull Hill.[6]
Demographics
The Isle of Man census of 2016 recorded a parish population of 1,537, indicating a decrease of 6% from the figure of 1,629 in 2011.[1] At the time of the 2011 census, 2.64% of the parish population were able to speak Manx Gaelic.
Rushen Internment Camp in World War Two
Rushen was repurposed as a detention camp during World War II, accommodating over 3,500 women and children. These internees, considered "enemy aliens," included many refugees who had previously fled persecution in Europe.[7][8]
The camp, which operated from 30 May 1940 to September 1945, was the only civilian camp on the island which held women and children as civilian internees.[9] Some of the detainees were lodged with local families, while others were housed in requisitioned boarding houses. The male detainees were held in Douglas.[9]
