Governor's Bridge (formerly known as ''Heywood's Bridge'' or the ''Deemster's Bridge'') is a hairpin bend adjacent to a road junction on the primary A18 Mountain Road in the parish of

Onchan Onchan (; glv, Kione Droghad) is a village in the parish of 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, with w ...

in the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

, with a sudden drop in elevation leading to ''Governor's Dip'', followed by a left-hand bend and finally a right exiting on to the main Glencrutchery Road. The Governor's Bridge road junction and hairpin bend are part of the

Snaefell Mountain Course The Isle of Man TT Mountain Course or ''TT Course'' is a street and public rural road circuit located in the Isle of Man, used for motorcycle racing. The motorcycle ''TT Course'' is used principally for the Isle of Man TT Races and also the sep ...

used since 1920 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/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907 Isle of Man TT, 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing ...

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') every year for a two-week period, usually spanning the end of August and early September. New for 2022 is a period reduction from 14 to 9 days ...

Races. This junction was part of the

Clypse Course The Clypse Course describes a motor-cycle racing course used for the Isle of Man TT Races between 1954 and 1959. The course is long and is in the parish of Onchan in the Isle of Man. The course uses two short sections of the Snaefell Mounta ...

for the TT races between 1954 and 1959. It is also part of the

Willaston Circuit The Willaston Circuit is a 3.5-mile road racing course on the Isle of Man used for cycle racing and classic car racing. The inaugural race was in 1936 and the course was last used in 2000 by the Manx Motor Racing Club before the foot & mouth ...

used for cycle racing, classic car racing and used as part of a timed special stage for the

Rally Isle of Man Rally Isle of Man (previously the ''Manx International Rally'' and formerly the ''Manx Trophy Rally'') is a car rally competition held in the Isle of Man. It was first held in 1963, and later became a well-known event in the British Open Rally C ...

. For the

1920 Isle of Man TT Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Musi ...

Races, changes were made to the Mountain Course and competitors then turned left at Hillberry, continuing uphill at Cronk-ny-Mona following the primary A18 Mountain Road to Governor's Bridge, with a new start/finish line on Glencrutchery Road which lengthened the course to 37¾ miles. Guy Martin Govenor's Bridge

This included the creation of a new link road at Governor's Bridge on the primary A2 Ramsey to Douglas Road between the road junction of the newly created A18 Bemahague road (from Governor's Bridge to Signpost Corner), the A2 Governor's Road/Glencrutchery Road and Victoria Road in Douglas. The new A2 link road effectively redirected the main road traffic and created the ''Governor's Dip'' bends off the primary A2 road which was used as part of the Snaefell Mountain Course for motor-cycle racing. The new link road also created a small wooded glen on the site which is known for its distinctive

horse-chestnut ''Aesculus hippocastanum'', the horse chestnut, is a species of flowering plant in the maple, soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large, deciduous, synoecious (hermaphroditic-flowered) tree. It is also called horse-chestnut, Europe ...

trees. For the

1954 Isle of Man TT The 1954 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the second race in the 1954 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season and proved highly controversial for TT Course and race changes. The 1954 Junior TT was the first race where the official race distance was ...

races, the approach to Governor's Bridge on the A18 Bemahague Road was widened with the removal of a grass bank to facilitate turning of the wider sidecar outfits in the re-introduced

Sidecar TT The Sidecar TT is a motorcycle-with-sidecar road race competition held over two legs which takes place during the Isle of Man TT festival, an annual event at the end of May and beginning of June. Between 1954 and 1976 this race was part of the Gra ...

on the

Exiting Governor's Dip from Governor's Bridge

During October 2007 the Isle of Man Department of Transport began road widening at Braddan Bridge, further around the Mountain Course exiting Douglas, additionally creating a roundabout. The Department of Transport also announced a proposal to build a new section of road for the Mountain Course with a link road from Signpost Corner to Governor's Bridge using the pre-existing A18 Bemahague Road. This road widening scheme occurred between February and April 2008,''Isle of Man Examiner'' 5 February 2008, p.5 with the removal of trees on the Bemahague Estate (which includes

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries. Gover ...

, the official residence of the

Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man The Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man ( gv, Fo-chiannoort Vannin or ''Lhiass-chiannoort Vannin'') is the Lord of Mann's official personal representative in the Isle of Man. He has the power to grant royal assent and is styled "His Excellen ...

) and the creation of a small mini-roundabout. Further work by the Isle of Man Department of Transport in July and September 2008 included the installation of a storm drain and the completion of the mini-roundabout. The Isle of Man TT Races and Manx Grand Prix continue to use the original A18 Bemahague Road (designated as ''Old Bemahague Road'' which runs parallel to the new link road) and the ''Governor's Dip'' for motorcycle racing, avoiding the new road sections.

Sources

External links

Images of alterations to Governors Bridge area as approached from The Nook
(clickable thumbnails)
Competitor Guide Sections Signpost Corner to Grandstand
with

Steve Hislop Robert Steven Hislop (11 January 1962 – 30 July 2003) was a Scottish motorcycle racer. Hislop won at the Isle of Man TT eleven times, won the British 250cc Championship (1990) and British Superbike championship (1995 and 2002). Hislop die ...

, 11 times TT winner
TT Spectator Guide Section Creg-ny-Baa to Governor's Bridge

Map of course
{{coord, 54, 10, 18, N, 4, 28, 06, W, display=title, region:IM_type:landmark Governor's Bridge