AYLSHAM RACECOURSE

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Racing was first recorded at Aylsham in 1805 and continued until 10th October 1810, although there is no evidence of a meeting taking place in 1809. The course was situated on the Blickling Estate in Norfolk, about a mile and a half North West of Aylsham off the B1354 Aylsham to Saxthorpe Road, mid-way between Aylsham and Corpusty, and Beryl Griffths has discovered that the park around Blickling Hall was extended in the 1770’s to provide the room for the racecourse. Between 1810 and 1888 there is evidence that racing continued between local landowners, and D.J. Lyons has found a reference to the Aylsham Derby. This event included a number of horse races as well as athletic competitions. It was attended by people far and wide, with cheap day excursions from Lowestoft, Yarmouth, Cromer and Dereham. The town’s archives contain a poster advertising the 1886 event and a photograph showing the finish of one of the 1883 horse races. The estate itself was owned by Lord Lothian, but since 1940 has become a National Trust property. Philip Kerr, the 11th Marquis of Lothian, died in 1940 of blood poisoning. He had been His Majesty’s Ambassador in Washington and was indeed present at the 1937 Coronation when he drove an Austin 7 in the Coronation procession. When he inherited the Blickling Estate in 1930 he had to sell some of the artefacts to pay for death duties. As he had no direct heirs he was instrumental in helping to bring in the Country Houses Act whereby part of your estate can be passed to the crown in lieu of death duties, and the crown subsequently passed the estate onto the National Trust. Sue Prutton remembers her husband being billeted in Blickling Hall while he was a WW2 RAF flight engineer, and later the estate was used for the filming of the ‘Wicked Lady’ which starred Margaret Lockwood. The meeting was revived for a 2 year period in 1888 and 1889, the final meeting taking place on 22nd April 1889. While the old racecourse is now lost amongst the large area of lowland farmland, the Aylsham Show takes place there in August, and there still remains a viewing tower well known to the locals, which was used as an ideal racing grandstand because its flat roof made it an ideal viewing point. Beneath the flat roof was a reception room together with ancillary accommodation, making it a superb place to entertain racing guests whilst having the viewing facility above. The ‘Tower’ was restored in 1950/51 by T.H.Blyth & Sons Ltd. when Mr N. De. B. Corbin was the agent for the National Trust.

I am indebted to Philip R. Williamson, now 72, who provided a map of the racecourse (shown below) based on his memory of the course when taken there as a youngster.

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If you have :-

a favourite memory of this racecourse;

photos or a postcard of the course;

a members badge from the course, either to sell or as a scan;

then email me at johnslusar@fsmail.net and I will include the details on this site together with an acknowledgement for you.

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