Earliest meeting: Monday 26th April 1886
Final meeting: Monday 17th April 1911
Eridge Park has a long history and can trace its roots back to 1066 when it became owned by the Neville family. They later became the Marquesses of Abergavenny and the Park and House became their home. The Park is located on the Crowborough to Tunbridge Wells road and was made famous in 1753 when Queen Elizabeth I stayed at Eridge Park Hunting Lodge for 6 days whilst travelling through Kent and Sussex. In 1792 the Second Earl of Abergavenny converted the old house on the estate into a gothic Castle and renamed it Eridge Castle. The West Kent Woodland Hunt came into being in 1870 and hunted mainly in the Tunbridge Wells area of the county. In the latter part of the 1800s the Hunt became known as the Eridge Hunt and broadened their interest beyond foxhunting and into racing. The Eridge Hunt Steeplechases, although known as the West Kent Hunt meeting at this stage, were run on the Eridge Castle estate at Steel Bridge Farm. The inaugural meeting took place on Monday 26th April 1886. Principal races at that meeting were the West Kent Woodland Hunt Cup and the Eridge Plate. For the next 3 years the races continued under the West Kent name, but in 1889 they were renamed the Eridge Hunt meeting. That first meeting of the Eridge Hunt was held on Monday 22nd April 1889, meetings continuing, with some lapses, until 1911 when the meeting was held on 17th April of that year. The 1912 meeting was cancelled due to a coal strike, meaning the final official meeting was the one held on Monday 17th April 1911, although Bona Fide meetings continued afterwards..
Monday 26th April 1886
West Kent Woodland Hunt Cup over 3 miles
1. Chance, aged horse owned by Mr J Dashwood
2. Unique, 5 year old owned by Mr Iquique
3. Birling, 6 year old owned by Mr J Edgeworth
Betting: 2/1 Chance, 3/1 Unique, 5/1 Birling
The final official meeting took place on 17th April 1911, although Bona Fide meetings continued afterwards.
BONA-FIDE MEETING
The term 'bona-fide' means actual or real, and solved an issue which arose between point-to-point winners and horses which won under National Hunt Rules. The National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup, a race run more often than any other at the Cheltenham Festival, was first contested in 1860 at Market Harborough, and was held at various racecourses which no longer exist as 'official' racecourses. It was staged in 1862 at Market Harborough again, and at Bedford (1867 & 1868), Burton Lazars (1871 & 1901) which gives a flavour of where it was run. However, from 1911 it has been staged at Cheltenham as part of the Cheltenham Festival. When considering entries, it was found there was an anomaly between point-to-point winners and National Hunt racecourse winners, and that National Hunt winners were precluded. However, to overcome this problem, the National Hunt Committee stated that winners at Bona-fide meetings were not considered to be a victory, and therefore did not disqualify entry. This led to a number of courses, Eridge and Aldershot amongst them, choosing to adhere to National Hunt Rules, yet calling themselves 'Bona-Fide meetings' to ensure that winners were not barred from entering races like the National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup. In 1923, for example, Grafton Hunt, Eridge Hunt, West Norfolk Hunt, Herefordshire Hunt, Union Hunt, and later Aldershot held their meetings under National Hunt Rules using the banner 'Bona-Fide meeting'. The term was also extended to ensure that local farmers horses contested key races by stating that only 'bona-fide farmers horses' could take part, essentially ring-fencing races to local runners.
Eridge Castle was demolished prior to the start of the Second World War so that a modern house could be built instead.
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
