Sulby, Isle of Man

Sulby
Sulby Methodist Church, A14 Sulby Crossroads
Sulby is located in Isle of Man
Sulby
Sulby
Location within the Isle of Man
Population(2006 Census)
OS grid referenceSC380944
ParishLezayre
SheadingAyre
Crown dependencyIsle of Man
Post townISLE OF MAN
Postcode districtIM7
Dialling code01624
PoliceIsle of Man
FireIsle of Man
AmbulanceIsle of Man
House of KeysAyre
List of places
Isle of Man
54°19′08″N 4°29′24″W / 54.319°N 4.490°W / 54.319; -4.490

Sulby (locally /ˈsðlbiːˈ/; Manx: Sulby) is a village in the Isle of Man. It is 4 miles from Ramsey and is located in the parish of Kirk Christ Lezayre on the A3 Castletown road.[1][2]

Location

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Historically containing the Treen of the Curragh of Kirk Christ Lezayre and the Land of the Monks of Myrosco, the village is situated at the southern edge of the island's northern alluvial plain; north of the island's northern hills; at the point where the Sulby River emerges from those hills.[3]

The old part of Sulby is situated at the junction between the A14 Tholt-y-Will Road and the B9 Claddagh Road (grid reference SC382940). This part of Sulby has a mill and a village green. The main part of the village is situated along the main A3 road between Close-e-Volley and Ginger Hall, centred on its junction with the A14.

Name

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The name Sulby (Old Norse: Sóla-ɓør) ('Soli's farm')), or Súla + bý (farm of the cleft) reflects the Scandinavian influence in Isle of Man place-names.[4]

Facilities

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Sulby has a primary school, a hotel and a large campsite in the river meadow of Sulby Claddagh. It also has a post office, general stores, an inn, a Methodist church, and an Anglican church. The village is dominated by the Sulby River, the Ballamanaugh farm estate, common land of the Claddagh and Cronk (hill) Sumark, which includes the remains of a fort from the Iron Age.

Motor-Sport heritage

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William Dunlop at the Sulby Straight

The Isle of Man is known for the Isle of Man TT motorcycle races which are held each June.

Sulby Straight is recognised as being the fastest straight on the Isle of Man TT circuit.[5]

Sulby village, including the 1.55 kilometres (0.96 mi) Sulby Straight and Sulby Bridge, was part of the 37.50 Mile Four Inch Course for the RAC Tourist Trophy automobile races held in the Isle of Man between 1908 and 1922.[6][7]

In 1911, the Four Inch Course for automobiles was first used by the Auto-Cycling Union for the Isle of Man TT motor-cycle races. This included the Sulby Straight.[8] The course later became known as the 37.73 mile Isle of Man TT Course which has been used since 1911 for the Isle of Man TT Races and from 1923 for the Manx Grand Prix races.[9]

During a practice session for the 2006 Isle of Man TT races, New Zealander Bruce Anstey achieved the unofficial current top speed record of 206 mph (332 km/h) at the end of Sulby straight near the Kella crossroads. This speed value was registered by the on-board data-logging equipment.[10] This unofficial speed record was achieved again in 2015 by the TT competitor James Hillier riding the Kawasaki H2R factory concept bike during a demonstration lap, recorded by onboard Strava data-logging equipment.[11]

Sulby Bridge

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Dean Harrison at Sulby Bridge during TT practice in May 2014

The notorious hump-backed Sulby Bridge on the A3 road located at the eastern end of the Sulby Straight (built c.1815),[12] considered at the time to be the most difficult part of the TT Course for motor-cycle competitors, was removed in 1922-23 by the Isle of Man Highway Board. The road was widened and its profile improved.[13]

The Sulby Bridge was originally built in 1739 as a result of the 1739 Bridges Act to improve access to roads in the Isle of Man.[14] The nearby ‘Five Ton Bridge’ over the Sulby river was built in 1935 on the Sulby Claddagh to replace a ford and footbridge damaged in flooding in September 1930.[15][16]

Sulby railway stations

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The village of Sulby was previously served by the Sulby Glen and Sulby Bridge railway stations until the Ramsey to St. Johns line closed in 1968.

Produce

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ManX Spirit is a clear alcoholic beverage that is distilled from whisky by Kella Distillers Ltd in Sulby.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Daily Express page 70 Thursday 6 June 2002
  2. ^ Place Names of the Isle of Man by John Kneen MA page 545 (1970) Yn Çheshaght Ghailckagh The Scolar Press
  3. ^ Place Names of the Isle of Man by John Kneen MA page 545 (1970) Yn Çheshaght Ghailckagh The Scolar Press
  4. ^ Place Names of The Isle of Man – Da Ny Manninee Dooie Volume Three. Sheading of Ayre: (Kirk Andreas, Kirk Bride and Kirk Christ Lezayre) page 468 Kirk Christ Lezayre by George Broderick – Turbingen ; Niemeyer NE:HST (1997) Manx Place- Name Survey, ISBN 3-484-40138-9 (Gesamtwerk) 3-484-40131-1 (Band 3) ©Max Niemeyer Verlag Tubingen Druck: Weihert-Druck GmbH Darmstadt Einband: Siegfried Geiger, Ammerbuch. " Sulby. A village ct. SC39SE SC38779469")
  5. ^ "Sulby Straight - Isle of Man TT".
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ TT Special page 3 TIMIMG ON THE SULBY STRAIGHT edited by G.S. Davison Friday 9 June 1939
  8. ^ Sunday Express page 106 Sunday 2 June 2002
  9. ^ The History of the Manx Grand Prix page 7, 8, 9 by Bill Snelling Amulree Publishing(1998) Manx Heritage Foundation ISBN 1 901508 04 8
  10. ^ "Motorcycle Daily". Archived from the original on 2 January 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2013. New Isle of Man Top Speed Record (retrieved 12 August 2006)
  11. ^ Hillier hits highest speed on H2R IoM TT.com Official site Retrieved 20 June 2015
  12. ^ Place Names of The Isle of Man – Da Ny Manninee Dooie Volume Three. Sheading of Ayre: (Kirk Andreas, Kirk Bride and Kirk Christ Lezayre) page 469 Kirk Christ Lezayre by George Broderick – Turbingen ; Niemeyer NE:HST (1997) Manx Place- Name Survey, ISBN 3-484-40138-9 (Gesamtwerk) 3-484-40131-1 (Band 3) ©Max Niemeyer Verlag Tubingen Druck: Weihert-Druck GmbH Darmstadt Einband: Siegfried Geiger, Ammerbuch. " …was always called by the old people as ‘the Big Street’")
  13. ^ Isle of Man Examiner and General Advertiser page 12 No 2158 Saturday 12 November 1921
  14. ^ Isle of Man Examiner – Brialtagh Ellan Vannin page 14 & 15 BUILDINGS AT RISK Tuesday 7 May 2019 Isle of Man Newspapers Ltd (2019) Newsprint (Knowsley) Ltd ISSN 1358-4383 “Bridges and head-pennies: a history of our longest river.”
  15. ^ Isle of Man Examiner – Brialtagh Ellan Vannin page 22 & 23 BUILDINGS AT RISK Tuesday 21 May 2019 Isle of Man Newspapers Ltd (2019) Newsprint (Knowsley) Ltd ISSN 1358-4383 “Bridges and their stories – spite, spate and explosives !”
  16. ^ Ramsey Courier page 4 THE ISLANDS WORST STORMS Friday 19 September 1930 “The Floods at Sulby.”
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