Keppel Gate, Isle of Man () is part of a former UK HM Commissioners of Woods and Forest estate, including a series of former highway mountain gates. It is now

Common land Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

in public ownership and is one of three purpose built former Crown Road sections of the A18 Snaefell Mountain Road 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 ...

races. The area of Keppel Gate including a nearby private residence of Kate's Cottage at the adjacent 34th TT Milestone road-side marker is located between the 4th Milestone and 5th Milestone road-side markers on the primary A18 Snaefell Mountain Road in the parish district of Kirk Onchan in 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 ...

Location and description

The ridge line of Keppel Gate is part of a large area of former Crown Commons grazing mountain land known as 'Slieau Lhoost.' It is an area of uncultivated upland Mountain Land adjacent to the mountain summits of Slieau Ree () at a height of above sea-level and the nearby hillside of Slieau Meayl (). The area of Keppel Gate and Slieau Ree mountain consist of acid grassland, heath and hillside fell with views of Baldwin Valley in the parish of Kirk Braddan and the nearby Beinn-y-Phott Mountain.

Area of Special Scientific Interest

The Isle of Man Wild Life Act (1990) permits order the foundation of different types of "Areas of Special Scientific Interest" in the Isle of Man for wildlife, land, coastal or marine environments. This includes sections of the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...

sub-montane heath found on different sections of Mountain Lands in the Isle of Man as a

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

community "priority habitat", as described by Annex 1 of the EU Habitats Directive and also the UK Guidelines for Selection of Biological Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI's). The heath and heather moorland of the Northern Uplands of the type found at Keppel Gate, including Slieau Ree Mountain and Kate's Cottage is an Area of Specific Scientific Interest (ASSI) and further nearby sections of mountain land at Keppel Gate are defined as a "biodiversity" and a upland conservation "hot-spot."

Origin of the name

There are a number of alternative

etymologies Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

for the meaning of the name for Keppel Gate ( archaic ''Kippal Gate''). The name may have originated from () "....the road to the summit...." or from ''Kapall'' meaning a

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

or ''nag'' from

Late Latin Late Latin is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the 3rd to 6th centuries CE, and continuing into the 7th century in ...

'caballus' or . Additional meanings is that the name Keppel Gate originates from the Scandinavian for (The Champion or Hero's mountain). or old Norse ) "Kippal Gate, 'big-trunk, stock, post hill, or looked like a tree-stump'" The name 'Gata' is adopted from Scandinavian meaning a farm lane, path or road. It is also found in Northern England as '-''gata'' as a street name from

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

such as

Deansgate Deansgate is a main road (part of the A56) through Manchester City Centre, England. It runs roughly north–south in a near straight route through the western part of the city centre and is the longest road in the city centre at over one mil ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

Micklegate Micklegate is a street in the City of York, England. The name means "Great Street", "gate" coming from the Old Norse ''gata'', or street. Micklegate is described by York City Council as "one of the most handsome streets in Yorkshire", and was d ...

in the city of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

adopted as the

homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are either; '' homographs''—words that mean different things, but have the same spelling (regardless of pronunciation), or '' homophones''—words that mean different things, but have the same pronunciat ...

'gate' meaning a street, road or land for grazing.

A18 Snaefell Mountain Road

The section of the A18 Snaefell Mountain Road from Keppel Gate to Park Llewellyn near the Gooseneck corner,

Ramsey Ramsey may refer to: Companies *Ramsey (retailer), Turkish clothing retailer People * Ramsey (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Ramsey (surname), including a list of people with the surname * Baron de Ramsey, a title i ...

was built on former Crown Commons and Commoners allotments mountain grazing land. This land was purchased by the UK Crown following the sale of the feudal rights held by the former

Lord of Mann The Lord of Mann () is the lord proprietor and head of state of the Isle of Man, currently King Charles III. Before 1504, the title was King of Mann. Relationship with the Crown Since 1399, the King of Mann, kings and lords of Mann were ...

, the 3rd Duke of Atholl after the Act of Revestment in 1765 and sale of remaining property and manorial rights passed on to his son

John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl, KT, PC, FRS (30 June 1755 – 29 September 1830), styled Marquess of Tullibardine from 1764 to 1774, was a Scottish peer. Life and career Murray was the eldest son of John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl, and his ...

for £417,144 in 1824. The A18 Snaefell Mountain Road reflects typical 19th century highway and railway construction practices. Built over a period of time in the Nineteenth century from a number of horse paths, ancient rights of way of the ''Regiam Viam'' (Royal Way) (archaic, ) and a series of pre-existing carting-tracks and incomplete stone mountain paths which traversed mountain land, peat bogs and hillside sections. The Keppel Gate section is situated between the 4th milestone and 5th milestone markers on the A18 Snaefell Mountain Road of the small and larger metal 'Garrow' type of markers from the period of James Garrow as Survey-General of Isle of Man Highways and Roads. The Disafforesting Commission of 1860 allowed for the sale of parcels of land in 1863 for the purpose of building and fencing of new mountain road sections on Crown Common lands partly financed by the land sales and by a financial contribution from the HM Commissioners of Woods and Forest. The Ordnance Survey of 1867-8 shows a further section of road built in the period of 1864-66 from the Creg-ny-Baa corner that traversed the steep 'Keppel' or Slieau Ree mountain which dominates this area of the A18 Snaefell Mountain Road to the site of a former Shepherd's Hut near to Kate's Cottage. The new 'Keppel Gate Road' by-passed a section of the former right of way ()''A Manx Scrapbook. Number One of the Manx Scrapbooks'' page 144 page W. Walter Gil (1929) J. W. Arrowsmith, Bristol now part of public footpath to the Windy Corner on the A18 Snaefell Mountain Road. The Crown Commons land at Keppel Gate (known as 'Slieau Lhoost' or ''the Cairns'') of 1,165 acres was purchased from the HM Commissioners of Woods and Forest by the Isle of Man Government for a price of £2,000 in 1933 for the purpose of fencing of the A18 Snaefell Mountain Road and the removal of two mountain gates at Keppel Gate for the 1934 Isle of Man TT races. The remaining HM Crown Common lands were purchased by the Isle of Man Common Lands Board for the Isle of Man Government in 1947. The tenancy for hill-sheep grazing at Keppel Gate was operated by the Mountain Shepherd G. Rhodes Tate from 1926 including a further grazing tenancy at Beinn-y-Phott mountain and with his wife Gladys Tate occupied Keppel Gate Cottage or 'Tate's Cottage,' now known as 'Kate's Cottage.'

Motor sport heritage

The Keppel Gate section of the A18 Snaefell Mountain Road was part of the 52.15 mile

Highland Course Highroads Course was a road-racing circuit used for the Gordon Bennett British Eliminating Trial held in the Isle of Man for the 1904 and 1905 Tourist Trophy Race involving touring automobiles and cars. The events were held on public roads clos ...

(revised to 40.38 miles in 1906) used for automobile racing including the 1904 Gordon Bennett Trial and the RAC Tourist Trophy car races held between 1905 and 1907. The course was modified again in 1908 as the 37.50 Mile

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 ...

for the RAC Tourist Trophy car races held in the Isle of Man between 1908 and 1922. In

1911 Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...

the Four Inch Course was first used by the Auto-Cycling Union for the

motorcycle races. This included the Keppel Gate section and the course later became known as the 37.73 mile

Isle of Man TT 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 public rural road circuit located in the Isle of Man, used for motorcycle racing. The motorcycle ''TT Course'' i ...

for motor-cycle racing which has been used since 1911 for the

and from 1923 for the "Mountain Course" for the

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.

Keppel Gate redevelopment 1921–1922 and the Isle of Man TT races

The Auto-Cycle Union proposed in 1921 to move the

Races to the Continental

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), informally referred to as Spa, is a Race track, motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about southeast of Spa, Belgium, Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One ...

in Belgium. After an offer made by the Belgium Government the move was considered by the Auto-Cycle Union due to financial reasons, organisational problems and criticism of the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course. In response to the problems with the Isle of Man TT Course highlighted by the Auto-Cycle Union, the Isle of Man Highway Board redeveloped large sections of A18 Snaefell Mountain Road. This included the often criticised very narrow section of road from the Windy Corner to Keppel Gate. The old stone mountain track from near Slieau Lhoost Quarry adjacent to Windy Corner across the mountainside to Keppel Gate was subjected to substantial redevelopment and landscaping during the period 1921-23 including the removal of the old Keppel Gate corner for the

1922 Isle of Man TT The 1922 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy introduced a new race, within a race, for 250 cc motorcycles called the Lightweight TT, to be run concurrently with the already-established Junior 350 cc that took place on Tuesday 30 May, and Seni ...

Races.

Road safety

The section of A18 Snaefell Mountain Road from the ''Thirty-Third Corner'' to near Keppel Gate was widened and road-side fence post relocated below road level for the

1947 Isle of Man TT The 1947 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the first race festival since 1939 due to the interruption of World War II. With the restart of racing, the ACU decided to add three Clubman-class races for production machines in Lightweight, Junior and S ...

Races after a fatal accident to Peter M. Aitchison a competitor during the

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

Senior Manx Grand Prix. A road-works construction scheme by the Highways Division of the Isle of Man Department of Highways, Ports and Properties occurred during the winter months of 1991-92 when the A18 Snaefell Mountain Road was closed between the Windy Corner and Keppel Gate to replace the tarmacadam foundations built during the early 1920s. The Keppel Gate section of A18 Mountain Road was subject to road re-surfacing work during the winter of 2006–2007 with a high-grip 'Shell-mac' road surface for road-racing by the Isle of Man

Department of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

. In August 2009, before the 2009 Manx Grand Prix, a section of grass bank was removed from the southern side of Keppel Gate to provide a run-off area after an evening practice crash by the Australian Isle of Man TT race winner Cameron Donald and a further incident involving a TT Travelling Marshal, John McBride, 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 corner, including the removal of a section of grass bank on the north-eastern side of the corner, road re-profiling, re-structuring and re-surfacing work.''Manx Independent – Manninagh Seyr'' page 4 Isle of Man Newspapers Ltd (2015) Johnston Press Publishing – Newsprint (Knowlsey) Ltd 4 April 2015 ISSN 1358-4391

Sources

External links

{{Isle of Man Racing Circuits Keppel Gate