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Lot Essay
The Chester Races
Chester claims to be the oldest racecourse in Britain. Following a ban on the dangerous annual game of football it was proposed on St George's Day, 1539, that:
'In the tyme of Henry Gee, Mayre of the King's citie of Chester, in the XXXI yere of King Henry Theght, a bell of sylver, to the value of IIIs IIIId, is ordayned to be the reward of that horse which shall runne before all others.'
Henry Gee, called the founding father of Chester Races, was a municipal reformer whose name is remembered in the running of the July meeting for three-year-olds and possibly also in the English nickname for racehorses: 'gee-gees'.
The Chester race meetings had been amalgamated in 1708 into one meeting on St George's Day, as recorded in the Assembly Book. The racecourse originally stretched from the Water Tower to the Castle. In the early 18th century the present oval course took shape at about a mile in length and is now little changed. Known as the Roodee, the course covers an area of about 90 acres, and encloses what was once the site of a vast Roman harbor. Gate money was first taken in the late 19th century, but spectators are recorded as watching for free from the Watergate and city walls.
In the 18th century each race took up a whole day, and consisted of eliminating heats, which were normally four, although occasionally two, miles long. Heats were run until the same horse had won two out of three, four or five races. To the 18th century race-goer, stamina was considered to be more important than speed. In heat-racing the horse did not have to win each heat, but merely to be the first to win two heats. If having an easy race, known as 'taking his rest', all that was needed to avoid being eliminated or 'distanced' was to pass the distance post, 240 yards from the finish, before the winner had reached the winner's post. A single race without heats was first run in 1791 and this method of racing then became increasingly common.
The Race and the Winning Horse
In 1792 the race was run on 2nd May for a £50 cup and won by Lord Lauderdale's brown horse, Scorpion, in a field of three. The race was over four miles and took only two heats as Scorpion won both; the betting had been 2 and 3-1 on him. A very successful horse, of the lineage of the illustrious Matchem, he was foaled in 1785 and was originally the property of Lord Archibald Hamilton, later the Duke of Hamilton. His record of winning races has survived:
Date Wins
1788 4 (as the property of Lord Archibald Hamilton)
1789 1 (only ran twice)
1790 4 (including 2 King's Plates and the Richmond Cup)
1791 2 (now Lord Lauderdale's; included a King's Plate)
1792 4 (the present cup as well as another King's Plate)
1793 1 (now Sir W Maxwell's)
1794 3
1795 6 (now Mr Mawkes' later Lord Dalhousie)
-----------
25 wins from three-year-old to ten-year-old
Scorpion was then used as a stallion in Scotland, siring several minor winners. A portrait of Scorpion with jockey up was painted in 1796 by Francis Sartorius.
The Prize
The race prize at Chester, between 1741 and 1800 usually a large tumbler, was given by the Grosvenor family and was worth £50; Peter Broughton records in his Grosvenor Museum catalogue that, besides the present example, the cups of 1766 and 1774 are known to have survived. One is in the Collection of the City of Chester. The 1766 cup was exhibited in the Festival Exhibition at Chester in 1951, no. 99. The Corporation of Chester also gave a silver punch bowl each year; three of these punch bowls, dated 1762, 1768 and 1780, as well as the 1766 gold cup appeared at Christie's on 4 October 1950 from the collection of the late J. T. D'Arcy Hutton Esq., (lots 126-128 and 148 respectively). The final cup presented in 1820 was worth £70; thereafter Lord Grosvenor gave £70 in money instead, varying this with the occasional cup. Eventually the sum given increased to £100 and the race became known as the Marquis of Westminster Plate. The final race was run in 1873, and was discontinued in 1874 when the 3rd Marquis was given a Dukedom.
Lowe & Sons
Lowe & Sons of Chester, retailers of the tumbler cup, were established in 1791 by George Lowe, who acted as agent in Chester for the Bateman family of goldsmiths. The firm was run successively by John and Thomas Lowe and their descendants. In 1977 Joyce Lowe sold the shop as a going concern, and after several consequent transfers it is now retained in
its own identity by Walton's the Jewellers of Chester.
Lord Lauderdale
James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale (1759-1839) was born at Ratho, Midlothian. He seems to have had a rather peripatetic education, attending Trinity College, Oxford, the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Paris, and finally Lincoln's Inn. He became Member of Parliament for Newport, co. Cornwall, and then for Malmesbury, 1784-89. On the death of his father, in August 1789, he succeeded to the Scottish peerage as 8th Earl Lauderdale and in 1790 was elected a Scottish representative peer. It was at this time that his racing successes began with Scorpion for the horse won not only the present cup, but three other King's Plates in 1791 and 1792. He did not win admiration however for his earnest advocacy of peace with France nor for his arguments against the Treasonable Practices Bill which he thought 'dangerous to the rights of liberty' and he subsequently failed to be re-elected in 1796 and 1802. He considered surrendering his peerage in order to stand for election to the House of Commons but this was not allowed. During the interim he wrote his 'Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Public Wealth, and into the Means and Causes of its Increase', a publication which did nothing to endear him further to ministers. It was not until the Whigs came to power on the dissolution of the Pitt Ministry that he regained his official stature and obtained a United Kingdom peerage. On 22 February 1806 he was created Baron Lauderdale of Thirlestane, co. Berwick. Although offered the post of governor-general of India, this was strongly opposed and he accepted instead the position of Joint Commissioner to France in 1806. He was, for a short time, also Keeper of the Great Seal. He has been descibed as a 'violent-tempered, shrewd, eccentric man' and a 'cunning old recreant'. He married in 1782, Eleanor, only child of Anthony Todd, secretary of the general post office and they had nine children. During the latter part of his life he is described as living in the country and amusing himself with agricultural pursuits.
Earl Grosvenor
Richard Grosvenor, 1st Earl Grosvenor (1731-1802), eldest son and heir of Robert, 6th Bt., was educated at Oriel College, Oxford. He was elected M.P. for Chester in 1754, and succeeded his father as 7th baronet the following year. He added several estates to the family property and, in 1759, served as mayor of Chester, later erecting the East Gate of the city at his own expense. Raised to the peerage as Baron Grosvenor in 1761, he married on 19 July 1764, Henrietta, daughter of Henry Vernon of Hilton Park, Staffordshire. They had four sons. Walpole describes Lady Grosvenor, who was painted by Gainsborough, as 'a young woman of quality, whom a good person, moderate beauty, no understanding, and excessive vanity had rendered too accessible' to the attentions of Henry, Duke of Cumberland, brother of George III. In 1784 he was created Viscount Belgrave and Earl Grosvenor. He died at Earl's Court on 5 August 1802, aged 71. In reflection of the fact that he was considered the greatest breeder of racing stock in England of his day and his obituary in the Gentleman's Magazine, August, 1802, laments that 'his death will be much regretted on the turf'.
Chester claims to be the oldest racecourse in Britain. Following a ban on the dangerous annual game of football it was proposed on St George's Day, 1539, that:
'In the tyme of Henry Gee, Mayre of the King's citie of Chester, in the XXXI yere of King Henry Theght, a bell of sylver, to the value of IIIs IIIId, is ordayned to be the reward of that horse which shall runne before all others.'
Henry Gee, called the founding father of Chester Races, was a municipal reformer whose name is remembered in the running of the July meeting for three-year-olds and possibly also in the English nickname for racehorses: 'gee-gees'.
The Chester race meetings had been amalgamated in 1708 into one meeting on St George's Day, as recorded in the Assembly Book. The racecourse originally stretched from the Water Tower to the Castle. In the early 18th century the present oval course took shape at about a mile in length and is now little changed. Known as the Roodee, the course covers an area of about 90 acres, and encloses what was once the site of a vast Roman harbor. Gate money was first taken in the late 19th century, but spectators are recorded as watching for free from the Watergate and city walls.
In the 18th century each race took up a whole day, and consisted of eliminating heats, which were normally four, although occasionally two, miles long. Heats were run until the same horse had won two out of three, four or five races. To the 18th century race-goer, stamina was considered to be more important than speed. In heat-racing the horse did not have to win each heat, but merely to be the first to win two heats. If having an easy race, known as 'taking his rest', all that was needed to avoid being eliminated or 'distanced' was to pass the distance post, 240 yards from the finish, before the winner had reached the winner's post. A single race without heats was first run in 1791 and this method of racing then became increasingly common.
The Race and the Winning Horse
In 1792 the race was run on 2nd May for a £50 cup and won by Lord Lauderdale's brown horse, Scorpion, in a field of three. The race was over four miles and took only two heats as Scorpion won both; the betting had been 2 and 3-1 on him. A very successful horse, of the lineage of the illustrious Matchem, he was foaled in 1785 and was originally the property of Lord Archibald Hamilton, later the Duke of Hamilton. His record of winning races has survived:
Date Wins
1788 4 (as the property of Lord Archibald Hamilton)
1789 1 (only ran twice)
1790 4 (including 2 King's Plates and the Richmond Cup)
1791 2 (now Lord Lauderdale's; included a King's Plate)
1792 4 (the present cup as well as another King's Plate)
1793 1 (now Sir W Maxwell's)
1794 3
1795 6 (now Mr Mawkes' later Lord Dalhousie)
-----------
25 wins from three-year-old to ten-year-old
Scorpion was then used as a stallion in Scotland, siring several minor winners. A portrait of Scorpion with jockey up was painted in 1796 by Francis Sartorius.
The Prize
The race prize at Chester, between 1741 and 1800 usually a large tumbler, was given by the Grosvenor family and was worth £50; Peter Broughton records in his Grosvenor Museum catalogue that, besides the present example, the cups of 1766 and 1774 are known to have survived. One is in the Collection of the City of Chester. The 1766 cup was exhibited in the Festival Exhibition at Chester in 1951, no. 99. The Corporation of Chester also gave a silver punch bowl each year; three of these punch bowls, dated 1762, 1768 and 1780, as well as the 1766 gold cup appeared at Christie's on 4 October 1950 from the collection of the late J. T. D'Arcy Hutton Esq., (lots 126-128 and 148 respectively). The final cup presented in 1820 was worth £70; thereafter Lord Grosvenor gave £70 in money instead, varying this with the occasional cup. Eventually the sum given increased to £100 and the race became known as the Marquis of Westminster Plate. The final race was run in 1873, and was discontinued in 1874 when the 3rd Marquis was given a Dukedom.
Lowe & Sons
Lowe & Sons of Chester, retailers of the tumbler cup, were established in 1791 by George Lowe, who acted as agent in Chester for the Bateman family of goldsmiths. The firm was run successively by John and Thomas Lowe and their descendants. In 1977 Joyce Lowe sold the shop as a going concern, and after several consequent transfers it is now retained in
its own identity by Walton's the Jewellers of Chester.
Lord Lauderdale
James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale (1759-1839) was born at Ratho, Midlothian. He seems to have had a rather peripatetic education, attending Trinity College, Oxford, the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Paris, and finally Lincoln's Inn. He became Member of Parliament for Newport, co. Cornwall, and then for Malmesbury, 1784-89. On the death of his father, in August 1789, he succeeded to the Scottish peerage as 8th Earl Lauderdale and in 1790 was elected a Scottish representative peer. It was at this time that his racing successes began with Scorpion for the horse won not only the present cup, but three other King's Plates in 1791 and 1792. He did not win admiration however for his earnest advocacy of peace with France nor for his arguments against the Treasonable Practices Bill which he thought 'dangerous to the rights of liberty' and he subsequently failed to be re-elected in 1796 and 1802. He considered surrendering his peerage in order to stand for election to the House of Commons but this was not allowed. During the interim he wrote his 'Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Public Wealth, and into the Means and Causes of its Increase', a publication which did nothing to endear him further to ministers. It was not until the Whigs came to power on the dissolution of the Pitt Ministry that he regained his official stature and obtained a United Kingdom peerage. On 22 February 1806 he was created Baron Lauderdale of Thirlestane, co. Berwick. Although offered the post of governor-general of India, this was strongly opposed and he accepted instead the position of Joint Commissioner to France in 1806. He was, for a short time, also Keeper of the Great Seal. He has been descibed as a 'violent-tempered, shrewd, eccentric man' and a 'cunning old recreant'. He married in 1782, Eleanor, only child of Anthony Todd, secretary of the general post office and they had nine children. During the latter part of his life he is described as living in the country and amusing himself with agricultural pursuits.
Earl Grosvenor
Richard Grosvenor, 1st Earl Grosvenor (1731-1802), eldest son and heir of Robert, 6th Bt., was educated at Oriel College, Oxford. He was elected M.P. for Chester in 1754, and succeeded his father as 7th baronet the following year. He added several estates to the family property and, in 1759, served as mayor of Chester, later erecting the East Gate of the city at his own expense. Raised to the peerage as Baron Grosvenor in 1761, he married on 19 July 1764, Henrietta, daughter of Henry Vernon of Hilton Park, Staffordshire. They had four sons. Walpole describes Lady Grosvenor, who was painted by Gainsborough, as 'a young woman of quality, whom a good person, moderate beauty, no understanding, and excessive vanity had rendered too accessible' to the attentions of Henry, Duke of Cumberland, brother of George III. In 1784 he was created Viscount Belgrave and Earl Grosvenor. He died at Earl's Court on 5 August 1802, aged 71. In reflection of the fact that he was considered the greatest breeder of racing stock in England of his day and his obituary in the Gentleman's Magazine, August, 1802, laments that 'his death will be much regretted on the turf'.