Name

House of Keys

Description

The lower house of the Manx legislature, comprising twenty-four members. Originally a body summoned to hear and affirm the law as declared by the Deemsters — 'a jury rather than a Legislature' in Walpole's phrase — the Keys evolved by the mid-sixteenth century into a law-making body initiating statutes, levying duties, and setting the Book of Rates. Members were not elected by popular vote until 1866; when a member died, the remaining Keys nominated two candidates and the Governor chose one. Membership was for life. The Keys' Resolution of March 1765, signed by sixteen members, appointed commissioners 'to preserve the inherent and Constitutional Rights of the People of this Isle, as much as in them lies.' The Keys spent £3,153 of their own money across forty-five years defending Manx constitutional rights. In 1853, the Keys admitted their own self-elected status was constitutionally indefensible. The House of Keys Election Act of 1866 introduced popular election. Women property-holders gained the vote in 1881 — the first territory in the British Empire to include women in the electorate for a national legislature.

Active Period

c.979–present

Place

Castletown (historic); Douglas (modern)

Period

Norse Kingdom

Stanley Lordship

Atholl Lordship

Crown Administration

Modern Era

Type

Legislature

Lower House

Book Chapter

Chapter 7

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 16

Chapter 18

Part Of

Tynwald