Earliest meeting: Tuesday 15th March 1887
Final meeting: Thursday 6th April 1922
The Beaufort Hunt visited a new course at Sherston, a village some 5 miles West of Malmesbury, on Tuesday 15th March 1887 and they found it to their liking, remaining at the village course until 1922. The course, located just 3 miles from Badminton on Alderton Farm, was described as having a circumference of 1 ½ miles, left-handed and a good grass surface. The Beaufort Hunt is known to have been in existence since at least 1786 when the then 5th Duke of Beaufort had a pack of hounds. However, it took almost another hundred years before the Hunt Committee organised its own steeplechase meeting. The final meeting at Sherston was on Thursday 6th April 1922 and was tinged with sadness when the Badminton House Party had to miss the event due to the untimely death of the Earl of St Germans. The next year it was reported that the Beaufort Hunt meeting was staged at Alderton, although given its proximity to Sherston there is every chance it was the same venue.

This racecourse is covered in Volume 2 of Racecourses Here Today and Gone Tomorrow. Ordering details shown below.

Patrons

The result below is from the Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette Thursday 15th March 1888 and is shown courtesy of the Britsh Newspaper Archives Online:

Tuesday 13th March 1888

Badminton Steeplechase over 2 ½ miles
1. Widgeon, 6 year old brown mare owned by Mr J Adamthwaite
2. Tea Rose, 5 year old brown mare owned and ridden by Mr D Lindsay
3. Springtrap, 6 year old bay gelding owned by Captain Inigo Jones
Betting: 6/4 Widgeon, 6/4 Red Eagle, 3/1 Bar

Open Hunters Steeplechase, 12th Royal Lancers Challenge Cup, Badminton Handicap Chase

At Alderton Farm, about 3 miles from Badminton. The Beaufort Hunt continue to hold successful point to point meetings at Oldbury on the Hill.

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

ISBN 978-0-9957632-0-3

652 pages

774 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-1-0

352 pages

400 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-2-7

180 pages

140 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-3-4

264 pages

235 former courses