Copenhagen House Grounds in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

, London also known as the 'Old Cope' was opened 24 September 1850 and was the leading venue for professional athletics until it closed in December 1853 after severe storm damage. Initially consisting of a 200-yard straight, an oval gravel track was added, opening on 17 March 1851, thought to be one third of a mile in length, enclosing a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

pitch. One of the first world records for the mile was set there; Charles Westhall in 4:28 on 26 July 1852. Whilst much of the site has been built upon,

Caledonian Park The London Borough of Islington is short of large parks and open spaces, given its status in recent decades as a desirable place of residence. In fact, Islington has the lowest ratio of open space to built-up areas of any London borough. The larg ...

is a remnant.

References

runtrackdir.com, Peter Lovesey

Caledonian Park
{{coord, 51.5465, -0.1235, type:landmark_region:GB-ISL, display=title Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Islington