The Ipswich Racecourse is an area of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, England, that was formerly a

racecourse A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...

from 1710 to 1911.

The racecourse 1710–1911

The course was on what was part of the then Nacton Heath which at the time was just east of Ipswich, now in

Priory Heath Ward, Ipswich Priory Heath Ward is a ward in the South East Area of Ipswich, Suffolk, England. It returns three councillors to Ipswich Borough Council. It is designated Middle Layer Super Output Area Ipswich 014 by the Office for National Statistics. It is ...

. It was 1 mile and 7 furlongs in circumference and ran along the line of the modern Lindberg Road, Cobham Road, parallel to Felixstowe Road as far the modern Hatfield Road before a six furlong finish straight running parallel to Nacton Road to complete the loop. The earliest mention of annual race meetings in

was 1710 when a Town Purse was run for by "high mettled racers". A Royal Plate provided as a prize from 1727 which gave the meetings good support for the next half a century, with the ''Ipswich Journal'' running an advertisement for: :"A new stand on the race ground. Having been requested by several Gentlemen to erect a covered stand for the accommodation of gentleman attending the races, the public are hereby respectfully informed that a complete and elegant stand is now finished, with an inscription against it in golden letters, "The Gentleman's Stand" where gentlemen may have places at two shillings and sixpence each. Popularity declined slightly until the garrison came to Ipswich in the early 19th century where the officers brought their support to the races. The course ran a mix of flat and hunt racing, although the last flat race was in 1884 following the withdrawal of the ''Queen's Plate''. From then, it became exclusively a

National Hunt National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, Great Britain and Ireland. Jump Racing requires horses to jump over fences and ditches. In ...

course. The hurdles were unpopular with jockeys and horses alike which, although built to National Hunt rules, lacked wings, which increased the risk of the horses running out unless the jockey approached the centre of the

hurdle A hurdle (UK English, limited US English) is a moveable section of light fence. In the United States, terms such as "panel", "pipe panel" or simply "fence section" are used to describe moveable sections of fencing intended for agricultural u ...

. The last race meeting was 29 March 1911 after support had fallen steadily.

Contemporary site

The area is now part of a large 1930s housing estate. The Racecourse Recreation Ground comprises a sports area, children's play area and public toilets. The Racecourse Pub (on Nacton Road) reputedly stood on the site of the finishing line. In 2009 the Racecourse went bankrupt and was demolished later in the year. A Tesco Express and five homes now occupy the site, which was completed in early 2010.

External links

References

Defunct horse racing venues in England Sports venues in Ipswich Defunct sports venues in Suffolk Sports venues demolished in 2009 Sports venues completed in 1710 1710 establishments in England Demolished sports venues in the United Kingdom {{England-horseracing-venue-stub