Manchester Racecourse
Kersal Moor, New Barns and Castle Irwell
Overview
Throughout its long history, the controversially named ‘Manchester Racecourse’ has always been located in nearby Salford. Horseracing events at Kersal (or ‘Karsey’) Moor, to the north-west of Manchester, date back to the 17th century. Between 1847 and 1867, races were run at Castle Irwell, Pendleton, and from 1868 to 1902 at New Barns, Weaste. Racing returned to a new course at Castle Irwell in March 1902, where it remained until the last race was run on 9 November 1963.
Kersal Moor
The earliest known printed evidence of horseracing at Kersal Moor is found in this newspaper advertisement:
Regular racing was suspended between 1746 and 1759, due to moral censure from opponents such as John Byrom (1692–1763), but continued annually from 1760 to 1846. From 1772, the annual holiday period of Whitsuntide (the week following the seventh Sunday after Easter) became the recognised race-week. The ‘Manchester Meeting’ normally lasted three days (Wednesday to Friday), but was occasionally extended.
The course was about a mile in circumference, around three low hills. A Ladies’ Stand was erected in 1782, a new grandstand in 1819 and a saddling enclosure in 1840. The sheet above (1832) includes a plan of Manchester and Salford Cockpit. Like horseracing, cockfighting was a popular, traditional sport, until it was banned in 1835. In 1846, when the annual lease on Kersal Moor was not extended, racing transferred to nearby Castle Irwell.
Castle Irwell and New Barns
Castle Irwell is named after the castellated house built in 1826 for colliery-owner John Fitzgerald (1775–1852). In 1847, Fitzgerald rented part of his land to the Manchester Racecourse Committee on a twenty year lease. Situated on flat, flood-prone land in a meander of the River Irwell, the racecourse was one of the first to charge an entry fee, via toll-men on its approach roads. To the amusement of onlookers, those unwilling to pay the penny fee could sometimes be seen attempting to gain entry by fording the river.
By the time the lease expired in 1867, ownership of the land had passed to Fitzgerald’s son, John Purcell Fitzgerald (1803–79). A member of the Plymouth Brethren, John held strong religious beliefs and refused to renew the lease on moral grounds. As a result, land was purchased for £20,000 from Samuel William Clowes (1821–98), and a new, enclosed course constructed at New Barns, next to Salford Quay.
The races at New Barns continued into the next century. However, in the 1890s the future of the course was threatened by the Manchester Ship Canal Company, who wished to expand their docks and railways. In anticipation of compulsory purchase (which happened in 1902), 122 acres of land at Castle Irwell, were purchased for £40,000 from Gerald Purcell Fitzgerald (1820–79), John’s son. Described in the local press as “as fine, as large, and as up-to-date a racecourse as any in the kingdom”, the new facility boasted separate tracks for flat racing, steeplechasing and hurdle racing.
Race Attendance
Long celebrated as the ‘Sport of Kings’, due to its popularity with royalty and aristocrats, horseracing was also popular with the masses. Manchester’s mills and factories lay deserted during race week, when as many as 100,000 spectators, from town and country, gathered together to enjoy the amusements. Additional attractions, including Aunt Sallies (a fairground game), archery, acting, and drinking booths, added to the holiday atmosphere.
For those focussed on the racing, ‘correct lists’ were available detailing the Meeting’s schedule. These included the names, ages and owners of the horses. In the examples above, printed for the same race by rival printers, Clarke’s list (left) includes the colours worn by the jockeys, while Patrick’s list (right) notes the horses’ breeding.
The Evils of Horseracing
Though more than a century apart, John Byrom’s censure of the “abominable wickedness” witnessed at Kersal Moor is echoed in John Purcell Fitzgerald’s objections to racing at Castle Irwell. Intemperance was closely associated with race-day attendance, Castle Irwell in Whit-week being described as “a complete canvas city of public-houses”. (‘The Free Lance’, 15 June 1867):
“We were astonished to see so many persons who were intoxicated; to witness the frequent quarrels which took place; to hear the profane and abusive language which was made use of.”
R. H., ‘The Club’, in ‘The Manchester Iris’, no. 20, vol. I, 15 June 1822.
Drinking was often accompanied by gambling, which was regarded by many as a sin. Despite government legislation, and efforts by local clergymen and anti-gambling movements, ‘having a flutter’ remained an integral part of working-class leisure. Whatever the motivation behind the crowds attending race-day, the events were generally good-humoured, and no further attempts were made to stop the races, even through periods of social unrest.
Manchester Horseracing In Literature
The Manchester Races were an important part of shared popular culture. References to Kersal Moor, in particular, appear in a variety of local literature, including novels and poems. This comic sketch performed at Manchester’s Theatre Royal was recited by the actor John Penson (d. 1844).
Legacy
Today, there is no racecourse in Manchester or Salford, although the Racecourse Hotel near Castle Irwell remains. Kersal Moor is now the home of Salford City FC; Castle Irwell housed Salford University’s Student Village (1973–2015) and is currently being redeveloped as a housing complex, and New Barns is now the site of Media City. Proposals, in 2001 and 2004, to bring horseracing back to Salford were met with opposition on grounds of conservation and traffic.
Discussion Points
In the 19th century, the Manchester Races involved mass gatherings of more than 100,000 spectators, but even after the events of Peterloo, no attempts were made to suppress the meetings? Why?
How did the appeal of race-week vary among members of different classes?
What factors contributed to the popularity of gambling?
Additional Resources
John Purcell Fitzgerald, ‘A letter addressed to a member of the Manchester Racing Association: giving reasons for refusing to renew the lease of the present race course’ (Manchester, 1867).
Mike Huggins, ‘Betting Capital of the Provinces: Manchester, 1800–1900’, in ‘Manchester Region History Review’, Vol. 20: ‘Sport in Manchester’ (2009), pp. 24–45.
Richard Wright Procter, ‘Our Turf, Our Stage, and Our Ring’ (Manchester, 1862). Available here.
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Images reproduced with the permission of The John Rylands University Librarian and Director of the University of Manchester Library. All images used on this page are licenced via CC-BY-NC-SA, for further information about each image, please follow the link in the caption description.
