The massive Wrexham AFC history thread (The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham...)

[eastsussexred]

Originally Posted by jonesfach

So I guess that our first match ever was witnessed by people sat down. Most likely that we were the first football club to have seated spectators.Yet another historic fact that the racecourse and club holds.

Such information might not seem to have much relevance in a sport dominated by glamour clubs that have a £500 million annual turn over, but when you look back to where it all started, WFAC ' and those fields off Crispin Lane' were there from the offset and have persisted through to this day, unlike many of the other pioneer clubs who fell by the way.

[eastsussexred]

Originally Posted by eastsussexred

As confirmed by W. Alister Williams in The Encyclopaedia of Wrexham (2010) Crispin Lane took its name from a property which was recorded in early Latin documentation as ‘Crispianus’ later known as Crispin Farm.
The farm was situated on the town side of the lane, directly opposite the corner of the kop, in an area, which was historically known as Lower Crispin (see attachment). In the mid to late 19th Century, the field on which Crispin Farm was situated, was still known as Crispin field, although the name ‘Crispianus’ seems to suggest that the farm may have been a substantial property in the distant past, as was indicated on Ogilby’s Road map of 1675 (previously posted) which shows a substantial house in the location that Crispin Farm occupied. In front of Crispin Farm, on The Racecourse side of the lane, near to the car park for the current club shop, was a field known as Crispin Croft, and at the top end of the Racecourse (between Plas Coch and Mold Road, there was an area which was still known as ‘The Crispin’ in the late 19th Century. This area was used occasionally as an assembly point for military parades in the mid to late 19th Century, although The Crispin seems likely to have previously been the location of a garrison, which was established in the area, during The English Civil War (In his book ‘ Stansty- a story of the land and its people, Quentin Dodd had also recorded that a large number of musket balls were found embedded in a number of walls in the area, most likely due to target practice).
Opposite The Crispin, at the base of Stansty Park (where the road splits between Summerhill Road and Mold Road) there had previously been a blacksmiths, known as Crispin Smithy, and in the 19th Century there was also a house, known as Crispin Lodge, which was built at the base of Crispin Meadow, in the apex where the two roads used to meet; this was the family home of the borough surveyor- John Strachan.
Further along Mold Road, on the Stansty Park side, there was a public house, known as The Crispin Inn, which, according to the 19th Century historian- Alfred Neobard Palmer, had previously been one of the houses that had been owned by the Edwards family of Stansty (The Crispin Inn was also recorded on Ogilby’s Road Map of 1675). The Edwardses are believed to have occupied the area from 1317, when their ancestor- David ap Meilir is thought to have bought, at least part of the manor of Stansty. The manor consisted of two parts- Stansty Ucha (upper Stansty) and Stansty Issa- lower Stansty, the latter of which had been gifted to the monks of Valle Crucis Abbey by The Prince of Northern Powys in 1254. But after the dissolution of the monasteries in the mid 16th Century, the two parts were reunited as one manor, and while the church retained some of the tithe rights of the land, the Edwards family continued as tenants and formed the estate, which would come to be known as Stansty Park in the latter half of the 16th Century.
According to Alfred Palmer, the name ‘Crispin’ seems to have derived from St Crispin- the patron saint of leathermaking and shoemakers, and may have been associated with an ancient guild of shoemakers, dating at least as far back as a medieval shoemaker and weaver, called John ap John of Stansty, although no guild of shoemakers was ever recorded. Moreover, as I have previously posted, the St Crispin link could possibly have been related to the leathermaking activities of the white monks of Valle Crucis Abbey and the lay farmers who became the tenants of the Abbey’s lands in Stansty. Whatever the origin of the name, it seems to be related to leathermaking and/or shoemaking in the area around The Racecourse and much of Stansty, sometime very far back in history.
As for the house called ‘Crispianus’ it seems to have been a substantial dwelling, at least into the 17th Century, and appears to have had its own fishpond, fed by a spring; hence the name ‘Springfield’, which still persists to this day. (The tradition of building and using fishponds began in the Medieval Period and were usually built by the wealthy sectors of society, including monastic institutions. They were frequently built close to castles, manors and monastic buildings, due to the risks from poaching, which was controlled by harsh laws).
Crispianus, later known as Crispin Farm, was also the end point of a trackway, which would come to be known as Crispin Lane. The trackway, which ran along the top of the western side of the ditch of Wat’s Dyke, was still visible in the 19th Century, when it was shown on maps to run from Crispin Farm all the way to Felin Puleston Corn Mill, which was built in 1582. The track was described as a 4-foot-wide footpath, which in itself indicates that in the past it had been used as a Medieval trackway for small carts, but also, as the distance between the corn mill and Crispin Farm was more than 1.5 miles, then the trackway would appear to have been an ancient right of way, as it would not have been possible to just build a trackway without obtaining a right of way from all of the different owners of the lands along the route.
The fact that the trackway stretched from Crispin Farm to Felin Puleston Corn Mill also has historical significance, as the inhabitants of the Stansty were required, by law, to mill their flour at The Kings Mill, which had been in operation since the 14th Century, and as the name suggests, was owned by the crown. The mill at Felin Puleston therefore provided an alternative, without the additional fees as determined by the crown, and so the ancient trackway is likely to have been used by the inhabitants of Stansty in order to avoid using The Kings Mill.
While the trackway ended at Crispin Farm (highlighted in yellow on the attachment) there was also an ancient right of way (highlighted in blue on the attachment) which ran from Mold Road to Plas Coch and then along the boundary of The Racecourse, down to Crispin Farm, and which divided the lands owned by the Foulkes family and the Wynn family estates. This right of way was stopped by means of a court order issued in the 1840’s, despite a petition which had been raised by the inhabitants of Stansty.

The property known as Crispianus eventually lost its influence and became known as Crispin Farm, which was gradually demolished over the years, until the mid-19th Century when all that remained was a cottage with a cow house, stables and outbuildings, and which was briefly occupied by the stationmaster of the new Wrexham, Mold and Connah’s Quay Railway from 1866, until the latter stages of the 19th Century, when the remainder of the property was also demolished.
It seems almost certain that the land that The Racecourse was built on, had bore the name of Crispin, at some point in the very distant past.

In his work- The Thirteen Country Townships of The Old Parish of Wrexham (1903) Alfred Neobard Palmer reported that Crispin Farm was called ‘Crispianus’ in Latin documentation dated 1699 and 1700, and ‘Crispin Anna’ in 1731 and 1777. The farm had belonged to The Ambrose-Lewis family of Wrexham from at least 1704 until 1810, when it was bought by Thomas Durack of Wrexham. Durack changed the name to ‘Bryn y llyn’ and the pond in front of the house (previously mentioned) which in earlier times was known as ‘Witches pond’ was thenceforth known as ‘Durack’s pool’.
Robert Williams, brother of the first Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, lived at ‘The Crispin Anna’ for a number of years in the 1730’s.
Later described as a genteel cottage with outbuildings, plantations and land measuring seven acres and thirty three perches, Bryn y llyn was advertised for sale in The Chester Chonicle in August 1828, along with around 17 acres of adjoining land. The property was located on the embankment of Wat’s Dyke, on the town side of Crispin Lane, opposite the far end of the kop, although some of the outbuildings were demolished when navvies first cut the embankment for railway lines from the 1840’s, with the cottage and stables finally being knocked down, sometime after 1867. The field in which the property stood, was at different times, known as Crispin’s field and another field on the north side of The Racecourse, was called ‘Crispin’s Meadow’.
The earliest reference to a substantial house in the immediate area of The Crispin, that I have found, is shown on Ogilby’s Road map (previously posted) which was surveyed sometime prior to 1675.
Crispin cottages was also the collective name given to a cul-de-sac of 44 small cottages that occupied Ashfield Road, Nelson Terrace and Windsor Road, which faced onto Crispin Lane between The Racecourse and Ashfield House. Built in the early to mid 19th Century, the cottages were demolished in the mid to late 19th Century.
Another property that was briefly known as Crispin Cottage was found next to The Crispin Smithy, in the apex of the triangle at the base of Stansty Park, where Summerhill Road used to meet Mold Road, prior to the construction of the current Mold Road interchange. This property, which was the family residence of district surveyor- John Strachan, was enlarged in the 1870’s and renamed ‘Crispin Lodge’. The field in which this lodge was sited, was known as ‘Crispin Meadow’ and directly opposite, on the Plas Coch side of Mold Road, was another grassland, known as ‘Crispin Field’. This area was generally known as ‘The Crispin’ at the end of the 19th Century.
Further along Mold Road, opposite Stansty Chain Road was a tavern called ‘The Crispin Inn’, which was recorded on Ogilby’s Road map (published 1675) and subsequent 17th Century road maps, as well as early 18th Century documents. According to Palmer, the tavern had previously been a farmhouse that belonged to the Edwards family, called ‘Plas Ucha’ (1620) and he suggested that the name ‘Crispin Inn’ was a corruption of the Latin ‘Crispiniene’ as recorded in the Stansty Parish register of 1695. However, Ogiby’s road map was produced in English, so even if the parish register entry had been corrupted; the same could not also be applied to Ogilby’s survey. Palmer further suggested that the Crispin connection may have been derived from John ap John of Stansty, who was recorded in 1615 as a weaver, and in 1619, as a shoemaker. He added that John ap John may have been related to the Edwards’s and as St Crispin was the patron saint of shoemakers, he might have provided the Crispin link to the area, although he also stated ‘I cannot prove this conjecture, for conjecture only it is, to be true, but it is the only explanation I can offer.’

[eastsussexred]

Originally Posted by eastsussexred

In his work- The Thirteen Country Townships of The Old Parish of Wrexham (1903) Alfred Neobard Palmer reported that Crispin Farm was called ‘Crispianus’ in Latin documentation dated 1699 and 1700, and ‘Crispin Anna’ in 1731 and 1777. The farm had belonged to The Ambrose-Lewis family of Wrexham from at least 1704 until 1810, when it was bought by Thomas Durack of Wrexham. Durack changed the name to ‘Bryn y llyn’ and the pond in front of the house (previously mentioned) which in earlier times was known as ‘Witches pond’ was thenceforth known as ‘Durack’s pool’.
Robert Williams, brother of the first Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, lived at ‘The Crispin Anna’ for a number of years in the 1730’s.
Later described as a genteel cottage with outbuildings, plantations and land measuring seven acres and thirty three perches, Bryn y llyn was advertised for sale in The Chester Chonicle in August 1828, along with around 17 acres of adjoining land. The property was located on the embankment of Wat’s Dyke, on the town side of Crispin Lane, opposite the far end of the kop, although some of the outbuildings were demolished when navvies first cut the embankment for railway lines from the 1840’s, with the cottage and stables finally being knocked down, sometime after 1867. The field in which the property stood, was at different times, known as Crispin’s field and another field on the north side of The Racecourse, was called ‘Crispin’s Meadow’.
The earliest reference to a substantial house in the immediate area of The Crispin, that I have found, is shown on Ogilby’s Road map (previously posted) which was surveyed sometime prior to 1675.
Crispin cottages was also the collective name given to a cul-de-sac of 44 small cottages that occupied Ashfield Road, Nelson Terrace and Windsor Road, which faced onto Crispin Lane between The Racecourse and Ashfield House. Built in the early to mid 19th Century, the cottages were demolished in the mid to late 19th Century.
Another property that was briefly known as Crispin Cottage was found next to The Crispin Smithy, in the apex of the triangle at the base of Stansty Park, where Summerhill Road used to meet Mold Road, prior to the construction of the current Mold Road interchange. This property, which was the family residence of district surveyor- John Strachan, was enlarged in the 1870’s and renamed ‘Crispin Lodge’. The field in which this lodge was sited, was known as ‘Crispin Meadow’ and directly opposite, on the Plas Coch side of Mold Road, was another grassland, known as ‘Crispin Field’. This area was generally known as ‘The Crispin’ at the end of the 19th Century.
Further along Mold Road, opposite Stansty Chain Road was a tavern called ‘The Crispin Inn’, which was recorded on Ogilby’s Road map (published 1675) and subsequent 17th Century road maps, as well as early 18th Century documents. According to Palmer, the tavern had previously been a farmhouse that belonged to the Edwards family, called ‘Plas Ucha’ (1620) and he suggested that the name ‘Crispin Inn’ was a corruption of the Latin ‘Crispiniene’ as recorded in the Stansty Parish register of 1695. However, Ogiby’s road map was produced in English, so even if the parish register entry had been corrupted; the same could not also be applied to Ogilby’s survey. Palmer further suggested that the Crispin connection may have been derived from John ap John of Stansty, who was recorded in 1615 as a weaver, and in 1619, as a shoemaker. He added that John ap John may have been related to the Edwards’s and as St Crispin was the patron saint of shoemakers, he might have provided the Crispin link to the area, although he also stated ‘I cannot prove this conjecture, for conjecture only it is, to be true, but it is the only explanation I can offer.’

Typo- the field on the north side of The Racecourse was known as Crispin's Croft: Crispin's Meadow was located at the base of Stansty Park

[eastsussexred]

Originally Posted by eastsussexred

Correction. Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor -The Prince of Powys Fadog, did not move the population of Llangwestl (Valle Crucis) to Stansty and Northcroft to provide Welsh occupation of the eastern side of Wat’s Dyke, in order to avoid Norman occupation. Stansty was already occupied by Welsh inhabitants, prior to the population of Llangwestl being re-located.

To understand the political situation of the area, at that time, it should first be mentioned that the Anglo-Saxons who conquered England, were not just one tribe, but of many different nationalities, with different loyalties and aspirations. The Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms that developed in Britain were frequently at war with each other, as each had tried to extend their own influence across the country. Consequently, the Welsh, and particularly the rulers of The Kingdom of Powys, found it beneficial to periodically form alliances with the Anglo-Saxons, and particularly The Kingdom of Mercia, which bounded its eastern edge. Sometimes they were at war and sometimes they formed alliances to defeat a common enemy, but when they weren’t in an alliance, either the Mercians were expanding into Wales, or the Welsh were taking back land from the Mercians. Likewise, the separate kingdoms of Wales frequently fought over territory, and likewise, they sometimes formed alliances to defeat the foreign invaders. In North Wales, the Ancient Kingdoms of Powys and Gwynedd were most often distinct from each other, but occasionally linked together, in times of strong rulers. Similarly, when the Normans invaded, some Welsh Princes formed alliances with the invaders, if it was deemed to be beneficial, and sometimes formed alliances with neighbouring Welsh kingdoms in order to defeat the common enemy, though sometimes they would also join the enemy in order to defeat the neighbouring Welsh rulers. Added to this, the Vikings had also been raiding North Wales since the 9th Century; such was the chaos of the period.

The Lordship of Bromfield and Yale (of which Stansty was included) was formed from a part of the old Welsh principality of Powys Fadog.
Following the defeat of Llewelyn ap Gruffydd- the last independent Prince of Wales, in 1282, Edward I of England gave the Lordship to John de Warrene- Earl of Sussex, and in 1315, King Edward II of England commissioned a survey of this lordship. The survey was copied to another manuscript, soon after, and this Latin copy of the survey was finally translated and published in a book ‘The first extent of Bromfield and Yale’ by Thomas Peter Ellis, in 1924.
In the book, T.P. Ellis gives a brief summary of early Welsh land-ownership, which was based on ancestral ties; i.e. Welsh society of the time was made up of groups, or tribes, who claimed proprietorship over a particular defined region, and within these tribes, there were also smaller groups, or clans, who occupied land within the tribal range through a connected bond to a common ancestor who might have lived any number of generations ago: so, for example, David ap John ap Madog ap Ken would be;- David who claimed descendancy and rights of land ownership from his ancestor ‘Ken’
Moreover, Ellis also tells us that during the expansion of the Kingdom of Mercia, small numbers of Anglo-Saxons had established and settled in towns, whereas the Welsh tribes, and the clans within them, mostly occupied agricultural and pastoral land. One such tribe, which Ellis calls ‘The Progenies (Descendants) of Ken’ later swept down from their base at Tryffydd Bychain, near Llangwestl (Valle Crucis) and drove the English back across the river Dee, sometime between 1087 and 1100. In The First Extent of Bromfield and Yale (1315) we find that the progenies of Ken had divided into a number of groups and occupied land in the villes of Cristionydd Kenric, Esclusham, Morton, Bersham, Broughten Brymbo, Acton, Erddig, Burras, Hova, Gorton and Cacca Dutton. Likewise, the Welsh occupants of Stansty in 1315 are likely to have been the descendants of a similar group of Welsh tribesmen who took possession of the area from the Anglo-Saxons that had originally established the settlement.


The survey shows that in 1315, Stansty consisted of two parts- upper and lower, with upper (uchaf) Stansty being occupied by-
Ithel ap David.
Madoc Fychan ap Madoc of Hwfa.
Ithel ap Eigon.
Ior ap Ithel ap Ken.
Ienna ap Ienna Goch.
Gronw ap Gonwy ap Eden, and David- his brother.
David ap Eigon Fychan and Ienna- his brother (as well as their families).
These were all unfree men who were bonded to the lord of Stansty, whereas; -
Ior ap Ithel ap Ior,
Cadwgan ap Ior,
David ap Madoc ap Ior,
Ienna ap David,
Ior ap Meiller, and Madoc- his brother,
David ap Ken Foelgan,
Madoc ap Ken ap Meiller,
Ior Fillog,
William ap Meiller,
and Eigon ap Madoc were free tenants, who held this half of Stansty without render to the lord, because the other half of Stansty was taken from them by Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor and given to Valle Crucis Abbey. Therefore, they did no other services to the lord of the manor, except that each of them gave the lord a fee of 7s. 6d. after the death of his predecessor, and if his daughter was married, or led astray, they gave 2s. They were also required to go to war with the lord, as required.
The tenants of lower Stansty were not recorded in the survey, as that section of land belonged to Valle Crucis Abbey.


When we look at the later occupants of Stansty, we find that the Edwards’s of Stansty, who occupied the manor until 1783, had claimed ascendancy from David ap Meilir (also spelt Meiller, as above) who had bought the manor of Upper Stansty, two years after the survey was taken, in 1317. Little has been written about David ap Meilir, although I have found that he might also have owned land around Oswestry, and in his work ‘ The History of The Princes, The Lords Marcher And Ancient Nobility of Powys Fadog’ (1882) J.W.Y. Lloyd claimed that David ap Meilir was the son of Meilir ap Owain, who had been killed by Cadwallon ap Gruffydd, in 1125.
Meilir ap Owain was the son of Owain ab Edwin- The Prince of Tegeingl (Clwyd and Deeside) who was elected Prince of Gwynedd, in 1096, whereas Cadwallon ap Gryffydd was the brother of Owain Gwynedd- The King of Gwynedd (previously mentioned) who had defeated the forces of King Henry of England and Madog ap Meredudd, (the last prince of the entire kingdom of Powys) at The Battle of Ewloe in 1157. The battle occurred, at least in part, because Owain Gwynedd (Owain the Great) was expanding his territory eastwards into Powys and the Norman King- Henry II brought his forces to help his ally- Madog ap Mereddud of Powys. They were both defeated in the battle and Owain Gwynedd continued his quest of taking land from Madog ap Mereddud, as the Kingdom of Gwynedd expanded further into Powys.
With Welsh heritage and land-ownership based firmly on conquest and blood ties, then it is difficult to envisage that the population of Stansty would have been happy with the situation, when Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor confiscated a part of their land and relocated the population of Llangwestl some 16 miles (on modern roads) to Stansty. Moreover, in the sparsely populated area of the early 13th Century, it would have been much easier to relocate the population, closer to its origin. But as the records have shown, the politics of the region were complex at that time, and so abbey lands with Welsh tenants might have been somewhat protected from the onslaught of Norman expansionism into Wales, at that time. Subsequently, the township of Stansty was divided into its respective parts -Lower Stansty (Stansty Issa) became Stansty Abbatis, which was owned by Valle Crucis, and Upper Stansty (Stansty Ucha) became Stansty Regis, under jurisdiction of a representative of the king.
The unfree families of Llangwestl were bonded into service as the tenants of the Abbot of Valle Crucis Abbey, at Lower Stansty, until the abbey was dissolved by royal decree in 1537.

Alfred Neobard Palmer also researched the Edwards of Stansty family-line, and while he noted that the Edwards bore the coat of arms of Edwin ap Goronwy- the Prince of Tegeingl, he found a gap of at least 150 years that could not be connected in this family-line from David ap Meilir to Meilir ap Owain (died 1126) , though Palmer concluded that when David ap Meilir bought land in Stansty in 1317, the other free tenants already listed in the survey of Stansty (The first Extent of Bromfield and Yale 1315)- Lorwerth (or Lor) ap Meilir, Madoc ap Meilir and Heilyn (or William) ap Meilir, were most likely his brothers.



The British Library holds at least 2 manuscripts relating to David ap Meilir’s purchase of land in Stansty.

1. A grant by- Lorwerth ap Lorwerth ap Madoc to David ap Meiler et Lorwerth filio suo of a messuage in Stansty abbattis in loco qui dicitur grofyd yr ynys.

A grant by Lorweth of Lorwerh of Madog to David of Meilir and Lorweth (his son) of land and buildings in Stansty in the place which is called the island of 'grofyd'? (possibly 'Gruffydd' of Rhuddalt- who was Lord of Powys in 1317).

2. A grant of- yr Erw duy inter viam que ducit de
Rosduy versus clawdd Wade in Stansti Issa.

A grant of approximately two acres of land and a road which leads from Rhosddu to Wat’s Dyke in Lower Stansty.

[eastsussexred]

Originally Posted by eastsussexred

Attached are photos of The Turf Tavern, as it was in 1976.
Briefly known as The Grandstand at the end of the 1840’s, the tavern was first recorded on a town map in 1819, and in the same year, the name of the tavern was also recorded in the parish register when Margaret- the wife of the landlord- Joseph Ffoulkes, gave birth to a son.
The original date of construction of the tavern is not yet known, although it is known that in the early 19th Century the tavern and the fields that adjoined it were leased to successive landlords by Sir Watkin Williams Wynn. The current Turf Hotel was built as an extension onto the old tavern in the late 1840’s/early to mid 1850’s, but the name ‘Turf Tavern’ was still being used as late as the 1860’s.
Newspaper reports of the time show that the upper floor of the tavern was frequently used for functions, including the end of season dinner for The Denbighshire County Cricket Club, during which, Edward Manners announced his intention to buy a football, on 8th October 1864, and thus gave rise to Wrexham Football and Athletics Club. The following year, Thomas Hanmer, the landlord of the tavern and founding member and player of the football club, also presented the club with a new silver trophy ‘The Thomas Hanmer Cup’ which was to be presented to the winner of athletics events at the club’s annual athletics day. The trophy was eventually retained by another of our early players- Thomas Buchanan Taylor after winning the event for three years running. All of the early Turf’s landlords were members of the football club and quite a few have played for the club, over the years.
The Turf Tavern originally had its own stables, and gardens, which stretched from the current Turf Hotel, down to the junction at Crispin Lane, and temporary grandstands were built and dismantled each year at either side of the tavern for the annual October race meetings, until a new permanent grandstand was built on Mold Road in the late 1840’s/early 1850’s. At the same time, it appears that the current Turf Hotel was also built on the town side of the existing tavern, and a section of the original building was converted into offices for race officials, The upper floor was also used as changing rooms for football players in both club and international matches (above the old club shop) and as far as I know these rooms are now the oldest changing rooms at any football stadium in the world, although I believe that all original fixtures and fittings have long since been removed. As far as I can ascertain, this section of the original Turf Tavern is also the oldest public house at any football stadium in the world.

Confirmation that the first permanent MRS was built and opened in 1854 with additional works carrying forward into 1855.
The additional works included the erection of a new betting ring, and a weighing room and offices for race officials in The Turf Tavern. The Tavern had briefly been renamed as The Grandstand from the end of the 1840's through to 1851. This might have been done to promote a fund which had been started by race officials, to rise money for the construction of the new permanent stand. The stand was completed, just as the the church had raised its efforts to have the annual races stopped, with local clergy writing in local newspapers in 1855 and petitioning the council, who in-turn sent a request to Sir W.W. Wynn to have the races stopped. W.W.Wynn pulled the plug in 1857, although a much smaller meeting also took place in 1858, before officials decided to abandon the idea in 1859. The races gradually re-appeared in a new format, initially with donkey and Pony racing added to the The Autumn Athletic Sports meetings, at the end of the 1860's, but the races were finally revived in 1873

[jonesfach]

Originally Posted by eastsussexred

Confirmation that the first permanent MRS was built and opened in 1854 with additional works carrying forward into 1855.
The additional works included the erection of a new betting ring, and a weigh-in room and offices for race officials in The Turf Tavern. The Tavern had briefly been renamed as The Grandstand from the end of the 1840's through to 1851. This might have been done to promote a fund which had been started by race officials, to rise money for the construction of the new permanent stand. The stand was completed, just as the the church had raised its efforts to have the annual races stopped, with local clergy writing in local newspapers in 1855 and petitioning the council, who in-turn sent a request to Sir W.W. Wynn to have the races stopped. W.W.Wynn pulled the plug in 1857, although a much smaller meeting also took place in 1858, before officials decided to abandon the idea in 1859. The races gradually re-appeared in a new format, initially with donkey and Pony racing added to the The Autumn Athletic Sports meetings, at the end of the 1860's, but were finally revived in 1873

All that work to build a stand and 2 years or so later, they stopped the races.

Great work as always ESR.

[Rhosymedre Red]

http://www.redpassion.co.uk/forums/a...1&d=1530447449
1940s?

[eastsussexred]

Originally Posted by Rhosymedre Red

http://www.redpassion.co.uk/forums/a...1&d=1530447449
1940s?

Brilliant photo that RR. Looks to be 1940's or very early 50's.

[WasanActonlad]

not seen that one before

ps
this is one thread a pleasure to read...unlike other dross