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

[eastsussexred]

Originally Posted by eastsussexred

We know from newspaper reports that the course was upgraded in the latter part of the 19th Century, with spiked railings installed along the boundary of Mold Road, and so from the camera angle of the two photo's taken in the paddock in 1912 we can say that the paddock for horses was located just past the original (1854) MRS on Mold Road- today this would be on the mold road, in the corner of the boundary between the techend and the MRS, as attachment 1. The spectators in the background are on a raised bank and the camera angle shows that this had to be the raised bank behind the Plas Coch end of the football pitch.
We also now know from the photo's that the original start line was located just off Crispin Lane- where the training pitch is today, with the finish post directly opposite the Turf. I have added another attachment to show the layout of course, as it was in 1838.

We also now know that the horses ran anticlockwise around course, which I don't think had been realised, or recorded previously.

[eastsussexred]

Originally Posted by eastsussexred

Another of our founding players was Thomas Broster, born in Wrexham 09/04/1845, the son of Broughton and Hannah Broster.
He was also a member of Denbighshire County Cricket Club.
Thomas was married to Harriet OWEN of Wrexham on 5th May 1868 at St John's Church, Chester.
He lived and worked as a clerk at a post office in Wrexham but emigrated to Queens Town, South Africa in the late 1800’s, where he became a headmaster at an elementary School.
Thomas died on 29.06.1921 in Bethlehem, South Africa.
While I cannot find any photographs of Thomas, I have contacted one of his descendants in South Africa, who may be able to provide one in the future.

Originally Posted by eastsussexred

Due to additional information received from Thomas Broster's great, great grandson, I have updated his details.

In the 1861 census Thomas Broster was listed as a teacher, and in 1867 he was appointed a trustee of The Old Meeting Baptist Church in Wrexham.
By the time of the 1871 census Thomas and his family were living with his father in law, Jonathan Owen, at 28 Lambpitt Street, and his occupation was recorded as a Senior Clerk at the post office.
Thomas and his family emigrated to South Africa aboard The Windsor Castle Steamer from London to The Cape of Good Hope on 23rd October 1874, although an article in The Wrexham Advertiser 31 October 1874 reported that the ship caught fire and had to return to port for repairs.
His family settled in Queenstown where he became the headmaster of an elementary school and where he also founded The Willows Cricket Club.
He would later serve as a member of staff at The Queenstown High School for Boys for 22 years and was made an Honorary Life Vice-President of the Old Boys Association on its inception in 1912.
Thomas’s wife, Harriet died in Queenstown 9th December 1894 and in June 1912, Thomas left Queenstown with his daughter, Gwladys, to live with his son Charles in Bethlehem in The Orange Free State, where he died on 29/06/1921.

Update regarding Thomas Broster (1845-1921)

Attached is the page of a book, which I believe was written by The Old Boys Association of Queenstown College, South Africa, which identifies Thomas Broster's contribution to cricket in Queenstown.
The second attachment shows the name 'T Broster' carved into a rock overlooking Queenstown and dated '1890'.

[Mr Wonderful]

The thread that keeps on giving.

[eastsussexred]

Originally Posted by eastsussexred

Having re-evaluated old maps of the area, I am now finally beginning to home in on the complete history of The Turf Hotel.

We know from a map that the older Turf Tavern section of the premises was already in existence in 1819, and a newspaper article from the same year stated that Joseph and Margaret Foulkes were the landlords, but another map from 1793-95 (previously attached) also shows either a building or a very small plot of land, in the tavern’s location, which was separated from the large field behind it (the course) by a boundary line or hedge.
As the Williams-Wynne Estate owned all of the land mentioned, it would therefore seem logical to presume that either the tavern was already in existence in 1793-95 or a plot of land had been sectioned off from The Racecourse, specifically for the construction of The Turf Tavern, when the area was surveyed, prior to the compilation of the 1793-95 map.

We also now know that the taller section of the premises, where the bar is today, was originally known as The Grandstand, and from other newspaper articles we know that meals were being served in this section, by the landlord and lady of The Turf Tavern, during sports events from at least 1841 to at least 1858.
I had originally thought that this taller section, called The Grandstand, was built as an extension directly onto the town end of the lower Turf Tavern, but I now think that is not quite true. The section called The Grandstand was separated from the tavern by a courtyard around 3mtrs wide, although it was in-effect, a part of the same establishment, owned by the Williams-Wynn Estate.
The Turf Tavern shown on the 1819 map is indicated by a dot, with the words ‘Turf Tavern’ written next to it, but the map gives no indication as to the size or shape of the premises, whereas maps from 1872, 1874, 1898, 1909, 1912 and 1938 all show the size and footprint of the two buildings, conjoined, pretty much as they are today as The Turf Hotel. However, there is another map, dating from 1833 (attached) which shows The Grandstand as an independent building, separated from the tavern, and which I had originally thought as being a stable-block, belonging to the tavern. But having recently found out that the taller section was called The Grandstand, I now believe that the separate block on the map is in fact The Grandstand. Later photographs and newspaper articles would provide an indication as to why The Grandstand was built, and when the two buildings were physically linked together.

Letters to The Wrexham Advertiser tell us that in the earlier days of racing, the course was frequented by the gentry of the land, but as the population of the town grew during the industrial revolution, the so-called working classes moved in and the meetings began to suffer from rowdiness, violence, theft and drink related issues.
The Grandstand would therefore appear to have been built as a kind of, what we might refer to today, as function rooms or corporate rooms, with direct views out to the finish post, where the more well-healed clientele could dine and drink in style, while watching the races, without the need to mingle with the chavs in the tavern or in the numerous food and beer tents on the course. They could also watch the races from the balcony, which incidently, may have originally been installed around the entire building (not just the racecourse side) as can be seen from the string course, at the same height of the base of the rear balcony, on both the Mold Road and kop gates elevations (attached).
[B]The Grandstand was not just operational during race meetings though, as we know that it also served as the posh section of the tavern for events and meetings, as well as a restaurant that was used by The Wrexham Cricket Club and their visiting opponents after cricket matches:[/B] but it was the events associated with the Wrexham Races that would ultimately decide this buildings future. In 1854, the older Turf Tavern section of the building was renovated internally, to provide offices and a weighing room for race-officials, while a new permanent stone built grandstand was also built for the masses, at the opposite end of the tavern. Unfortunately, within four years, the races had been stopped, although pony racing would be gradually re-introduced, a few years later, but the gentry of the land ceased to attend theses meetings, and so the roof of the tavern was extended to join the two buildings together, with a covered alleyway (as can be seen in the photo from 1906 attached). At the same time, a growing rail network, and the taverns close proximity to Wrexham General Station, is likely to have provided an opportunity for the tavern to provide additional accommodation for travellers, and so The Grandstand was converted accordingly and renamed ‘The Turf Hotel’ sometime after 1858.
The name ‘Grandstand’ was eventually forgotten.

Since the end of 19th Century, The Racecourse had been competing against other grounds in Wales, to host Welsh football international matches, and in December of 1912 Wrexham FC officials made a pledge to The Football Association of Wales that the club would upgrade the pitch and facilities, in order to host the international match against Scotland on 3rd March 1913. Improvements were made to the existing stands on the course and new terraced banks were constructed behind the goals, while renovation of The Turf Hotel was also started as part of the improvements at this time. New windows and doors were installed and the false-half- timber- panels at the rear of the property were ripped out and replaced with the rendered panels that can still be seen today. The original door to the balcony was blocked off with rendered panels and the covered alley between the two buildings was finally bricked up, forming the lounge that connected The Grandstand and the tavern sections, as it is today.
The extent of building works during this period also forced the guarantors of The Wrexham Races to announce that they would no longer fund the October race meetings, and so the races were abandoned; though, the building works were most likely just the final nail in the coffin for race meetings on the course as the number of guarantors had dwindled from 24 in 1890, to just 6 in 1912, and public interest in the races had all but dried up.

The Turf Hotel has been renovated many times over the years, but there are still plenty of internal and external features, which provide a great deal of indication about its past. By combining this information with historic newspaper reports and the details recorded on old maps, it is has been possible compile the following Chronology.

The first building on this land appears to have been The Turf Tavern, which was either, already in existence in 1793-95, or had been allocated a plot of land, ready for its construction, around this time.
The Grandstand was added later, sometime prior to 1833.
The tavern section was renovated to include office space for race officials in 1854 and the two sections of the property were brought together and renamed The Turf Hotel at the end of the 1850’s. Initially, the two sections were linked only on the first floor, with an alley dividing the properties at ground level, but both ends of the alley were bricked off to form a lounge area, sometime after 1906, and most likely during the 1913/14 renovations.
The hotel has since been renovated periodically, including the 1990’s, when the original cast iron columns that held up the balcony were removed and a new wall was added at the back of the hotel in order to extend the bar area. At the same time, much of the dividing wall between the original two sections of the property was removed at ground floor level, to give the open plan floor space of the lounge area that can be seen today.

Turf Hotel- date of construction- circa 1793.

Confirmation that 'The Grandstand' was distinct from the Turf Tavern/Hotel, and served as a function room, or posh section, which was used only for the races and other special events.
An advertisement in Wrexham Advertiser in August 1884 announced that the landlady of The Turf Hotel would be opening 'The Grandstand' for a celebration of the marriage of the daughter of W.W. Wynn, with a charge of 2s for tickets

[jonesfach]

Originally Posted by eastsussexred

Confirmation that 'The Grandstand' was distinct from the Turf Tavern/Hotel, and served as a function room, or posh section, which was used only for the races and other special events.
An advertisement in Wrexham Advertiser in August 1884 announced that the landlady of The Turf Hotel would be opening 'The Grandstand' for a celebration of the marriage of the daughter of W.W. Wynn, with a charge of 2s for tickets

That's a good find.

[eastsussexred]

This is something that will probably not be of interest to a lot of people, but as The Turf Hotel has been so intrinsically linked to The Racecourse and Wrexham AFC, I have been recording the names of the landlords, during my research.
I am pretty sure that there has not been a comprehensive list of the landlords published online before, or else I would have found it.

List of known Turf Tavern/Hotel Landlords/ladies up to 1942

Date of construction- late 1790's- to be confirmed.

Joseph and Margaret Foulkes - 1819
Mr Evans - 1825/26/28
John Tench - 1833-1849
Sarah Tench (widow) - 1849-1853
JohnWhittaker - 1853/1861.
John Whittaker had served in The Wrexham Yeomanry Cavalry and was also a member of Wrexham Cricket Club. He is also known to have established athletic sports events on The Racecourse, at least as far back as 1857, and appears to have been heavily involved in bringing horse racing back to the course after the races had been abandoned in 1858.
Arthur Hanmer - 1861-1864
Thomas Hanmer (Snr) - 1864-1875 (His son Thomas Hanmer (Jnr) was one of the 10 man team who played in WFAC’s first ever game. He also supplied The silver Hanmer Cup for the club’s annual Athletic Sports Event)
Martha Hanmer (Widow) - 1874-1884 (wife of the late Thomas Hanmer Snr)
Frederick George Fraser -1890 (Husband of Rosina Hanmer- the daughter of Thomas-Snr and Martha)
Rosina (Hanmer) Fraser (widow)-1891-1898
John James Lloyd -1898-1900 (this landlord was sometimes confused in local newspapers with John James (Jack) Scott of The Severn Stars, and while ‘Jack’ Scott was associated with the Wrexham Races and pigeon shooting on the Racecourse in the 1890’s, he doesn’t appear to have ever been the landlord of The Turf Hotel.)
Robert Durwood 1900
William .C. Harrison -1903-1920 (Former Wrexham Player and Welsh International).
Harry Foster -1922 (Father of Wrexham FC player Bert Foster- who died of pneumonia at The Turf Hotel in September 1922)
Charles Edward Hickman 1927-1928
Alfred Maddock 1933-1935
David Aitken -1939
Tommy Percival Griffiths -1939-1940 (previous Welsh International and player/coach for Wrexham FC; also played for Everton, Bolton, Middlesbrough and Aston Villa)
Robert Kett -1942

[Canary]

I believe William Clare Harrison was club chairman at the time of his death. He once fell off the roof of a stand at the Racecourse while trying to effect repairs.

[eastsussexred]

Originally Posted by eastsussexred

Update regarding Thomas Broster (1845-1921)

Attached is the page of a book, which I believe was written by The Old Boys Association of Queenstown College, South Africa, which identifies Thomas Broster's contribution to cricket in Queenstown.
The second attachment shows the name 'T Broster' carved into a rock overlooking Queenstown and dated '1890'.

As previously mentioned, Thomas Broster was an avid cricketer who played for Wrexham Cricket Club, as well as being one of the 10 founding players who took to the field to play for Wrexham Football and Athletic Club in the clubs first ever game on 22nd October 1864. He later emigrated to South Africa where he founded The Willows Cricket Club in Queenstown.
As part of my research, I have tried to locate and contact the descendants of all of our founding players, to see if anyone has any additional information, and today I received an email from a distant relative of Thomas Broster who informed me that her family also had another link to football history.
Thomas’s sister- Harriet Broster (born Wrexham 1833) married Edwin Caldecott (born Erbistock 1834).
Edwin’s nephew- James Enoch Caldecott (born Saltney 1887) moved to West Bromwich in The Midlands where he married Mable Smith in 1913. Mable’s father- Thomas Smith had worked for many years at Salter’s Spring Factory in West Bromwich, which founded a football team in 1878; this team evolved into West Bromwich Albion in 1881. Thomas Smith is said to have been one of the founding members of the original club and he was listed as the club secretary of Albion in 1886 as well as being elected to the committee again in 1887. Around the same time, he proposed that a throstle (West Midlands dialect for a thrush) sitting on a cross bar be adopted as their official crest, although the crossbar was later replaced by a hawthorne branch.
The connection between the team and the throstle stems from the days when the players changed in a public house where a caged songbird was kept. This also gave rise to WBA’s early nickname ’The Throstles’.

[WasanActonlad]

Originally Posted by eastsussexred

This is something that will probably not be of interest to a lot of people, but as The Turf Hotel has been so intrinsically linked to The Racecourse and Wrexham AFC, I have been recording the names of the landlords, during my research.
I am pretty sure that there has not been a comprehensive list of the landlords published online before, or else I would have found it.

List of known Turf Tavern/Hotel Landlords/ladies up to 1942

Date of construction- late 1790's- to be confirmed.

Joseph and Margaret Foulkes - 1819
Mr Evans - 1825/26/28
John Tench - 1833-1849
Sarah Tench (widow) - 1849-1853
JohnWhittaker - 1853/1861.
John Whittaker had served in The Wrexham Yeomanry Cavalry and was also a member of Wrexham Cricket Club. He is also known to have established athletic sports events on The Racecourse, at least as far back as 1857, and appears to have been heavily involved in bringing horse racing back to the course after the races had been abandoned in 1858.
Arthur Hanmer - 1861-1864
Thomas Hanmer (Snr) - 1864-1875 (His son Thomas Hanmer (Jnr) was one of the 10 man team who played in WFAC’s first ever game. He also supplied The silver Hanmer Cup for the club’s annual Athletic Sports Event)
Martha Hanmer (Widow) - 1874-1884 (wife of the late Thomas Hanmer Snr)
Frederick George Fraser -1890 (Husband of Rosina Hanmer- the daughter of Thomas-Snr and Martha)
Rosina (Hanmer) Fraser (widow)-1891-1898
John James Lloyd -1898-1900 (this landlord was sometimes confused in local newspapers with John James (Jack) Scott of The Severn Stars, and while ‘Jack’ Scott was associated with the Wrexham Races and pigeon shooting on the Racecourse in the 1890’s, he doesn’t appear to have ever been the landlord of The Turf Hotel.)
Robert Durwood 1900
William .C. Harrison -1903-1920 (Former Wrexham Player and Welsh International).
Harry Foster -1922 (Father of Wrexham FC player Bert Foster- who died of pneumonia at The Turf Hotel in September 1922)
Charles Edward Hickman 1927-1928
Alfred Maddock 1933-1935
David Aitken -1939
Tommy Percival Griffiths -1939-1940 (previous Welsh International and player/coach for Wrexham FC; also played for Everton, Bolton, Middlesbrough and Aston Villa)
Robert Kett -1942

Just a side line here of a weak link to the above.....my nana's younger sister was dating Bert Foster at time of his death.