Quarterbridge (Gaelic: Droichead an Cheathrú) (The Quarters or Quarter Dub: quarterlands of Ballabrooie and Ballaquayle) is situated soon after the 1 mile-marker measured from the

TT Grandstand The TT Grandstand including the startline, pit lane, re-fuellers, merchandising, scoreboard and paddocks for the Isle of Man TT and Manx Grand Prix races is situated on the A2 Glencrutchery Road, in the town of Douglas, Isle of Man. Histor ...

, part of 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 ...

races, at the junction of the primary A1

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

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 ...

road, A2

to Ramsey road and the A5

Port Erin Port Erin ( 'lord's port' or originally 'Irish port') is a seaside village in the south-west of the Isle of Man, in the historic parish of Rushen. It was previously a seaside resort before the decline of the tourist trade. Administratively it ...

road which forms the boundary between the parishes of Braddan and 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 ...

Name

The Quarterbridge forms the boundary between the quarterlands of Ballabrooie and Ballaquayle. A quarterland is an old land division in the Isle of Man, which includes a farmstead or ''Kerroo'' within the quarterland. In this system four of these divisions became a ''treen'' and land rights were entrusted to a landholder, who in turn cultivated one of the quarterlands. The three other quarterlands were rented to freemen paying dues in the form of rents, produce, parish services including the maintenance of a small church or ''keeil'' within the treen.

History

The Quarterbridge spans the River Glass at this point and forms part of the boundary between the parishes of

Braddan Braddan () is one of the seventeen parishes of the Isle of Man. It is located on the east of the island (part of the traditional ''South Side'' division) in the sheading of Middle. Administratively, a small part of the historic parish of Bra ...

and

Onchan Onchan (; ) is a large village in the parish of Onchan (parish), Onchan on the Isle of Man. It is at the north end of Douglas Bay. Administratively a district, it has the second largest population of settlements on the island, after Douglas, Isl ...

. A bridge at this point was washed away during a storm in 1727 and replaced with a two-arched structure 30 yards downstream. The local mason Charles Scott was contracted in 1809 to build a single-arched span across the River Glass on the present alignment for a price of £280. The bridge was extended upstream in 1862 and there was a further extension downstream in the early 1900s. The public house on the site, The Union Hotel, was damaged by fire in 1830 and replaced by the present Quarterbridge Hotel. A gatehouse and nearby Quarterbridge rail-crossing were built in 1873 for the new

Isle of Man Railway The Isle of Man Railway (IMR) is a narrow gauge steam locomotive, steam-operated railway connecting Douglas, Isle of Man, Douglas with Castletown, Isle of Man, Castletown and Port Erin in the Isle of Man. The line is Narrow gauge railway, ...

's Douglas to Peel line. Road widening on the A1 Peel Road during the winter of 1937 included the demolition of the Brown Bobby public house and road work at the Quarterbridge road junction. In the 1930s a distinctive roadside cafe was built in a modular prefabricated concrete Post-Modernist design on the junction with the A2 Quarterbridge Road. During the winter of 1953/54 road widening to the approach to the Quarterbridge occurred for the 1954 Isle of Man TT Races. In 1963 a roundabout was added to the road junction at the Quarterbridge. In winter 1986/87 there was further reprofiling at the Quarterbridge road junction, with a new road traffic system including two mini-roundabouts, and the removal of a traffic island and cherry trees. In July 2008, the

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 ...

announced a £4 million road safety scheme for the road junction, including the building of a new roundabout and the demolition of the Quarterbridge Hotel. In February/March 2011 the Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure modified the junction, including major road resurfacing work, improved drainage, elevation changes and repositioning of pedestrian barriers adjacent to the Quarterbridge Hotel.

Racing

The Quarterbridge was part of the Highland Course and

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 Gordon Bennett Trial and Tourist Trophy car races between 1904 and 1922. The start-line for the Highland Course''TT Pioneers – Early Car Racing in the Isle of Man'' pp 22 Robert Kelly, Mercury Asset Management (1996) (1st Edition) The Manx Experience, The Alden Press ISBN No 1 873120 61 3 was at the Quarterbridge and junction with the A5 ''New Castletown Road'' and the Quarterbridge railway crossing. For the 1906 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy race the Highroad course was amended to a distance of 40.38 miles to prevent disruption to railway services. The start was moved from the Quarterbridge to the road junction of the A2 Quarterbridge Road/Alexander Drive adjacent to the property called 'Woodlands' in the town of Douglas. The startline for the 1908 Tourist Trophy was moved again from the A2 Quarterbridge Road to Hillberry Corner as part of the new

. The 1905 International Motorcycle Cup Races were held in the Isle of Man when the Quarterbridge was used as the start and finish line. The Quarterbridge road junction is part of the Mountain Course used since 1911 for the TT and from 1923 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.

Sources

External links

Map of course

Name

History

Racing

Sources

External links

See also