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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2018}}
[[File:Greeba Castle - geograph.org.uk - 105936.jpg|thumb|right|Greeba Castle, Isle of Man]]

'''Greeba Castle''' is a castle on the [[Isle of Man]].

==Etymology==
The name is derived from [[North Germanic languages|Scandinavian]]: Gnipa, ''a peak''.<ref>''Place Names of the Isle of Man'' by [[John Kneen]] MA pp.396 (1970) Yn Çheshaght Ghailckagh The Scolar Press</ref>

==Location==
The castle is situated in the parish of [[German (parish)|German]] (but close to the boundary with Marown) on the main [[A1 road (Isle of Man)|A1]] Peel Road in the [[Isle of Man]]. It is about 1 km east of the hamlet of Greeba and 3 km east of the village of St Johns.

==Nearby features==
The castle is situated where the main road crosses the watershed between the east and west of the island. The former Douglas to Peel railway line runs parallel to the main road. The surrounding area is mainly farmland, including the Greeba River and the former Greeba Curragh with the nearby summits of Greeba Mountain (422&nbsp;m) and Slieau Ruy (479&nbsp;m). Also nearby are the ruins of [[St Trinian's Church|St Trinian's Chapel]].
==History==
At the base of Greeba Mountain and the Kings Forest, or Greeba Plantation, there are two Victorian castellated residences built in 1849 in an elevated position in the Gothic style, on the site of a property that had been known as Booilrenny (perhaps ''boayl rennee'', "place of the fern"). These houses, Greeba Towers and Greeba Castle, were designed by John Robinson of Douglas, a self-taught architect who designed many properties in the town of [[Douglas, Isle of Man|Douglas]] including the Bank of Mona (now the [[Tynwald]] Building), the Falcon Cliff, Douglas Head Hotel and the Derby Castle, all in a castellated style with Gothic influence.<ref>''Manx Sun'' June 1890 {{full citation needed|date=June 2016}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=June 2016}} The house was originally built for William Nowell, but it was later bought by Edward Windus, the son of a partner of the publisher, [[Chatto & Windus]].<ref>''Hall Caine: A Victorian Romancer'' by Vivian Allen, Sheffield University Press: Sheffield, 1997, p.225</ref> The Victorian novelist [[Hall Caine]] moved to the Isle of Man in 1894 and rented Greeba Castle for a six-month period before residing briefly in [[Peel, Isle of Man|Peel]]. Caine bought the house, in a poor state of repair, in 1896. He lived there until his death in 1931, and it was partly remodelled during that time.<ref>''An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Isle of Man'' by David T.Webber Revised by Frank Cowin and F.J.Radcliffe page 68 (1997) The Manx Experience The Alden Press, Oxford. {{ISBN|1-873120-25-7}}</ref>

According to a folk tale, the owner of Greeba Castle lost the property in a game of cards but built Greeba Towers in front of his former property to block the view of the new owner. Greeba Castle was at one time used as a school.<ref>[https://www.imuseum.im/search/collections/archive/mnh-museum-103895.html] Manx Museum</ref>

==Races==
The castle is between the 5th and 6th milestone roadside markers on the [[Snaefell Mountain Course]] used for the [[Isle of Man TT]] and [[Manx Grand Prix]] races. It was part of the [[Four Inch Course]] used for the [[RAC Tourist Trophy|Tourist Trophy]] car races between 1905 and 1922, and was part of the course used for 1905 International Motor Cycle Cup races.

==Sources==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{Mountain Course}}
{{Isle of Man Racing Circuits}}

{{coord|54|11|35|N|4|35|20|W|display=title|region:IM_type:landmark}}{{Castles in the Isle of Man}}
[[Category:Roads in the Isle of Man|Greeba Castle]]
[[Category:Castles in the Isle of Man]]
[[Category:Registered Buildings of the Isle of Man]]