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Horse

Alnwick Racecourse, High Hobberlaw

55.400008, -1.732287

Alnwick

Opened:

1654

Closed:

Unknown

Reclaimed

Condition:

Home Teams/Clubs:

Last Updated:

16 Jan 2025

HER Description

The Alnwick & District Local History Society identify High Hobberlaw as the site of Alnwick's first racecourse, officially in 1654. It was a 1 mile straight at High Hobberlaw - a name preserved in the Ordnance Survey maps for a small farmstead "with outhouses and a vegetable garden attached". Horse racing later moved to Hobberlaw Edge according to the same source, though it is not known when.

The straight is not shown on contemporary plans from the 18th or 19th centuries, so therefore it is difficult to identify the exact location for the site. However, High Hobberlaw is a very specific area near Rugley Road so the accuracy of the coordinates above will be within 200m or so. A racecourse cottage does still exist just off Battlements, though this may present the later course slightly east at Hobberlaw Edge.

The last race to occur at the town was July 4th 1793. The rise of Methodism and social & moral improvements saw pastimes like bull baiting, cockfighting and even the perceived "genteel" horse racing to be wiped from the calendar.

Ordnance Survey

'Sketches of The Coal Mines in Northumberland and Durham' T.H.Hair, published in 1844

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'Sketches of The Coal Mines in Northumberland and Durham' T.H.Hair, published in 1844

Historic Environment Records

Durham/Northumberland: Keys to the Past

Tyne and Wear: Sitelines

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HER information as described above is reproduced under the basis the resource is free of charge for education use. It is not altered unless there are grammatical errors. 

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