The Grandstand <strong>in</strong> the 1960s A Grandstand F<strong>in</strong>ish at Whitt<strong>in</strong>gton By Jono Oates ................................ Later this year the former grandstand and golf clubhouse at Whitt<strong>in</strong>gton Heath will be demolished to make way for the HS2 high-speed rail l<strong>in</strong>k and a familiar landmark will disappear from <strong>Lichfield</strong>’s skyl<strong>in</strong>e. The annual <strong>Lichfield</strong> horse race meet<strong>in</strong>gs started <strong>in</strong> 1702, mak<strong>in</strong>g it one of the oldest horse rac<strong>in</strong>g meets <strong>in</strong> the country. Dur<strong>in</strong>g the 18th and 19th centuries the meet<strong>in</strong>gs were very popular and, <strong>in</strong> 1737, a grandstand was erected to cater for the large numbers of spectators that flocked to the course from all over the Midlands and beyond. There was significant prize money to be won by the horse owner. In September 1801 the race organisers offered prize money of one hundred gu<strong>in</strong>eas, a very large amount of money at that time, for the w<strong>in</strong>ner of His Majesty’s Plate which was for horses of no more than five years old and set over a three-mile course. By the end of the 19th century the races had begun to lose their popularity, the quality of the races and the calibre of the horses began to fall and the races started to attract the wrong type of clientele. In 1875 the War Office bought the land surround<strong>in</strong>g the racetrack and <strong>in</strong> 1881 the Whitt<strong>in</strong>gton Barracks were officially opened. In 1890 the racecourse grandstand was converted <strong>in</strong>to an <strong>in</strong>stitution for soldiers from the barracks, provid<strong>in</strong>g then with recreational facilities and a ‘home-fromhome’ environment. The Soldiers’ Home was the bra<strong>in</strong>child of Major Seton Churchill from the barracks and it proved to be very popular will all ranks with<strong>in</strong> the militia. In 1895 the War Office decided to ban all horse rac<strong>in</strong>g at Whitt<strong>in</strong>gton Heath as they said it was hav<strong>in</strong>g a negative impact on the barracks. Major Churchill, who was the Vice-President of the Anti-Gambl<strong>in</strong>g League, described them as those ‘wretched races’ and said that he was glad that the authorities had closed them down. The closure of the races was not popular with everyone though and it created a storm of protest from the rac<strong>in</strong>g fraternity and with <strong>Lichfield</strong> bus<strong>in</strong>essmen as the races were very good for trade <strong>in</strong> the city centre. In July 1895 a meet<strong>in</strong>g was held at the <strong>Lichfield</strong> Guildhall at which a <strong>Lichfield</strong> branch of the Sport<strong>in</strong>g League was formed. Major Dalbiac, of the National 12 The Old Soldiers' Home Sport<strong>in</strong>g League, referred to a letter written by Major Churchill where he had described the Whitt<strong>in</strong>gton Races as be<strong>in</strong>g ‘of a very low order’ and that they had ‘sunk <strong>in</strong>to the hands of publicans and bookies, and they attracted the scum of the surround<strong>in</strong>g The Grandstand at Whitt<strong>in</strong>gton Barracks towns, such as Birm<strong>in</strong>gham, Wolverhampton, and Walsall etc.’ A national election had just taken place, with the Conservative and Liberal Unionist alliance replac<strong>in</strong>g the Liberal government of Lord Roseby, and Major Dalbiac hoped that the new government would overturn the orig<strong>in</strong>al decision and allow horse rac<strong>in</strong>g to cont<strong>in</strong>ue. His hopes proved to be unfounded however and <strong>in</strong> September 1895 the House of Commons debated a request to have the races re<strong>in</strong>stated. They heard an appeal from the Bishop of <strong>Lichfield</strong>, Dr Augustus Legge, and a number of local <strong>in</strong>habitants, plead<strong>in</strong>g that the races rema<strong>in</strong>ed closed and also a conflict<strong>in</strong>g appeal from the Mayor of <strong>Lichfield</strong>, George Ashmall, ex- Mayors and attendees of the Guildhall meet<strong>in</strong>g request<strong>in</strong>g they be re<strong>in</strong>stated. The government decl<strong>in</strong>ed to overrule the orig<strong>in</strong>al decision however and the horse races were never held at Whitt<strong>in</strong>gton Heath aga<strong>in</strong>. In April 1927 the Victory Memorial w<strong>in</strong>g was added to the grandstand at a cost of £5,000, although there was still a £375 debt on the build<strong>in</strong>g by 1932, when they held a Market Fair <strong>in</strong> the grounds to try and raise funds to clear the debt. Stalls <strong>in</strong>cluded crockery, cakes and a white elephant stall while Miss Joan Simpson was the ‘lady with a 100 pockets’ and there was also a stall run by Mrs Wigs-of-the-Cabbage-Patch! In 1957 the Soldiers’ Home was closed and the build<strong>in</strong>g became the new clubhouse for the Whitt<strong>in</strong>gton Golf Club. In 1994 the club bought the land from the M<strong>in</strong>istry of Defence, becom<strong>in</strong>g the Whitt<strong>in</strong>gton Heath Golf Club. The grandstand clubhouse is, however, on the planned HS2 route and is scheduled for demolition later <strong>in</strong> <strong>2021</strong>. A new golf clubhouse, funded by HS2, is under construction and changes are also be<strong>in</strong>g made to several of the greens to accommodate the high-speed rail track. For nearly three hundred years travellers between Tamworth and <strong>Lichfield</strong> will have passed by the familiar outl<strong>in</strong>e of the Whitt<strong>in</strong>gton Heath grandstand provid<strong>in</strong>g memories of one of the oldest, and at times most successful, horse rac<strong>in</strong>g venues <strong>in</strong> the country. Later <strong>in</strong> the year, however, another iconic <strong>Lichfield</strong> build<strong>in</strong>g will disappear from the skyl<strong>in</strong>e forever. Sources: The British Newspaper Archive; The <strong>Lichfield</strong> Book of Days by Neil Coley; www.whitt<strong>in</strong>gtonheathgc.co.uk
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