Keppel Gate, Isle of Man
| Keppel Gate | |
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Keppel Gate TT Mountain Course Sign on the A18 Snaefell Mountain Road with a southerly aspect looking towards Slieau Ree and Keppel Gate.
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| Built | 1860–1870, 1922-23, 1992 |
 Location of Keppel Gate in Isle of Man
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Keppel Gate, Isle of Man[1] along with the nearby Kate's Cottage are near to the 34th TT Milestone road-side marker used for the Snaefell Mountain Course situated on the primary A18 Mountain Road in the parish of Kirk Onchan in the Isle of Man.
Contents
Origin of Name
The name Keppel [2] originates from the Scandinavian for Kappafjall (The champion or hero's mountain). This is probably the Scandinavian name for the nearby Slieau Meayll or Slieau Ree mountains.[3]
A18 Snaefell Mountain Road
The A18 Snaefell Mountain Road was developed in the mid-19th century from a number of pre-existing roads, carting-tracks and bridle paths. This included installation of a number of sheep-gates including the East Mountain Gate, the Beinn-y-Phott sheep-gate at Brandywell and Keppel Gate.[4]
The section of the A18 Snaefell Mountain Road from the Gooseneck corner near Ramsey to Keppel Gate was built on common grazing land that were transferred to the UK Crown following the sale of the Island's feudal rights by the Duke of Atholl after the Disafforesting Commission of 1860.[5]
The Keppel Gate section of A18 Mountain Road was subject to road re-surfacing work during the winter of 2006–2007 by the Isle of Man Department of Transport. In August 2009, for the 2009 Manx Grand Prix a section of grass bank was removed from the southern side of Keppel Gate. This was to provide a run-off area after a practice crash by the Australian Isle of Man TT competitor Cameron Donald and a further incident involving a Travelling Marshal, John McBride, at Keppel Gate during the 2009 Isle of Man TT Races. In April 2015, the Highways Section of the Isle of Man Department of Infrastructure instigated a programme of landscaping at Keppel Gate, including the removal of a small grass bank on the north-eastern side of the corner, road re-profiling and re-surfacing work.[6]
Motor-sport heritage
The Keppel Gate section of the A18 Snaefell Mountain Road was part of the 52.15 mile Highland Course (amended to 40.38 miles in 1906) and the 37.50 Mile Four Inch Course used for car racing including the 1904 Gordon Bennett Trial and the RAC Tourist Trophy car races held between 1905 and 1922. In 1911 the Four Inch Course for cars was first used by the Auto-Cycling Union for the Isle of Man TT motorcycle races. This included the Keppel Gate section and the course later became known as the 37.73 mile Snaefell Mountain Course which has been used since 1911 for the TT and from 1923 for the Manx Grand Prix races.
Sources
- ↑ TT Special page 15 Editor G.S.Davison 16th June 1933 "....The view is perfect; not only can we see Kate's Cottage at Keppel Gate, but also the outline of the Snaefell Hotel...."
- ↑ Place Names in the Isle of Man page 126 by George Broderick ISBN 978-3-484-40130-3, "1851 Kippal's Gate, 1956 Keppel Gate....'big-trunk, stock, post hill, or looked like a tree-stump' ON keppa-fjall."
- ↑ Manx Note Book
- ↑ Isle of Man Examiner page 5 dated 5 June 1969
- ↑ Manx Milestones pages 13–17 and pages 57–58 by Stuart Slack (1st Edition)(2003)The Manx Experience ISBN 1-873120-58-3
- ↑ Manx Independent – Manninagh Seyr page 4 Isle of Man Newspapers Ltd (2015) Johnston Press Publishing – Newsprint (Knowlsey) Ltd 4 April 2015
External links
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