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From 1608-1697, 200,000 Presbyterians left Lowland Scotland crossing the North Channel to Northern Ireland. Presbyterianism found its way to Ireland by way of Scotland in 1613, and then to the Isle of Man two hundred years later. The Presbyterian Church of Wales (Calvinistic Methodists) was the result of a series of revivals in the Principality which began about 1735. Whether the Church of England should be Episcopal or Presbyterian was decided in Convocation in 1562 in favour of the former by one vote. The basis of the Presbyterian churches was the expatriate Scots communities on the Island, in Douglas and in Ramsey; in Ireland; Tyrone. In Hartland, divided ownership of pews was almost universal in Hartland Church in 1613. The 1613 pew list shows that the Puritan idea of the family pew had not yet permeated as far as Hartland and whether Hartland church really was the sole place of worship for the parish by 1613 or families from the more remote corners of the parish may still have been attending their medieval chapels, or even crossing parish boundaries to attend another church. From very early times the Scots, true to their roving instincts, found a home in the Island. That they were not always welcome is proved by a statute passed in 1422. It would appear that the two communities were not strongly linked - those in Ramsey looking towards the United Secession Church of Scotland whereas those in Douglas looked towards the Lancashire Presbytery. Previous to the yeare 1830, there was no presbyters church in Douglas in connection with the kirk of Scotland although a large room had been for some time previously used as a place of worship. In that year, a subscription was commenced for the erection of a church and manse. Scotch families resident in the Island as with the government, a sum was obtained sufficient to warrant the commencement of these buildings. In the course of the following season, both kirk and manse were erected-the former capable of accommodating three hundred persons and the latter equalling in its accommodations the generality of the manses in Scotland. Before and after the Reformation they would find a spiritual home at first in the Keeills, and later in the Parish Churches. After the Methodists opened their chapels, Presbyterians would find a form of service with which they were fairly familiar. The new church was called St. Andrew's, after Scotland's patron saint. The Presbyterian Church of England is represented in Douglas by the congregation which meets for Divine worship in what is popularly known as St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Finch-road. Dissenters are those who refused to adhere to the rites of the Established Church, e.g. Quakers, Congregationalists and from the 1830's the Methodists. Under this heading are also Roman Catholics though they would accurately claim that it was the Anglican Church that was in dissent! The Baptists, so called from their belief that Baptism should only be administered to adult believers, was an important dissenting sect in England with many members playing key roles in commerce. Another, more liberal dissenting group, the Unitarians, though politically strong in Northern England seemed to have no part in Manx affairs. Two main sects, the Congregationalists and the Presbyterian, were present in Mann from the early 19th Century. Congregationalists, who have their roots in 16th Century England, took their name from the substitution of 'Congregation' for 'Church' by these English reformers. Each Congregation was independent in the management of its own affairs hence the common epithet 'Independents' with some chapels known as 'Independent Chapels'. Presbyterians have a Scottish background and rejected the Episcopal arrangement of the Established church. They were governed by Presbyters in which no higher order than 'Elder' was recognised. However each congregation was governed by its Session (Minister plus Elders) which was subordinate to the Presbytery which was subject to Synod which in turn could be overruled by the General Assembly. Index

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