Folkestone Racecourse was a

thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

venue in southeast England, until it closed in 2012. It is located in Westenhanger, by junction 11 of the

M20 motorway The M20 is a motorway in Kent, England. It follows on from the A20 at Swanley, meeting the M25, and continuing on to Folkestone, providing a link to the Channel Tunnel and the ports at Dover. It is long. Although not signposted in England, ...

and about two miles west of

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

. The course remains closed and all running rail and steeplechase fences have been removed. In May 2016 it was revealed that the land covered by the racecourse forms part of a plan to develop and build housing. It is now unkempt and in a state of disrepair.

History

The history of the Westenhanger estate dates back to 1035 when it was owned by King Canute. The 14th century

Westenhanger Castle Westenhanger Castle is a fortified manor house once owned by royalty, located next to Westenhanger railway station and the grandstand of Folkestone Racecourse in Kent. The castle has endured a period of steady decline to near ruination in recen ...

can still be seen next to the main grandstand. The race course was established in 1898, and was a right-handed undulating oval of nearly 1 mile 3 furlongs, with a straight 6 furlongs which joined the round course for a home straight of 3 furlongs. The inner steeplechase course of 1 mile 2 furlongs, had 7 fences. It was on this course in 1975 that Lord Oaksey, the journalist and television commentator suffered serious injuries in a fall which ended his riding career. The centre of the course is farmed, and has a reservoir fed by a pumping station on the west side of the oval. The East Stour river runs along the western edge of the oval and under the straight course. In July 2012,

Arena Leisure Arena Leisure plc was a Public Company based in London, England, which existed as an independent entity until 2012 when it was merged with Northern Racing to form the Arena Racing Company. The company operated seven of the UK's horse racing c ...

and Northern Racing, the lessees of the racecourse announced the closure of the racecourse as a temporary measure. Outdated facilities and the delay of a project to build houses on part of the site were given as the reasons for the closure. It was announced that a final decision would be made in 2013. Folkestone held its last scheduled meeting on 18 December 2012.

Post-closure and future

Arena Leisure stated in 2012 that the closure was temporary. However, in 2016 it was revealed that plans drawn up by Folkestone and Hythe Council include the racecourse area for building houses in a development known as Otterpool Garden Town. By December 2017 much of the racecourse infrastructure had fallen into disrepair and there was no prospect of any resumption of racing at the venue. A planning application for 8,500 homes was submitted to the Council in February 2019, with a plan for a phased development over 30 years. Between 2013 and 2016, the venue hosted the War and Peace show, previously held at the

Hop Farm The Hop Farm Family Park is a Country Park in Beltring, near East Peckham in Kent, England, is over 450 years old, and has the largest collection of oast houses in the world. History Until 1997 the hop farm was known as ''The Whitbread Hop Far ...

at Beltring,War and Peace Revival website ''(Retrieved 6 May 2013)''
/ref> and featured in

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

's Dark Tourism documentary series. It has since returned to its original location.

Use by RAF

The racecourse was first used by aviation when a flying meeting was held in September 1910. Three aircraft were present, watched by a large crowd. Between 1940 and 1941 the racecourse was used as a decoy airfield with dummy aircraft placed to look like an active airfield. On 23 April 1944 660 Squadron, an army cooperation squadron of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, arrived at what was then known as RAF Westenhanger after the nearby village. The squadron based in a tented camp was equipped with Auster Mark IV single-engined liaison aircraft and used the racecourse to practise operations with local army units. On 12 July 1944 the squadron of 12 Austers escorted by a

Supermarine Walrus The Supermarine Walrus (originally designated the Supermarine Seagull V) was a British single-engine amphibious biplane reconnaissance aircraft designed by R. J. Mitchell and manufactured by Supermarine at Woolston, Southampton. The Walrus ...

rescue flying boat left Westenhanger for France. The airfield was then restored back to use as a racecourse. Rubble from wartime buildings can be seen on the north side of the straight course where it meets the oval. Westenhanger Castle - geograph

References

External links

Folkestone Racecourse (Official website)Course guide on GG.COMCourse guide on At The Races
{{Horse racing in Great Britain Defunct sports venues in Kent Defunct horse racing venues in England Sports venues completed in 1898 1898 establishments in England 2012 disestablishments in England