Earliest meeting: 9th August 1833
Final meeting: Friday 9th August 1850
The Worcestershire village of Alvechurch is a large village in the Bromsgrove district of the county, close to Redditch. The land on which the village was built was given to the church by King Offa, and the Bishop of Worcester built a palace in the village. The village lies in the valley of the River Arrow and once had its own racecourse which was on a 10 acre site on the outskirts of the village towards Birmingham. The earliest meeting took place on 9th August 1833 with a programme consisting of Hurdle, pony and Galloway races. There was a lapse in racing for some years before it was re-introduced on Wednesday 2nd August 1848. After the races a Dinner was served at the Crown Inn by Mr & Mrs Penzer. The final meeting took place on Friday 9th August 1850 when the opening Scurry Stakes was won by Little Fanny, while the Hurdle Race saw Mr Page’s mare beat Mr Spicer’s chestnut mare and Jim Crow. |
| This racecourse is covered in Volume 1 of Racecourses Here Today and Gone Tomorrow. Ordering details shown below. |
| Patrons |
Mr Harrison, Mr Page (Stewards) |
| Principal races |
Alvechurch Scurry Stakes, Alvechurch Hurdle |
Friday 9th August 1850
Alvechurch Scurry Stakes
1. Little Fanny, brown mare owned by Mr Page
2. Jim Crow, bay mare owned by Mr Harrison
3. Unnamed chestnut mare owned by Mr Spicer |
| The final meeting took place on Friday 9th August 1850 and, like the Palace, all evidence has now vanished from the countryside. |
| Course today |
On a 10 acre site on the Alvechurch to Birmingham road. |
| If you have photos, postcards, racecards. badges, newspaper cuttings or book references about the old course, or can provide a photo of how the ground on which the old racecourse stood looks today, then email johnwslusar@gmail.com |
Much of the information about this course has been found using internet research and is in the public domain. However, useful research sources have been:-
London Illustrated News
Racing Illustrated 1895-1899
The Sporting & Dramatic Illustrated
Northern Turf History Volumes 1-4 by J.Fairfax-Blakeborough
The Sporting Magazine
A Long Time Gone by Chris Pitt first published in 1996 ISBN 0 900599 89 8
Racing Calendars which were first published in 1727 |
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ISBN 978-0-9957632-0-3
652 pages
774 former courses |
ISBN 978-0-9957632-1-0
352 pages
400 former courses |
ISBN 978-0-9957632-2-7
180 pages
140 former courses |
ISBN 978-0-9957632-3-4
264 pages
235 former courses |
| Copies of the above books are only available by emailing johnwslusar@gmail.com stating your requirements, method of payment (cheque payable to W.Slusar) or Bank transfer, and the address where the book(s) should be sent. |
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