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

[eastsussexred]

Originally Posted by WasanActonlad

It's a small world..
Dr Eyton-Jones was on the bench when my great grandfather was brought before the local magistrates court in the 1880's on a charge of assault whilst serving as a PC in the local constabulary..(police brutality is nothing new)..
The damming evidence may have been his colleague a PC Lee's quote " I think you've kicked him too hard PC Pleavin"

This the one WAL?

https://newspapers.library.wales/vie...19/4591527/61/

[WasanActonlad]

That's the one

[dragonspark]

that Mr Murlass sounds a right bundle of laughs

[WasanActonlad]

It may appear that racing in wrexham did not cease in wrexham prior to WW1...
An advert appeared in the Leader in 1921 promoting a race meeting at the "new racecourse" entrance near the Croesnwydd farm.
That I imagine would be somewhere I imagine between the coedpoeth road and southsea road...

[WasanActonlad]

In 1921 the racecourse also hosted a women's match between the St Helen's ladies and the famous ladies XI of the era "Dick Kerrs Ladies XI" watched by a crowd of 10500..

[eastsussex]

Originally Posted by eastsussexred

Horse racing at The Racecourse was stopped after the 1858 meeting (although Cavalry horse races continued) but it was the birth of the football club, which gave rise to the reintroduction of public horseracing in 1865.
The club was really started as an athletics club; hence the name 'Wrexham Football and Athletics club' and the original members had voted that any profit from football matches should be used to promote athletic sports events in the town. The first athletic Sports event in association with the football club took place on Saturday 13th May 1865, but on Tuesday 7th November of the same year, another athletic sports event was arranged and Galloway races and a sweepstakes were added. While the Athletic Sports events continued at least once annually, 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 seperated into its own meeting.
The races of October 1876 were operated according to Newmarket and Grand National rules, but from 1890 the races were held under British Pony and Galloway Racing Association rules, until the races were finally stopped on The Racecourse, due to a lack of public support after a rainsoaked meeting on 26 August 1912.

On August 6th 1921, The Chester Observer reported that The Wrexham Races (under Midland Racing Club Rules) had been held on a capital new racecourse, on the Rhyd Broughton Estate, on Saturday 30th July. The meeting of 6 races offering £125 in stakes and a cup were well attended, but no more races were reported after this year.

Originally Posted by WasanActonlad

It may appear that racing in wrexham did not cease in wrexham prior to WW1...
An advert appeared in the Leader in 1921 promoting a race meeting at the "new racecourse" entrance near the Croesnwydd farm.
That I imagine would be somewhere I imagine between the coedpoeth road and southsea road...

It appears to have been a one-off WAL, under the rules of The Midland Racing Club (as above).

[eastsussex]

Confirmation that the house known as The Crispin (from where we get the name of Crispin Lane) was already in existence in 1675.
As previously stated, Ogilby’s road map (1675) shows a substantial un-named house in the exact location where later maps show that The Crispin was located. By overlaying these later maps on Ogiby’s road map, we can see that its location in relation to Plas Coch is the same as it is on later maps, and therefore it has to be the house known as Crispin. But also, the distances recorded on Ogilby’s map in relation to other properties in the area, also confirm that this house was built, either on, or very close to, Wat’s Dyke.
The name ‘stanty’ is recorded just below the house on the 1675 map, which I had originally thought was a misspelling of the name of the township ‘Stansty’. But I have since learned that the word ‘stanty’ was commonly used in the 17th Century to describe a boundary, and so in this case is showing that the house was built on the boundary of Wat’s Dyke.
We also know from A.N. Palmer that the house was owned by a well-known Puritan of the Ambrose Lewis family, from at least 1704 to 1810, but strangely, the house was leased to Robert Williams of Erbistock. From 1731 ‘and for a few years after’.
Robert Williams was the brother of the first Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, as well as Richard Williams of Penbedwr- who was a noted racehorse breeder and stud owner, at that time.
They were all sons of Sir William Williams who had inherited additional extensive estates after his wife (Jane Thelwall) inherited Wynnstay from Sir John Wynn who died in 1719. The family also inherited Plas Coch and the fields on which Y Cae Ras now stands, at the same time, although it would appear that the lower corner of The Racecourse (a field with a diagonal boundary which ran from the house known as The Crispin to the location where the Turf Hotel now stands) may have still been under the ownership of the Ambrose Lewis family in the 18th Century. Later maps indicate this boundary line, which today would run from the railings on the railway side of Crispin Lane from a position opposite where the Yale stand meets the Kop, and then runs diagonally across the lower section of The Racecourse to a point near to the gates outside of The Turf Hotel..
Subsequent land deals, including the land behind the kop, as well as the old Turf Tavern gardens indicate that this section of Y Cae Ras was split into smaller plots and sold off around the start of the 19th Century, possibly after 1810. But the fact that this section of land appears to have been originally owned by the Ambrose Lewis family provides us with a reason for Robert Williams to rent and live at The Crispin, when his family already owned numerous extensive estates throughout North Wales.
The Williams Wynn family started to promote The Wrexham Races ‘on the new course’ around the same time that Robert Williams lived at The Crispin and advertisements were placed in both the Chester and London newspapers from 1738 till 1740 at least. Although the races had been known to have been in existence even earlier, and they would continued in various forms throughout the 18th Century, until Sir Watkin Williams Wynn (5th Baronet) upgraded the course

[eastsussex]

Originally Posted by eastsussex

Confirmation that the house known as The Crispin (from where we get the name of Crispin Lane) was already in existence in 1675.
As previously stated, Ogilby’s road map (1675) shows a substantial un-named house in the exact location where later maps show that The Crispin was located. By overlaying these later maps on Ogiby’s road map, we can see that its location in relation to Plas Coch is the same as it is on later maps, and therefore it has to be the house known as Crispin. But also, the distances recorded on Ogilby’s map in relation to other properties in the area, also confirm that this house was built, either on, or very close to, Wat’s Dyke.
The name ‘stanty’ is recorded just below the house on the 1675 map, which I had originally thought was a misspelling of the name of the township ‘Stansty’. But I have since learned that the word ‘stanty’ was commonly used in the 17th Century to describe a boundary, and so in this case is showing that the house was built on the boundary of Wat’s Dyke.
We also know from A.N. Palmer that the house was owned by a well-known Puritan of the Ambrose Lewis family, from at least 1704 to 1810, but strangely, the house was leased to Robert Williams of Erbistock. From 1731 ‘and for a few years after’.
Robert Williams was the brother of the first Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, as well as Richard Williams of Penbedwr- who was a noted racehorse breeder and stud owner, at that time.
They were all sons of Sir William Williams who had inherited additional extensive estates after his wife (Jane Thelwall) inherited Wynnstay from Sir John Wynn who died in 1719. The family also inherited Plas Coch and the fields on which Y Cae Ras now stands, at the same time, although it would appear that the lower corner of The Racecourse (a field with a diagonal boundary which ran from the house known as The Crispin to the location where the Turf Hotel now stands) may have still been under the ownership of the Ambrose Lewis family in the 18th Century. Later maps indicate this boundary line, which today would run from the railings on the railway side of Crispin Lane from a position opposite where the Yale stand meets the Kop, and then runs diagonally across the lower section of The Racecourse to a point near to the gates outside of The Turf Hotel..
Subsequent land deals, including the land behind the kop, as well as the old Turf Tavern gardens indicate that this section of Y Cae Ras was split into smaller plots and sold off around the start of the 19th Century, possibly after 1810. But the fact that this section of land appears to have been originally owned by the Ambrose Lewis family provides us with a reason for Robert Williams to rent and live at The Crispin, when his family already owned numerous extensive estates throughout North Wales.
The Williams Wynn family started to promote The Wrexham Races ‘on the new course’ around the same time that Robert Williams lived at The Crispin and advertisements were placed in both the Chester and London newspapers from 1738 till 1740 at least. Although the races had been known to have been in existence even earlier, and they would continued in various forms throughout the 18th Century, until Sir Watkin Williams Wynn (5th Baronet) upgraded the course

A possible earlier site for The Wrexham Races may have been 'Eagles Field' which is now known as 'Eagles Meadow' but as the name indicates, this was a meadow and was prone to flooding, and therefore not suitable for horse racing in March when the races of 1739/40 were advertised on 'the new course'. There are a number of newspaper reports of the Eagles Fields flooding throughout the late 18th and 19th Centuries; hence the need for 'a new course'

[WasanActonlad]

I know it has previously been mentioned there was a possibility of a stadium being built in eagles meadow pre WW1.
There was also interest in developing a greyhound stadium there after WW1.
ESR or as you are now ES you have a pm