Earliest meeting: Monday 14th March 1836
Final meeting: Monday 1st October 1855
Today Great Barr is a suburb of Birmingham in the northern part of the city. Back in the 19th century it would have been more rural and staged what was claimed to be the first steeplechase held in Birmingham. The meeting took place on Monday 14th March 1836 on a flagged 3 ½ mile course over fields owned by Sir Edward Scott (Scott Arms) stretching from Sutton Coldfield to Barr Beacon. Volume II of the Warwickshire Victoria County History records that “A good course was flagged out from Sutton Coldfield in Warwickshire almost to the lofty eminence of Barr Beacon. Hunting people and farmers and miners and iron-workers assembled from all Warwickshire and from the sport loving Black Country.” The Birmingham Observer reported:- ‘Probably many of our readers have been on the Manorial at Barr and will recollect that, in looking towards Birmingham, there is a valley which runs nearly parallel with the road and extends to Queslett. The line was distinctly marked out by red and yellow flags, placed in every fence, about 50 yards asunder.’ The starting place was in a fallow field on Sutton Coldfield side of the valley, about a quarter of a mile from the Beacon … the line continued to a farmhouse on the hill … came to a grass piece near The Horns public house, from whence the run-in was two miles in a straight line towards the Beacon, making a distance of about 3½ miles. There was a 3 race programme with the principal race being the Great Barr Steeplechase which was won by Mount Eagle ridden by Mr F Wallis. A second race, the Warwickshire Stakes, was a match between Manfred, owned by Captain Lamb and ridden by the famous Captain Martin Becher, who beat his only rival Creeper, owned by Mr K Wallis and ridden by Mr Ball. |
| This racecourse is covered, under Barr Beacon, in Volume 1 of Racecourses Here Today and Gone Tomorrow. Ordering details shown below. |
| Local Patrons |
Sir E D Scott, Captain Fendall, Captain King, Captain Lamb |
| Principal Races |
Barr Beacon Stakes, Birmingham Stakes, Walsall Troop Stakes, Scott Cup |
Monday 14th March 1836
The Great Barr Steeplechase over 3 ½ miles
1. Mount Eagle ridden by Mr F Wallis
2. Pharold ridden by Mr Patrick
3. Turpin ridden by Mr Parker |
Further meetings took place on Monday 27th February 1837, over more or less the same ground, and 28th March 1838 when the Scott Cup, for officers of the 5th Dragoon Guards, was won by Spotless ridden by Mr Whitaker. Just a month later, on Tuesday 17th April 1838, a great number of people assembled to witness Birmingham Steeple Races over a 4 mile course in the vicinity of Barr Beacon. The card opened with the Birmingham Stakes, worth £50 to the winner, which went to Captain Fendall’s The Grayling, ridden by Oliver, after a good battle with Lady Teazle and Manfred. The Walsall Troop Stakes which followed saw Sir Edward Scott’s The Shepherd beat Mousetrap and Lofty, while in the principal Barr Beacon Stakes Tom Leedham proved too strong for his rivals. The day ended with a private race between “5 gentlemen from West Bromwich”. The Staffordshire Advertiser praised the gentlemanly conduct displayed, after one of the riders had been unseated at the second fence, the other four stopped to check if he was okay. However, it was not so complimentary about the title of the meeting itself, “Birmingham Steeplechase Races”, saying: “What pretensions Birmingham has to claim these races as its own we know not … we have no hesitation in saying that Walsall and West Bromwich might with better grace, have put in its claim to that honour”. |
| Wednesday 28th March 1838 |
Scott Cup
1. Spotless owned by Mr Whittaker
2. Persiani owned by Captain King
3. Master Robert owned by Mr York
It was recorded that after the meeting the Officers dined at their Birmingham Barracks.
Warwickshire Stakes
1. Creeper owned by Mr K Wallis
2. Manfred owned by Captain Lamb
The winner was ridden by Mr Ball, whilst the runner up was ridden by the more famous Captain Beecher. |
Tuesday 17th April 1838 |
Birmingham Stakes
1. The Grayling owned by Captain Fendall
2. Lady Teazle owned by Mr Parker
3. Deceiver owned by Mr J Pratt
This was the first race to take place over the new course.
Walsall Troop Stakes
1. The Shepherd owned by Captain Sir E D Scott
2. Mousetrap owned by Mr Chawner
Barr Beacon Stakes
1. Tom Leedham owned by Mr W J Goodwin
2. Smallhopes owned by Mr Newman
3. Rose Bud owned by Mr Budd |
Friday 3rd May 1839 was the date of the final meeting. Just two races, both of which were won by the same horse and rider, the horse Jack Robinson, the rider Tom Olliver, one of the greatest steeplechase riders of the mid-19th century. He won the Grand National 3 times – Gay Lad (1842), Vanguard (1843) and Peter Simple (1853). He was also second three times and third once. |
That wasn’t quite the end of Great Barr races. There was a one-off meeting on Monday 1st October 1855, pony racing at Queslett, near The Horns Hotel. The course could possibly have been at the Aldridge Road recreation ground. |
| Course today |
A flagged 3 ½ mile course over fields owned by Sir Edward Scott (Scott Arms) stretching from Sutton Coldfield to Barr Beacon. |
| 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 |
