Earliest meeting: 14th August 1792
Final meeting: 14th August 1792
The tiny Hampshire hamlet of Battramsley, to the west of the village of Bolde in the New Forest, once held its own steeplechases. The hamlet was listed in the Domesday Book and had its own mill and Manor which was sold to the appropriately named John Mill in 1542. The hamlet also contained Battramsley House which was owned by the Reverend Charles Kingsley, whose son Charles Kingsley wrote The Water-Babies. A further link to racing was that the author Charles Kingsley, had a daughter called Mary St Leger Kingsley. The Loving Cup was the main prize for the feature race on 14th August 1792, the only meeting held in the hamlet.
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
