Kate's Cottage, Isle of Man

Kate's Cottage, Isle of Man a former Mountain Shepherd’s cottage is situated adjacent to the 34th TT Milestone racing road-side milestone marker used on the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course near to Keppel Gate on the primary A18 Snaefell mountain road in Kirk Onchan parish, in the Isle of Man.[1][2]

Kate's Cottage
Coordinates54°12′40.5″N 4°28′37.4″W
Builtc.1870 (Road)
Location of Kate's Cottage in Isle of Man

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 and Nobles Gate at Brandywell and Keppel Gate.[3] This section of the A18 Snaefell Mountain Road from the Keppel Gate to Park Mooar/Park Llewellyn (North Barrule) was built on common grazing land that were transferred to the UK Crown following the sale of the Islands feudal rights by the Duke of Atholl in 1829 and the Disafforesting Commission of 1860.[4]

Origin of name

It has often been alluded to that a BBC commentator mistakenly referred to Tate's Cottage as Kate's Cottage. The name may have originated as a printers typesetting error with the mountain cottage at the Keppel mountain accidentally being transposed to Kate's Cottage during the printing process.[5] The property, formerly owned by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, was sold at public auction and is now in private ownership.

Motor-Sport Heritage

Contemporary photographs of the RAC Tourist Trophy races for automobiles held in the Isle of Man 1905–1922 and the Isle of Man TT races in the 1920’s, show sheep-gates at Kate's Cottage[6] and also at Keppel Gate, with the name Keppel Gate in general referred to both locations.[7]

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[8]) 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.[9]

In 1911, the Four Inch Course was first used by the Auto-Cycling Union for the Isle of Man TT motorcycle races.[10] This included the Keppel Gate section[11] and Kates Cottage[12] and the course later became known as the 37.73 mile Isle of Man TT Mountain Course for motor-cycle racing which has been used since 1911 for the Isle of Man TT and from 1923 for the Manx Grand Prix races.[13][14]

  • Michael Dunlop racing by Kate's Cottage on a demonstration lap during the 2009 TT races, riding an updated version of the 1990s rotary-engined Norton RCW588
  • Kate's Cottage, looking in the opposite direction of a lap of the TT course (vehicles shown on left side of road are going north) with Creg-ny-Baa behind the camera position

Sources
  1. Place Names of The Isle of Man – Da Ny Manninee Dooie Volume Four Sheading of Garff (Kirk Maughold & Ramsey, Kirk Lonan and Kirk Connchan) page 402 Kirk Connchan by George Broderick (1999) Manx Place- Name Survey, Max Niemeyer Verlag Tubingen ISBN 3-484-40138-9 (Gesamtwerk) 3-484-10132-X Druck: Das Weihert-Druck GmbH Darmstadt, Eiband: Siegfried Geiger, Ammerbuch “Kates Cottage…..”
  2. International Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Races and Production Machine Races 3 June 5, 7 & 9 1972 – Official Programme and Guide FIM The World Championship Road Races page 72 Auto-Cycle Union (1972) Fleet Studios London – Charles Frost Ltd
  3. Isle of Man Examiner page 5 dated 5 June 1969
  4. Manx Milestones pages 13–17 and pages 57–58 by Stuart Slack (1st Edition) (2003)The Manx Experience ISBN 1-873120-58-3
  5. Isle of Man Examiner page 5 9th April 1937 "OUR LETTER BOX..."I live in the house known as "Kate's Cottage," but it is a printers mistake as it should be "Tate's Cottage." GEOFFREY RHODES TATE.
  6. TT Special page 15 Editor G.S.Davison 16 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...."
  7. Motocourse History of the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Races 1907–1989 by Nick Harris page 24 and page 100 (1990)(1st Edition) Hazelton Publishing ISBN 0-905138-71-6 "....The Gate is kept open at Keppel Gate during the 1921 Senior TT Race. This part of the Course is now called Kate's Cottage.
  8. TT Pioneers – Early Car Racing in the Isle of Man page 22 Robert Kelly, Mercury Asset Management (1996)(1st Edition) The Manx Experience, The Alden Press ISBN No 1 873120 61 3
  9. Isle of Man Car Races 1904–1953 page 30 by Neil Hanson (2015) Lily Publications ISBN 978-1-907945-36-6
  10. The Manx Experience. A Souvenir Guide to the Isle of Man. page 66-67 Gordon N. Kniverton 8th edition The Manx Experience (1987) Mannin Publishing Ltd
  11. Isle of Man Green Final' page 8 TOURIST TROPHY RACES Saturday 5 May 1962
  12. Daily Express Tuesday 6 June 1972 Supplement page 3
  13. The History of the Manx Grand Prix page 7, 8, 9 by Bill Snelling and Peter Kneale Amulree Publishing(1998) Manx Heritage Foundation ISBN 1 901508 04 8
  14. Isle of Man Times page 8 MANX GRAND PRIX MOTOR CYCLE RACES Saturday 2 August 1952
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