Earliest meeting: Sunday 19th July 1617
Final meeting: Friday 30th August 1839
The earliest record of a meeting in the Lancashire town of Clitheroe was on Sunday 19th July 1617 when Nicholas Assheton, Lord of the Manor of Downham near Clitheroe, recorded that he attended one of the few instances of Sunday racing in England. He was accompanied by ‘Will Sherburne and ‘Starkie’ and they stayed drinking some wyne (sic) and saw Sherburne’s mare contest the Clitheroe Bell, but it lost so they made merrie and stayed until 2 o’clock.' The "Starkie" mentioned above was one of the Starkie family from the Huntroyd Estate who were huge landowners in the area, including the Bellman Estate on which the racecourse once stood, and later took the name Lord Clitheroe after moving from the Commons to the Lords. Races were also held in other areas of Clitheroe, notably Knuck Knowles, Low Moor in the 1720s, and Horrocksford. A centry later James Whyte’s History of the British Turf noted that a racecourse was situated on Salt Hill Moor, Clitheroe which staged a 2 day meeting on Thursday 29th and Friday 30th August 1839 when the Blackburn Stakes went to Mr Barrow’s Catherina, while the Ladies Plate fell to True Blue owned by Mr Stevenson. Although the 1839 meeting was the last of a long series of meetings, a revival meeting did take place on Saturday 13th January 1877, but it could not be sustained.
I am grateful to Andrew Collinson for the poem, written in 1801, shown below.
Ref Remains, Historical and Literary, Connected with the Palatine ..., Volume 45
A meeting took place on Tuesday 24th June 1835, details of which are shown below.
James Whyte’s History of the British Turf notes that the Lancashire town of Clitheroe had a racecourse situated on Salt Hill Moor and records that a meeting took place in August 1839. Further meetings were held in the vicinity of Clitheroe and are detailed below.
Wednesday 22nd & Thursday 23rd August 1838
The Clitheroe Stakes over 2 miles
1. Orcus owned by Mr Arrowsmith
2. Stag owned by Mr Dawson
3. St Leonard owned by Mr Ogden
Clitheroe Hurdle over 2 miles
1. Miss Fanny owned by Mr Heap
2. True Blue owned by Mr Stevenson
3. Blucher owned by Mr Hindle
Thursday 29th to Friday 30th August 1839
Clitheroe Ladies Plate over 2 miles and a distance
1. True Blue owned by Mr Stevenson
The Clitheroe Stakes over 2 miles and a distance
1. Aimwell owned by Mr Speed
2. Northenden owned by Mr J.W.Patten
3. Catherina owned by Mr Barrow
The Bedford-Street Handicap Hurdle over 2 miles and a distance
1. Miss Fanny owned by Mr T.Ashton
The Blackburn Stakes over 2 miles and a distance
1. Catherina owned by Mr Barrow
2. Northenden owned by Mr J.W.Patten
I am grateful to Andrew Collinson for the following information about the racecourse. He recalls that he farmed the land at Bellman where the course once stood, and that there are still features of the landscape showing the position of the course. There were races held in other areas of Clitheroe, notably Knuck Knowles, Low Moor in the 1720’s, and Horrocksford, although that particular site has now been quarried away, Andrew understands that the huntsman John Peel came to Bellman Inn for a tot of whisky and almost certainly attended the races at Clitheroe. He has provided a map showing the racecourse in 1847 which can be accessed by clicking here.
Extract from Preston Chronicle and Lancashire Advertiser on 13th January 1877.
Much of the information about this course has been found using internet research and is in the public domain. However, useful research sources have been:-
London Illustrated News
Racing Illustrated 1895-1899
The Sporting & Dramatic Illustrated
Northern Turf History Volumes 1-4 by J.Fairfax-Blakeborough
The Sporting Magazine
A Long Time Gone by Chris Pitt first published in 1996 ISBN 0 900599 89 8
Racing Calendars which were first published in 1727
