Greeba Castle is a castle on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

Etymology

The name is derived from Scandinavian: Gnipa, ''a peak''.

Location

The castle is situated in the parish of

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(but close to the boundary with Marown) on the main A1 Peel Road in the

. It is about 1 km east of the hamlet of Greeba and 3 km east of the village of St Johns.

Nearby features

The castle is situated where the main road crosses the watershed between the east and west of the island. The former Douglas to Peel railway line runs parallel to the main road. The surrounding area is mainly farmland, including the Greeba River and the former Greeba Curragh with the nearby summits of Greeba Mountain (422 m) and Slieau Ruy (479 m). Also nearby are the ruins of St Trinian's Chapel.

History

At the base of Greeba Mountain and the Kings Forest, or Greeba Plantation, there are two Victorian castellated residences built in 1849 in an elevated position in the Gothic style, on the site of a property that had been known as Booilrenny (perhaps ''boayl rennee'', "place of the fern"). These houses, Greeba Towers and Greeba Castle, were designed by John Robinson of Douglas, a self-taught architect who designed many properties in the town of

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including the Bank of Mona (now the

Tynwald Tynwald (), or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald () or Tynwald Court, is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It consists of two chambers, known as the branches of Tynwald: the directly elected House of Keys and the indirectly chosen Leg ...

Building), the Falcon Cliff, Douglas Head Hotel and the Derby Castle, all in a castellated style with Gothic influence. The house was originally built for William Nowell, but it was later bought by Edward Windus, the son of a partner of the publisher,

Chatto & Windus Chatto & Windus is an imprint of Penguin Random House that was formerly an independent book publishing company founded in London in 1855 by John Camden Hotten. Following Hotten's death, the firm would reorganize under the names of his busines ...

. The Victorian novelist

Hall Caine Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine (14 May 1853 – 31 August 1931), usually known as Hall Caine, was a British novelist, dramatist, short story writer, poet and critic of the late 19th and early 20th century. Caine's popularity during his lifetim ...

moved to the Isle of Man in 1894 and rented Greeba Castle for a six-month period before residing briefly in

Peel Peel or Peeling may refer to: Places Australia * Peel (Western Australia) * Peel, New South Wales * Peel River (New South Wales) Canada * Peel Parish, New Brunswick * Peel, New Brunswick, an unincorporated community in Peel Parish * Pee ...

. Caine bought the house, in a poor state of repair, in 1896. He lived there until his death in 1931, and it was partly remodelled during that time. According to a folk tale, the owner of Greeba Castle lost the property in a game of cards but built Greeba Towers in front of his former property to block the view of the new owner. Greeba Castle was at one time used as a school.
Manx Museum

Races

The castle is between the 5th and 6th milestone roadside markers on the

Snaefell Mountain Course The Isle of Man TT Mountain Course or ''TT Course'' or ''Snaefell Mountain Course'' or ''Elmo’s Mountain Course'' is a street and Road racing, public rural road circuit located in the Isle of Man, used for motorcycle racing. The motorcycle ''T ...

used for the

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May and June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907 Isle of Man TT, 1907. The event begins on the UK Spring Bank Holiday at the e ...

and

Manx Grand Prix The Manx Grand Prix motorcycle races are held on the Isle of Man TT Course (or ' Mountain Circuit') annually, usually at the end of August and early September. Traditionally the event has been staged over a two week period but this was reduce ...

races. It was part of the

Four Inch Course The Four Inch Course was a road racing, road-racing circuit first used for the 1908 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy (automobiles), 1908 Tourist Trophy Race for cars, held on public roads closed for racing by an Act of Tynwald (the parliament of the I ...

used for the Tourist Trophy car races between 1905 and 1922, and was part of the course used for 1905 International Motor Cycle Cup races.

Sources

External links

{{Castles in the Isle of Man Greeba Castle Castles in the Isle of Man Registered Buildings of the Isle of Man