Richard Tattersall
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Richard Tattersall (June 1724 – 21 February 1795) was an English horse auctioneer and the founder of the racehorse auctioneers
Tattersalls Tattersalls (formerly Tattersall's) is the main auctioneer of race horses in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Founding It was founded in 1766 by Richard Tattersall (1724–1795), who had been stud groom to the second Duke of Kingston. ...
.


Early life

Tattersall was born in Hurstwood in Lancashire, and was educated at
Burnley Grammar School Burnley Grammar School was latterly, a state-funded selective boys' grammar school, situated in Byron Street in Burnley, Lancashire. However, during its long history, it moved between a number of sites in the town. History In 1552, on the orde ...
. He left home in 1745, apparently because his father had thwarted his ardent desire to join the Jacobite rebels. He had an interest in horses from an early age, and entering the service of
Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, KG (171123 September 1773) was an English nobleman and landowner, a member of the House of Lords. Early life He was the only son of William Pierrepont, Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull (1692– ...
, he soon rose to be his stud-groom.


Horse auctioneer

Having put by a considerable sum of money, Tattersall purchased in 1766 from the Earl of Grosvenor the ninety-nine years' lease of premises at
Hyde Park Corner Hyde Park Corner is between Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Mayfair in London, England. It primarily refers to a major road junction at the southeastern corner of Hyde Park, that was originally planned by architect Decimus Burton. The juncti ...
(then an outlying part of London). There he set up as a horse auctioneer. His straightforward honesty and businesslike precision won him admiration. He soon numbered among his clients the chief members of the
Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree Racecourse, Aintree, Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom ...
and the nobility, and he procured horses for the king of France and the dauphin. In 1774, Tattersall sold the stud of his former patron, the Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, and had some difficulty in resisting the claims to the proceeds of the rapacious
Elizabeth Chudleigh, Duchess of Kingston Elizabeth Pierrepont (née Chudleigh), Duchess of Kingston (8 March 172126 August 1788), sometimes called Countess of Bristol, was an English courtier and courtesan, known by her contemporaries for her adventurous life style. She was the daught ...
. Early in 1779 he bought the famous racer
Highflyer Highflyer, highflier or high flyer may refer to: * Highflyer (horse), a British Thoroughbred racehorse * High flyer (fishing), a vertical floating pole used to locate fishing lines * HMS Highflyer, HMS ''Highflyer'', various Royal Navy ships * Yamh ...
from
Lord Bolingbroke Henry St. John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke (; 16 September 1678 – 12 December 1751) was an English politician, government official and political philosopher. He was a leader of the Tories, and supported the Church of England politically ...
for what was deemed the enormous price of £2,500, being then described as "Richard Tattersall of the parish of St. George-in-the-Fields, liberty of Westminster, gentleman."


Further business ventures

He now started a
stud farm A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud (animal), stud" comes from the Old English ''stod'' meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding". Historically, ...
at Dawley in Middlesex (near
Hayes, Hillingdon Hayes is a town in west London. Historically situated within the county of Middlesex, it is now part of the London Borough of Hillingdon. The town's population, including its localities Hayes End, Harlington and Yeading, was recorded in the ...
), which, together with his reputation for integrity, became the cornerstone of his large fortune. About the same time he fitted up two rooms at Hyde Park Corner for the use of the members of the Jockey Club; and these "subscription rooms" soon became a most important resort of the sporting world, and the centre whence all betting upon the turf was regulated. Tattersall purchased New Barns, near Ely, known thenceforth as Highflyer Hall, where he regaled chosen spirits, such as the Prince of Wales (afterwards
George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...
),
Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a British British Whig Party, Whig politician and statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centurie ...
and
William Windham William Windham (4 June 1810) was a British Whig politician. Elected to Parliament in 1784, Windham was attached to the remnants of the Rockinghamite faction of Whigs, whose members included his friends Charles James Fox and Edmund Burke. ...
, with "some of the best port in England." The prince is said to have made Tattersall his
almoner An almoner () is a chaplain or church officer who originally was in charge of distributing money to the deserving poor. The title ''almoner'' has to some extent fallen out of use in English, but its equivalents in other languages are often used f ...
for the relief of certain elderly racing-enthusiasts, and in honour of his patron the auctioneer erected the
cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...
with a bust of the prince as a youth and an effigy of a fox, known as "the palladium of Tattersall's." He was given the responsibility of the arrangements for the sale of the prince's stud in July 1786. About 1788 Tattersall became proprietor of the ''
Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning ...
'', which, in spite of the clever verses of Peter Pindar (
John Wolcot John Wolcot (baptised 9 May 1738 – 14 January 1819) was an English satirist, who wrote under the pseudonym of "Peter Pindar". Life Wolcot was baptised at Dodbrooke, near Kingsbridge, Devon. In the parish register, his surname was spelled " ...
) and the attention paid to sporting matters, proved a losing venture. The property was made over for a nominal sum in 1792 to Daniel Stuart. "Old Tatt," as he was called in later days to distinguish him from younger members of the dynasty, died on 21 February 1795, and was buried in
St George's, Hanover Square St George's, Hanover Square, is an Church of England, Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London ...
. His popularity was so widespread that he was said to be "free of the road, as no highwayman would molest him, and even a pickpocket returned his handkerchief, with compliments."


Family

Richard Tattersall married Catharine, a granddaughter of James, twelfth Baron Somerville; they had one son: Edmund (1758–1810), who succeeded his father in the business and proprietorship of "the Corner", and extended the business to France. Edmund's son Richard ("Old Dick", 1785–1859) and his son Richard ("Young Mr Richard", 1812–1870) later headed the business. A great-grandson of "Old Tatt", and younger brother of "Young Mr Richard", was
George Tattersall George Tattersall (pseud. "Wildrake") (13 June 181716 August 1849) was an English sporting artist and architect. Born in Hyde Park Corner, London, he was a member of the family which operated the Tattersall's horse market, the son of Richard ( ...
. An architect and artist, sometimes known as "Wildrake", he published work including illustrations of
racehorses Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
. See for example:


References

Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tattersall, Richard 1724 births 1795 deaths People educated at Burnley Grammar School People from Worsthorne 18th-century English businesspeople People in horse racing