The Tynwald Garden 15th– 16th century
The History
The relationship between church and state was symbolised by the presentation on Tynwald Day to the Lord of Man of the three Reliques of Man (thought to have been pastoral staffs belonging to saintly bishops of old). This period saw the Lords of Man (a title which passed to the Stanleys in 1406) beginning to curb the power of the church by requiring the bishop and five other ecclesiastical barons to swear fealty to him in person or forfeit their temporal rights. By 1540 the monasteries were dissolved and only the Bishop retained his barony.
The Design
There is a spiral pathway to the summit of the snail mound which acts as a viewing point over the gardens. The mound draws its inspiration from mounds popular in Elizabethan gardens, two of the most famous being at Sir Thomas Tresham’s unfinished garden at Lyveden New Bield in Northamptonshire. The mound also echoes Tynwald hill, with a flat surface at the top which has the beginnings of three sculptures representing the ‘reliques’ and the conflict between church and state. The slopes of the mound are covered with Hypericum (St. John’s Wort), providing an additional link to Tynwald located at nearby St John’s. That village takes its name from the church of St John the Baptist whose feast day is 24th June.
Today
Tynwald still meets in the open air at St John’s on July 5th (old Midsummers Day) with the clergy still playing a part in the ceremony. Worn in a button hole is Bollan Bane (Mugwort) associated with St John. Mugwort can be found in the Abbey garden.