St George's Church, Isle of Man, Anglican church in Douglas, Isle of Man.
St George's Church is an Anglican church in Douglas, Isle of Man, in the Diocese of Sodor and Man. It stands on high ground on the outskirts of the town, overlooking Douglas Harbour, on land that was then in the Parish of Braddan. The completed building could hold 1,300 worshippers, and its churchyard holds the graves of Sir William Hillary and Nelly Brennan.
Land on a hill above Douglas Harbour, then in the Parish of Braddan, was bought and funded by public subscription; £712 was raised by 1761, but the money ran out after four years and work stopped. Building resumed in 1776 after a further £800 was raised, and the church was consecrated on 29 September 1781. Debts were cleared by charging 25 guineas for a first-class pew and 15 for a second-class one.
The churchyard holds the graves of Sir William Hillary, founder of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, and Nelly Brennan, remembered for her role in cholera outbreaks. A solitary cross marks the open grassed upper area where cholera victims were buried in mass graves in 1832 and 1833.
The church is typically open to visitors from Tuesday through Friday between 9:30 AM and 1:30 PM for exploration. Wheelchair access and a hearing-aid loop system are available to assist visitors with particular needs.
St George's organ was the first installed in any church on the Isle of Man. Made in 1741 by Harris & Byfield, it was bought from the Dublin Assembly Hall in 1778 for £100 by one of the church's trustees. Handel conducted the first performance of Messiah on this organ in Dublin in 1742, and Charles Barrow, grandfather of Charles Dickens, was among its first players.
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