Town Moor, racecourse

HER Number:
16922

District:
Sunderland

Site Name:
Town Moor, racecourse

Place:
Sunderland

Map Sheet:
NZ45NW

Class:
Recreational

Site Type: Broad:
Racing Sports Site

Site Type: Specific:
Racecourse

General Period:
POST MEDIEVAL

Specific Period:
Hanoverian 1714 to 1837

Form of Evidence:
Documentary Evidence

Description:
The earliest recorded organised sport in Sunderland was horse racing on the Town Moor from at least 1724 until the 1740s. A map of Sunderland's Town Moor dating to 1750 shows the triangular racecourse. Race days were known as 'Horsecourse' days. The horse races attracted large crowds. Horse racing restarted again in 1835 at Tunstall Hope on land owned by George Skipsey. The Sunderland Borough Races only lasted at Tunstall Hope for ten years due to local opposition. During the 1850s the races took place at Southwick. In 1898 they moved to Grindon. An oval grass track was laid out on land owned by Colonel Vaux. The last horse race was in 1906.

Easting:
440840

Northing:
557220

Grid Reference:
NZ440840557220

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
Lynn Pearson, 2010, Played in Tyne and Wear - Charting the heritage of people at play, pp 72-73, 74-75