Earliest meeting: November 1853
Final meeting: Tuesday 27th November 1855
The Oxfordshire village of Waterperry, near the River Thames and some 7 miles east of Oxford, can be traced back to before Saxon times. The village contains Waterperry House which is a 17th century mansion. In the middle of the 19th century the village held its own series of races under rules, the first of which took place in November 1853 and was deemed so successful that it was repeated two years later. The final meeting took place on Tuesday 27th November 1855 over three miles of good hunting ground, complete with a good variety of fences which included four large, thick doubles. The main event was a Match between Fire King and The Sweep, both celebrated hunters much renowned in the locality. Fire King, ridden by Sparks, made the early running with The Sweep, ridden by Euoch, content to sit in behind. Despite falling twice, The Sweep succeeded in winning by several lengths.
Tuesday 27th November 1855
Waterperry Match over 3 miles
1. The Sweep, bay horse owned by Mr Charles Symonds
2. Fire King, bay gelding owned by Mr Joseph Tollit
I am grateful to Ordnance Survey (© Crown Copyright) for permission to use the map shown below.
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The final meeting took place on Tuesday 27th November 1855.
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
