Gatwick Racecourse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gatwick Racecourse was a racecourse in the county of Surrey, England near to Horley and Lowfield Heath.[1] It was in use from 1891 to 1940 when it was closed at the start of the Second World War. The land is now part of London Gatwick Airport.
In 1890, the descendants of the de Gatwick family sold the area to the newly established Gatwick Race Course Company. A farmhouse was built around 1890, with extensive stabling.
In 1891, Gatwick Racecourse opened beside the London–Brighton railway, and a dedicated station including sidings for horse boxes.[2] The course held steeplechase and flat races.[2]
The first race meeting was on 7 October 1891.[3] Its race distances were 5 furlongs to 2 miles flat and 2 miles to 4 miles 856 yards National Hunt. During the Great War a Grand National substitute race, renamed The Racecourse Association Steeplechase for 1916 and the War National in 1917 and 1918, was hosted by Gatwick, although its principal race was the Gatwick Cup. From around 1930, the course was managed by George Gurton, who moved there from the Colchester area of Essex with his wife Ruby and two sons, Eustace Guy and Oswald George.[citation needed]
An aerodrome was opened around 1930 at the southeastern edge of the property, with a circular terminal building called The Beehive added in 1936. There is also a pub at nearby Tinsley Green called The Beehive. The aerodrome would eventually develop into Gatwick Airport. When the Second World War broke out in 1939 the military authorities requisitioned the open spaces of the racecourse for the War preparations. A final two day National Hunt meeting was staged on 27/28th March 1940, whilst a final Flat race meeting took place on the 14/15th June 1940.[4]
