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Old 2nd January 2018, 20.48:56   #487-0 (permalink)
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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 eastsussexred View Post
As attached. Wrexham Races on the 'new course' 27/28th March 1739 as advertised in The London Evening Post in January 1739, and the following year a three day meeting from 8/9/10th April 1740.

Y Cae Ras is 'at least' 279 years old.
The Raven (as mentioned in the previous attachments) was an Inn, which was situated in Hope Street. It was renamed 'The Kings Head' in 1780, and was demolished in the 19th Century. The Three Eagles (also mentioned) was renamed 'The Eagles' at the end of the 18th Century. Originally a coaching Inn, known as 'The George' The Eagles would later become The Wynnstay Arms. These public houses were used to register the horses before races in the 18th Century, though The Golden Lion was also known to have been used in 1800.
Traditionally, the two or three-day annual race meetings were treated as a local holiday and people would attend cockfighting in the morning at The Three Eagles, before going to the races, and then returning to The Three Eagles for a ball in the evening, though, by the early/mid-19th Century, the fashion had changed and people would attend the theatre in the evenings, with theatres specifically organising shows to cater for the race-goers.
Originally, the races had attracted a more well-healed clientele, and The Racecourse had played host to the gentry of the land, but by the mid-19th Century, the clientele had changed and the race meetings became a festival of drunken violence and crime, which affected the whole of the region, and so the races were abandoned in 1859.
Pony racing was then gradually re-introduced to the annual athletics days on The Racecourse, until The Wrexham Races were revived with a well-attended meeting, which formed a part of the annual athletics day, on 2nd September 1870.
Originally, the racetrack, which was approximately oval in shape, had occupied all of the area around Plas Coch, off Mold Road and Crispin Lane, with a sharp turn in front of the kop, giving a run-in to the finish post in front of The Turf Tavern. The course also had two temporary, timber grandstands erected and dismantled each year, at either side of The Turf, until a permanent grandstand was built (where the MRS is now) at some point at the end of the 1840's/early 1850's. The race track itself was also eventually re-sited and would occupy an area, just to the west of the current stadium (where Glyndwr University is now situated) although the parade ring and paddock remained in the area occupied by the current stadium. In 1897, a local solicitor- Thomas Parry Jones-Parry bought the lower section of The Racecourse (where the stadium is today) although ownership soon passed into the hands of Frederick Soames of Soames Brewery.
During the first decade of the 20th Century, The Wrexham Advertiser frequently reported that attendances at The Wrexham Races were consistently not up to expectations, and a meeting scheduled for the 28th August 1911 was cancelled due a train strike: The Wrexham Races finally ended, due to a lack of public support, in 1912.
Frederick Soames died in 1926, and his death, together with The Great Depression, forced a merger between Soames Brewery (then in liquidation) and the nearby Island Green Brewery, to form Border Breweries, though Border itself was bought out by Marston’s Breweries in 1984, and Marston’s bought out by The Wolverhampton and Dudley Brewery in 1999.
In 2002, Wrexham F.C. chairman William Pryce Griffiths secured a 125-year lease on The Racecourse with Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries for £750,000, and a peppercorn annual rent of £1, but in June of that year, the actual freehold to the Racecourse was acquired by Wrexham F.C. from Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries for £300,000. However, on the same day, the ownership of the freehold was transferred by the then chairman, Alex Hamilton, from Wrexham F.C. to another of his companies-Damens Ltd, for a nominal fee. The new lease also saw the club's annual rent increase from £1 to £30,000, and in 2004 Wrexham F.C. was given a years' notice to quit the ground. This led to a court battle, which lasted until March 2006, when the High Court ruled that the freehold had been improperly transferred. By this time, however, the club had gone into administration with debts of £2.6m, and so the freehold of The Racecourse was handed over to the administrators. The club finally re-emerged from administration in 2006 and ownership of The Racecourse passed to a new company- Wrexham Football Club (2006) Ltd, owned by Geoff Moss and Ian Roberts, who in-turn, passed ownership to a new holding company- Wrexham Village Ltd.
To provide a cash injection to the club, Wrexham Village proposed a two-phase venture, which resulted in the first phase development of student accommodation, on Racecourse land, in conjunction with Glyndwr University, and a second phase, intended to provide a new stand and retail accommodation behind the kop. But after the completion of the first phase, no more development partners could be found and after a period of financial instability, Wrexham Village Ltd sold The Racecourse and its associated training grounds to Glyndwr University, in 2011, while retaining the student accommodation and the land originally intended for second phase development, behind the kop.
In August 2016, Glyndwr University handed control of The Racecourse, to Wrexham AFC, as part of a 99-year lease, and thus, continues a sporting heritage at The Racecourse that dates back 'at least' 279 years.

Last edited by eastsussexred; 2nd January 2018 at 20.52:32..
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Old 2nd January 2018, 22.44:43   #488-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham Football Club (Massive history thread!)

Great knowledge. Thanks for sharing
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Old 2nd January 2018, 22.57:01   #489-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham Football Club (Massive history thread!)

A fascinating read thanks ESR
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Old 3rd January 2018, 14.19:15   #490-0 (permalink)
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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 eastsussexred View Post
As attached. Wrexham Races on the 'new course' 27/28th March 1739 as advertised in The London Evening Post in January 1739, and the following year a three day meeting from 8/9/10th April 1740.

Y Cae Ras is 'at least' 279 years old.
I have asked that RP removes the 3 original newspaper attachments, due to copyright issues, as I wasnt able to get permission from the copyright owners- an American organisation.
Unless I can get permission for these particular 3 newspaper articles, then I can't post or publish copies of the attachments again, but can retain them only for personal use.
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Old 5th January 2018, 22.06:24   #491-0 (permalink)
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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 eastsussexred View Post
As attached. Wrexham Races on the 'new course' 27/28th March 1739 as advertised in The London Evening Post in January 1739, and the following year a three day meeting from 8/9/10th April 1740.

Y Cae Ras is 'at least' 279 years old.
In a chapter about ancient racehorses, from a book, which was published in 1845, it had been recorded that a horse called 'Black Chance' had been the winner of one of the races at Wrexham in 1740
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Old 5th January 2018, 22.26:18   #492-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham Football Club (Massive history thread!)

In 1895, it was recorded that Wrexham Racecourse was one of the oldest pony racing centres in the country, and it was recorded that the development of Galloway racing was largely due to the meetings held in Wrexham, many years in the past
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Galloway Wrexham 21 June 1895.jpg (74.9 KB, 22 views)
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Old 14th January 2018, 15.18:30   #493-0 (permalink)
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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 eastsussexred View Post
As attached. Wrexham Races on the 'new course' 27/28th March 1739 as advertised in The London Evening Post in January 1739, and the following year a three day meeting from 8/9/10th April 1740.

Y Cae Ras is 'at least' 279 years old.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eastsussexred View Post
The Raven (as mentioned in the previous attachments) was an Inn, which was situated in Hope Street. It was renamed 'The Kings Head' in 1780, and was demolished in the 19th Century. The Three Eagles (also mentioned) was renamed 'The Eagles' at the end of the 18th Century. Originally a coaching Inn, known as 'The George' The Eagles would later become The Wynnstay Arms. These public houses were used to register the horses before races in the 18th Century, though The Golden Lion was also known to have been used in 1800.
Traditionally, the two or three-day annual race meetings were treated as a local holiday and people would attend cockfighting in the morning at The Three Eagles, before going to the races, and then returning to The Three Eagles for a ball in the evening, though, by the early/mid-19th Century, the fashion had changed and people would attend the theatre in the evenings, with theatres specifically organising shows to cater for the race-goers.
Originally, the races had attracted a more well-healed clientele, and The Racecourse had played host to the gentry of the land, but by the mid-19th Century, the clientele had changed and the race meetings became a festival of drunken violence and crime, which affected the whole of the region, and so the races were abandoned in 1859.
Pony racing was then gradually re-introduced to the annual athletics days on The Racecourse, until The Wrexham Races were revived with a well-attended meeting, which formed a part of the annual athletics day, on 2nd September 1870.
Originally, the racetrack, which was approximately oval in shape, had occupied all of the area around Plas Coch, off Mold Road and Crispin Lane, with a sharp turn in front of the kop, giving a run-in to the finish post in front of The Turf Tavern. The course also had two temporary, timber grandstands erected and dismantled each year, at either side of The Turf, until a permanent grandstand was built (where the MRS is now) at some point at the end of the 1840's/early 1850's. The race track itself was also eventually re-sited and would occupy an area, just to the west of the current stadium (where Glyndwr University is now situated) although the parade ring and paddock remained in the area occupied by the current stadium. In 1897, a local solicitor- Thomas Parry Jones-Parry bought the lower section of The Racecourse (where the stadium is today) although ownership soon passed into the hands of Frederick Soames of Soames Brewery.
During the first decade of the 20th Century, The Wrexham Advertiser frequently reported that attendances at The Wrexham Races were consistently not up to expectations, and a meeting scheduled for the 28th August 1911 was cancelled due a train strike: The Wrexham Races finally ended, due to a lack of public support, in 1912.
Frederick Soames died in 1926, and his death, together with The Great Depression, forced a merger between Soames Brewery (then in liquidation) and the nearby Island Green Brewery, to form Border Breweries, though Border itself was bought out by Marston’s Breweries in 1984, and Marston’s bought out by The Wolverhampton and Dudley Brewery in 1999.
In 2002, Wrexham F.C. chairman William Pryce Griffiths secured a 125-year lease on The Racecourse with Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries for £750,000, and a peppercorn annual rent of £1, but in June of that year, the actual freehold to the Racecourse was acquired by Wrexham F.C. from Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries for £300,000. However, on the same day, the ownership of the freehold was transferred by the then chairman, Alex Hamilton, from Wrexham F.C. to another of his companies-Damens Ltd, for a nominal fee. The new lease also saw the club's annual rent increase from £1 to £30,000, and in 2004 Wrexham F.C. was given a years' notice to quit the ground. This led to a court battle, which lasted until March 2006, when the High Court ruled that the freehold had been improperly transferred. By this time, however, the club had gone into administration with debts of £2.6m, and so the freehold of The Racecourse was handed over to the administrators. The club finally re-emerged from administration in 2006 and ownership of The Racecourse passed to a new company- Wrexham Football Club (2006) Ltd, owned by Geoff Moss and Ian Roberts, who in-turn, passed ownership to a new holding company- Wrexham Village Ltd.
To provide a cash injection to the club, Wrexham Village proposed a two-phase venture, which resulted in the first phase development of student accommodation, on Racecourse land, in conjunction with Glyndwr University, and a second phase, intended to provide a new stand and retail accommodation behind the kop. But after the completion of the first phase, no more development partners could be found and after a period of financial instability, Wrexham Village Ltd sold The Racecourse and its associated training grounds to Glyndwr University, in 2011, while retaining the student accommodation and the land originally intended for second phase development, behind the kop.
In August 2016, Glyndwr University handed control of The Racecourse, to Wrexham AFC, as part of a 99-year lease, and thus, continues a sporting heritage at The Racecourse that dates back 'at least' 279 years.
In The Welsh History Review- an academic journal (attached) which is published in four volumes every two years, by The University of Wales, it is recorded that the Myddleton family of Chirk Castle had been regulary paying subscriptions to The Wrexham Races since the 1600's.
As previously stated, Y Cae Ras was bought by local solicitor- Thomas Parry Jones-Parry from the Wynn family estate in 1897; and the Wynn family had owned the land since Sir John Wynn had bought Plas Coch from Sir William Meredith in 1709.
Plas Coch is believed to have been built by Richard Meredith of Trevalyn- Rossett, in the 1580's/90's for his son- Sir William Meredith, who was the treasurer and paymaster of the army, during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I, and who was granted The Baronetcy of Stansty by King James I, in 1622.
It is not known when race meetings first started or where the race meetings took place in Wrexham, during the 1600's, but it is known that by 1738/39, Wrexham Races were being advertised 'on the new course' in newspapers in Chester and London, and so were allready of a considerable size at that time.
Generally, the location of racecourses has been recorded by local historians in Britain, but as no other racecourse had been recorded in Wrexham, then it seems likely that race meetings had allways been located on Y Cae Ras. The course was upgraded, or re-developed, as 'the new course' by Sir John Wynn, sometime after 1709 and then re-devoloped again by Sir Watkin Williams Wynn at the end of the 18th Century.
After the founding of a new cavalry force in Wrexham in 1795, Sir Watkin Williams Wynn also introduced a Silver Cavalry Cup for officers of the cavalry, which was added to the existing race card, and which was also being advertised in newspapers in 1800. Soon after, Sir Watkin Williams Wynn widened Mold Road, specifically for the horses and riders to parade from their stables on Eagles Meadow, up to The Racecourse, prior to the races, and the town then played host to The Wrexham Races, each year until 1859, when the three day meetings were temporary abandond, due to crowd trouble. By this time, however, Wrexham Cricket Club, were also using the stadium, and in 1864, The Racecourse also became the home of Wrexham Football and Athletic Club, before hosting the first ever home international for Wales against Scotland in 1877.
The oldest internation football stadium in the World has a sporting history that stretches back, much further than most people realise.

Last edited by eastsussexred; 14th January 2018 at 15.26:33..
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Old 19th January 2018, 19.54:05   #494-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham Football Club (Massive history thread!)

I have contacted archives.gov.uk to have The Racecourse recognised as being a sport stadium dating from at least 1739, and requested other information that may be on record, which takes this date back into the 1600's; additionally, to have The Turf Hotel recognised as the oldest public house at any sport stadium in the world.
I have also submitted information regarding the 'Crispin' connection to the area and the possibility that the name may relate to the occupation of the monks and lay farmers of Valle Crucis Abbey, and subsequently, that the land may have played a significant role in the town of Wrexham being granted the status of a market town in the 14th Century.
Additionally, I have highlighted the fact that the location of the stadium (on the boundary of Wat's Dyke) with the subsequent struggle for independance from Anglo-Saxon control, as well as the Cistercians of Valle Crucis Abbey, who were gifted the land from the Prince of Northern Powys, means that the land that the stadium was built on, has significance in terms of the founding of Wales, itself. as a nation.
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Old 19th January 2018, 19.57:32   #495-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham Football Club (Massive history thread!)

Great work as always!
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