Earliest meeting: Wednesday 25th March 1840
Final meeting: Tuesday 11th January 1848
The Essex seaside resort and town of Southend is situated on the north side of the Thames estuary abouth 40 miles east of London, and is home to the world’s longest pier. Built in 1830 it stretches to 1 1/3rd miles in length. Southend Racecourse was in Rochford, at The Lawns off the Hall Road, on farming ground which is now owned by the Keddie family. An early meeting took place on Wednesday 25th March 1840 when the 50 Guineas Purse saw Mr Evans’s Lord Byron beat Mr Young’s Comet. Meetings continued for 8 more years until the final card under rules was staged on Tuesday 11th January 1848. Many years later Pony racing became extremely popular on the Ashington Road track in Rochford until 1931, after which the ground was taken over by Southend Flying Club.
Wednesday 25th March 1840
Southend 50 Guineas Purse
1. Lord Byron owned by Mr Evans
2. Comet owned by Mr Young
In 1921 there was suddenly a great deal of interest about a proposed new racecourse at Southend bordering Doggetts Farm. However, there was a great deal of opposition, especially from the Churchmen and Free Churchmen groups who, in November 1921, passed a resolution of protest and lobbied each candidate in the Municipal Elections to formerly oppose the scheme. At that point, acknowledging the opposition, the Rural Council withdrew their support for the new racecourse. Despite strong opposition the Provincial Racecourse Ltd was formed to drive the project forward, and Mr R T Douglas Robertson, acting for the firm, had acquired an option to purchase the proposed site which formed part of Doggett's farm which was within two minutes walk of Rochford Station. Naturally, they had also received the support of the Great Eastern Railway who saw the business opportunities which the racecourse would provide. A contract was entered into in June 1922 with Sir Malcolm McAlpine for the erection of stands, stables, paddocks and a large lawned area. It was hoped at that point to ensure that the proposed course had a straight mile stretching from the Canewdon Road to the main stand, to conform with Jockey Club regulations, for without one no fixture dates would be granted. The ambitious plans included an option to build a steeplechase course in the centre of the Flat racecourse, with a view to staging Nation Hunt Races in 1923. By September 1922 the syndicate promoting the racecourse was registered, known as the Provincial Syndicate Limited (Southend Racecourse Company), with directors the Right Honourable Lord Louth and Major-General Sir Thomas Gallwey. The specialist racecourse technical advisor, Major George Wilmot, was called in to provide advice. He agreed that the proposed course had many merits; the very rich loam soil would provide the very best going in all weather conditions, and should never ride heavy given that it had been pastureland for some time. The proposed course was to be a mile and a half round, with natural bends making the course safe. Furthermore, there was ample space for stands, paddocks, lawns, stabling and additional buildings, as well as the option to place a steeplechase and hurdle racecourse inside the track. The Group acknowledged that there was insufficient ground to include a straight mile, but hoped that additional ground could be purchased which would ensure that the draw in races would not favour either high or low numbers. By the end of 1922 the Group had secured the support of the Mayor of Southend and the Rochford District Council, had secured funding in excess of £200,000 and proposed to spend at least £75,000 on the course, Club Stand and other buildings., and had applied for approval to the Jockey Club and the National Hunt Committee.
Clearly, between the time plans were submitted in 1922 and the final building of a Pony Racecourse a number of things went wrong, not least the financial challenges leading up to the General Strike in 1926. Whatever happened in this time, the original proposals did not come to fruition, probably because the Jockey Club rejected the course when a mile straight could not be secured. However, a reduced course did stage Pony racing for a number of years, and the course was the third most popular in the country after Northolt, where the Pony Derby was staged, and Portsmouth. Results from the meeting on Monday 10th October 1927 are shown below.
Monday 10th October 1927
Southend Handicap Division 1
BROKE 5/4 fav beat DUMBELL and BONNY BOY 6 ran
Southend Handicap Division 2
BIDDY (4/6 fav) beat FELICITE and WANTLY 7 ran
Southend Handicap Division 3
SLOE GIN (4/5 fav) beat LITTLE SWAN and COLLEEN 6 ran
Westborough Plate
VENUS (1/3 fav) beat TATTERS and BIDDY 5 ran
Hamlet Stakes
LADY BURSTWICK (6/4) beat COLLEEN and TONY L 6 ran
Valkyrie Stakes
MERRY LAD (4/5 fav) beat VENUS and GRACEFUL 5 ran
The course was used for a number of events apart from racing, including a 4 day Carnival in 1927, Gala Dances and a Regatta. Racing continued until 1931 after which it is believed that Southend Flying Club made use of the former racecourse for a while. Until the whole site was returned to agricultural use during the war, then the southern part was built on in 1950, and the northern section remained under agriculture until the present day, when housing is due to be built on the site. As a footnote, Southend Corporation applied to the Jockey Club in January 1960 for the 23 race dates previously allocated to Hurst Park, London, but the application was rejected.
I am grateful to Cathryn Corns for the map shown below providing the likely outline of the former Pony racecourse.
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
