Archive Record
UNITED RACECOURSES (HOLDINGS) LTD: RECORDS, 1768-1984. INCLUDING THE RECORDS OF EPSOM GRANDSTAND ASSOCIATION, 1768-[1969], SANDOWN PARK, 1889-1968; KEMPTON PARK, 1938, 1969; AND UNITED RACECOURSES, 1966-1968
Reference Number: 3434
Descriptive Information about the Record (click to expand)| Provenance |
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| Deposited by the Secretary to United Racecourses (Holdings) Ltd in July 1987.
The records are primarily the archive of Epsom Grand Stand Association and were held at Epsom racecourse, in the offices of the Secretary to United Racecourses (Holdings) Ltd which controls Epsom, Sandown Park and Kempton Park racecourses. A small number of records of United Racecourses, which was formed in 1965, were deposited, together with certain records of United Racecourses' other two courses, Sandown Park and Kempton Park, which were held at the Epsom office.
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| Introduction |
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| Organised horse racing on Epsom Downs seems to have begun in the seventeenth century. The Oaks was first run in 1779 and the Derby in 1780. By the early nineteenth century there was one permanent stand, Prince's Stand. In 1828 Charles Bluck leased one acre of the manorial waste from John Briscoe, lord of the manor, to build a grandstand. In Dec 1828 Epsom Grand Stand Association was established to buy out Bluck's lease and E W Trendall, architect, built the stand, which was in use, although unfinished, for the 1829 Derby. The affairs of the Association were in the hands of a committee of management, and there was also a body of trustees.
The Association controlled only the stand itself. Organisation of the races was in the hands of the clerk of the course, appointed by the lord of the manor of Epsom, and the stewards of the course. In 1839 Henry Dorling was appointed clerk of the course and in 1845 he leased the grandstand from the Association for 21 years. From this time, the races were developed so as to enhance the value of the grandstand. In 1866 Dorling did not renew his lease but became, with Francis Knowles, joint managing director of the Association. From the mid-nineteenth century onwards the Association effectively controlled racing at Epsom.
The Association increased their land holdings, mainly on the Epsom Downs and on the adjacent Walton Downs over which part of the racecourse lay. In 1870 they leased land near the grandstand on which temporary stands and booths had long been erected and carriages parked; in 1876 they leased land for an extension to the grandstand; in 1879 they leased from the Earl of Egmont land in Banstead near Tattenham Corner; in 1884 they leased land west of the grandstand; and in 1886 they purchased 205 acres at Six Mile Hill, including part of the Derby course and racehorse training ground and gallops.
In 1890 the Association leased Epsom Downs, except the Downs Hotel which was already leased to a tenant, for 29 years, and they took out a 106 year lease in 1902. This gave them greater power to control the use of the Downs for training and other purposes and to control side-shows in and around Derby Week. Other acquisitions included the Warren estate in 1910.
In 1904 the Association was incorporated as a company limited by shares.
In 1925 most of the Six Mile Hill property was sold to Stanley Wootton and in the same year the Association purchased Epsom Downs. A new grandstand was built in 1926-7.
Racing rights over the Downs and the erection of structures, were subject to the commoners' rights. In 1936 the Epsom and Walton Downs Regulation Act established Conservators appointed by Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, the Association and Stanley Wootton. The Association adopted a new constitution, with a board of directors replacing the committee of management, in 1932.
In 1965 United Racecourses Ltd was formed as a holding company, and in 1967 it acquired Sandown Park. In 1969 Stanley Wootton offered the Walton Downs gallops to the Horserace Betting Levy Board and in the same year the Levy Board acquired United Racecourses. Subsequently the Levy Board, through Metropolitan and Country Racecourse Management and Holdings Ltd, acquired Kempton Park.
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| Arrangement |
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| Several of the bundles bear numbers which relate to a modern brief-listing but there is no evidence of original archival arrangement.
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| Access Conditions |
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| There are no access restrictions.
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- Series information for this collection
series: 3434/ - EPSOM GRAND STAND ASSOCIATION
| Date: | 1768-1984 |
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series: 3434/67/ - UNITED RACECOURSES LTD
| Date: | 1933-1968 |
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series: 3434/ - SANDOWN PARK LTD
| Date: | 1889-1969 |
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series: 3434/70/ - METROPOLITAN AND COUNTRY RACECOURSE MANAGEMENT AND HOLDINGS LTD
| Date: | 1969 |
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series: 3434/71/ - KEMPTON PARK LTD
| Date: | 1938-1969 |
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