Ballabeg

Ballabeg Manx: Balley Beg
A7 road through the centre of Ballabeg
Ballabeg Ballabeg shown within the Isle of Man
OS grid reference	SC248704
Parish	Arbory
Sheading	Rushen
Crown dependency	Isle of Man
Post town	ISLE OF MAN
Postcode district	IM9
Dialling code	01624
Police	Isle of Man
Fire	Isle of Man
Ambulance	Isle of Man
House of Keys	Rushen

There are several small villages and hamlets with the name Ballabeg in the Isle of Man. The most well-known, and most populous, of these is a village in the parish of Arbory in the sheading of Rushen, in the south of the island near Castletown. The village has the parish church (Kirk Arbory), a Methodist chapel and railway station, served by the Isle of Man Railway. The village also had a tiny shop and Post Office, but this closed in April 2006 and was demolished for rebuilding in January 2009. There are a number of farms nearby.

The name Ballabeg derives from the Manx Balley Beg which means small homestead; although the spelling is different, it is pronounced approximately the same as the English name. Nearby is the "Ball and Bag", a free house which was built by Sir David Mark Jordan, a Victorian army captain who settled there upon his retirement.

It also has Arbory Primary School, serving the villages of Ballabeg and Colby, as well as the outlying areas. The parish church has a large churchyard with many graves dating back at least to the mid-18th century, although there has been a church on the site for much longer. Its most famous occupant is Captain John Quilliam, who steered the Victory as First Lieutenant at the Battle of Trafalgar.

The annual parish festival, Laa Columb Killey, is the parish's main event of the year. It traditionally alternated between Ballabeg and Colby, but in recent years has been held only in Ballabeg. It commemorates the parish's patron saint, Columba. Laa Columb Killey is Manx for St Columba's Day.

Sources

• Manx Archaeological Register, available from the Centre for Manx Studies.