Earliest meeting: Monday 13th August 1838
Final meeting: Wednesday 11th September 1850
Werneth Low provides wonderful, panoramic views of the Cheshire market town of Hyde and its surrounding towns and villages. In the mid-1800s Werneth Low held its own series of race meetings, the first of which took place on Monday 13th August 1838. At an initial meeting of 40 gentlemen from Hyde, held at the Queen Arms in Newton Moor, the sole agenda item was the organisation of Werneth, Hyde and Compstall races. They discussed a new course which was to be established by Messrs. S and I Perrin, implying that there had been earlier races in the town. The races were conveniently held during Hyde Wakes week, for Hyde had a week when the local workmen, particularly those working in the linen industry, had a week off. The races stretched over 3 days and were held in fields on Werneth Low, directly in front of what is today the Hare and Hounds Inn. The location is very isolated and, in those days, people would either have to arrive by carriage or walk, but newspaper reports suggest that a crowd in excess of 6000 did attend the inaugural meeting. The racecourse must have been one of the most dangerous in the country because no part of the course was level, and the vast majority of it was on a steep slope. Reports suggest a number of horses slipped and there was at least one fatality. Over the next 12 years the course changed a number of times, moving closer to Hyde or Compstall when changes were made. However, there was always a party atmosphere, and the day included many stalls and sideshows as well as the odd unscrupulous bookmaker. In the final few years of the races the course bordered Werneth Hall Farm and Cowlishaw Brow. The final meeting, a 3 day meeting, took place between the Monday 9th and Wednesday 11th September 1850, before the course then returned to farmland.
I am grateful to Ordnance Survey (© Crown Copyright) for permission to use the map shown below.
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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
