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Old 14th November 2020, 19.22:28   #822-0 (permalink)
jonesfach
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham Football Club (Massive history thread!)

Quote:
Originally Posted by eastsussex View Post
With the club now in the global spotlight and R&R publicly promoting the heritage and history of the club, I think that the least we can do is for the club to update and promote the correct information with regard to our history.
Until very recently, the club was advertising that The Racecourse was built in 1807, but as I have shown throughout this thread, The Wrexham Races were being advertised ‘on the new course’ since ‘at least’ 1800, with other evidence suggesting that the course was revamped at the end of the 18th Century, possibly in relation to Sir W. W. Wynn establishing The Wrexham Yeomanry Cavalry in 1795. But even earlier, The Wrexham Races were being advertised ‘on the new course’ from 1738, and I have added plenty of information throughout this thread, which at the very least indicates that these races may have taken place at Y Cae Ras.
In terms of the sporting heritage of the town and history of the club, this is very relevant.

Likewise, the history of The Turf Hotel is equally as relevant, because, as the name implies, The Turf is intrinsic to the stadium, and as I have shown throughout this thread, The Turf Tavern was in existence since ‘at least’ 1819; which as far as I am aware, makes The Turf Hotel, the oldest purpose built public house at any sport stadium in the world. Again, this has a great deal of significance when considering the history and sporting heritage of the town. Hopefully, with the media spotlight on the club, Coflein will at least update their information.
https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/40621...d-road-wrexham

The Turf Tavern was not built between 1840 and 1844 and knocked down by Jack Scott in the 1860’s, as stated on their website. Scott was just a boy in the 1860’s and did not come to Wrexham until the end of the 19th Century. The Turf Hotel is comprised of two public houses- The Grandstand c 1830 and The Turf Tavern c 1795-1819, but neither of these public houses were ever demolished, but rather conjoined as the existing Turf Hotel around 1913.

Another mistake that I occasionally read is that Edward Manners was the first President of Wrexham Football Club.
Manners was the honourable secretary of Wrexham Football and Athletic Club on its inception in 1864, who sometimes took the ‘chair’ and Charles Edward Kershaw was the Vice Chairman of the Club,
Edward Manners was also the Chairman and Honourable Secretary of the cricket club, which had previously been known as The Wrexham Cricket Club, but in 1864 was known as The Denbighshire County Cricket Club. Sir W.W. Wynn was the President of the cricket club and C.E. Kershaw also frequently took the chair
William Henry Prichard was the first president of Wrexham Football and Athletic Club.
Prichard was a clerk for The Provincial Welsh Insurance Company and a volunteer in The Prince of Wales Fire Brigade, who played for the fire brigade against 10 men of Wrexham Football and Athletic Club in our first ever game. But as the football club grew to 100 members in that first season, Prichard took the role of the first president of the football club.

Additionally, while it can be said to be true that the football club was founded by The Denbighshire County Cricket Club, this statement is a little bit misleading, because it is more correct to say that the football club was founded by members of the cricket club and particularly those members who also founded The United Volunteer Services Club. The UVSC was founded in October 1863, specifically for the purpose of providing athletic sport for the townsfolk, with two members in particular- Charles Edward Kershaw and Evan Morris using their influence within the cricket club to bring new forms of athletic sport to The Racecourse.
After the football and athletic club was founded in October 1864, the UVSC was disbanded, as it has achieved its aim, while C. E. Kershaw would take up the role of Vice Chairman of the football Club and Evan Morris would later accept the role of club President.

Another misconception appears to be that there was no relationship between the disbanding of horseracing in Wrexham and the football club.
Without the withdrawal of horse racing in the town, there would not have been a football club, or at least, not Wrexham Football and Athletic Club.

In 1857, Sir W.W. Wynn withdrew his support from The Wrexham Races, due to the drunkenness and public disorder that marred each race meeting and although a race meeting was permitted in 1858, this was the last meeting of that period. Fierce debates followed as shopkeepers and publicans tried to have the races re-established, but the church and a growing temperance movement held sway, and so it was amidst this atmosphere that organisations such as The United Volunteer Services Club were founded to try to bring healthier pastimes for the masses of working class people from the town and surrounding area: hence, Wrexham Football and Athletic Club was founded in 1864.
Even so, horse racing had played a major role in the town for hundreds of years, and despite reports online and in books that horse racing was disbanded until the 1870’s and some reports which state that the sport did not return until the 1890’s, pony racing was actually re-introduced on The Racecourse just a year after the football club was founded, and Cavalry horse racing continued as usual.
The football club was founded as a football and athletic club, with profits made during the football season to be invested in prizes for an athletic sports event at the end of each season. Some years there were two athletic sports days on The Racecourse but in November of 1865, donkey races, pony races and Galloway races were added to the sports events. The horse racing influence increased year on year, until 1873 when The Wrexham Races were completely revived under Jockey Club Rules, and the athletics events began to be separated into its own meeting.


The first athletic sports day in association with the football club took place on The Racecourse on 8th May 1865, resulting in the now-famous trophy for a hopping race, which was won and presented to football club founder- Charles Edward Kershaw.
https://www.footballhistory.org/club/wrexham.html

Hopefully R&R will be able to influence the powers that be to promote the history and heritage of the town and club, because I have found that it is like trying to bang your head against a brick wall.
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