The Lincolnshire village of Corby Glen lies in the South Kesteven district of the county and is about 9 miles south east of Grantham and 8 miles north west of Bourne. Its church of Saint John the Evangelist dates from the 12th century and, at one point, the village had a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, but it closed in 2012. At one time the village was just known as Corby, although this caused confusion, particularly to rail travellers who often mixed up the village with the town of the same name in Northamptonshire. When the Northants Corby rapidly expanded with a steel works, the Lincolnshire Corby agreed to a name change to Corby Glen. The village boasts two pubs, the Fighting Cocks and Woodhouse Arms and it is likely that the former was the location for Ordinaries during race days. The village had its own oval racecourse to the north east of the village, midway between the village and nearby Irnham Hall. The racecourse was shown on maps between 1800 and 1870, although by the 1880s it was no longer included, suggesting that it was no longer operational.
Whilst it is clear that races were held on the racecourse for a prolonged period, only one record remains to confirm racing meetings were held. On Friday 10th August 1804 the Stamford Mercury advertised a meeting to be held on Corby Race Ground on Tuesday 9th October 1804 with the main event being a Five Guineas Sweepstake run in 3 heats over 2 miles open to 4-y-o carrying 10st 6lbs, 5-y-o carrying 11st 4lbs, 6-y-o carrying 11st 12lbs with aged horses allotted 12 stone. The nominated Clerk of the Course was Joseph Wright, while the Stewards and Subscribers were Mr J E Arundell, Mr J Brown and Mr William Holdsworth. Nominations closed on 26th August 1804 when subscription fees had to be paid to the Clerk of the Course. There was also a Pont Race and people were invited to hold their own Matches on the day of the main race. Although the Jockey Club, as we know it, was formed in 1727, it did not set universal rules for all UK racecourses until much later, so Mr J E Arundell was given the task of adjudicating in case of disputes. An Ordinary was held in the village on race day, most likely at the Fighting Cocks.
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
