Earliest meeting: August 1705
Final meeting: Monday 7th September 1733
The Staffordshire town of Eccleshall is situated some 7 miles north west of the county town of Stafford and first held races in August 1705. The market town has a Castle which played important roles during two English wars. In 1459, during the War of the Roses, it was used as a safe base for the Lancastrians. Later, during the English Civil War, it was surrounded by Parliamentary forces in June 1643. However, in quieter times the town held races, with Baily’s Racing Register first providing detailed results from the meeting on Thursday 26th August 1728 when Lord Molyneux’s Tickle-me-Quickly won the feature race. However, the ‘County History of Staffordshire’ recorded that there was a meeting at Offley Hay, Eccleshall in August 1705 when the card consisted of two races, one of which was for galloways, and confirmed the meetings were still taking place annually up to 1733. The final record of a meeting included in Baily’s Racing Register was on Monday 7th September 1733. |
| This racecourse is covered in Volume 1 of Racecourses Here Today and Gone Tomorrow. Ordering details shown below. |
| Local Patrons |
Lord Molyneux, Sir R Grosvenor |
| Principal Races |
Eccleshall £25 Plate, Eccleshall 20 Guineas Purse |
Thursday 26th August 1728 |
Eccleshall £25 Plate
1. Tickle-me-quickly owned by Lord Molyneux
2. Nicholini owned by Mr Allen
3. Carlisle Gelding owned by Mr Bainbrigge |
Monday 7th September 1733 |
Eccleshall 20 Guineas Purse
1. Terror owned by Sir R Grosvenor
2. Salisbury Steeple owned by Mr Green |
| The final meeting took place on Monday 7th September 1733. |
| Course today |
At Offley Hay on the outskirts of Eccleshall. |
| 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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| Volume 4 Ireland £9.99 + £3 postage |
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