Gatwick Racecourse was 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 use ...

in the county of

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, England near to

Horley Horley is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England, south of the towns of Reigate and Redhill. The county border with West Sussex is to the south with Crawley and Gatwick Airport close to the town. It has its own ec ...

and

Lowfield Heath Lowfield Heath is a former village within the boundaries of the Borough of Crawley, West Sussex, England. Situated on the main London to Brighton road approximately south of London and north of Crawley, it was gradually rendered uninhabit ...

. It was in use from 1891 to 1940 when it was closed at the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The land is now part of

London Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Hea ...

History

In 1890, the descendants of the de Gatwick family sold the area to the newly established Gatwick Race Course Company. A farmhouse was built around 1890, with extensive stabling. In 1891, Gatwick Racecourse opened beside the London–

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

railway, and a dedicated station including sidings for

horse box A horse trailer or horse van (also called a horse float in Australia and New Zealand or horsebox in the British Isles) is used to transport horses. There are many different designs, ranging in size from small units capable of holding two or thre ...

es. The course held

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

and

flat race National Hunt flat races, informally known as bumper races, are a type of flat racing but run under National Hunt racing rules in Britain and Ireland. National Hunt flat races were created on 15 July 1891 when a conference between the stewards of ...

s."Gatwick Airport History", Business & Community Reference Guide for in and around Crawley 2008/09, Wealden Marketing, 2008, p. 85 The first race meeting was on 7 October 1891.http://www.greyhoundderby.com/Gatwick%201899.htm Its race distances were 5 furlongs to 2 miles

flat Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...

and 2 miles to 4 miles 856 yards

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

. The

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...

was run there in 1916, 1917 and 1918, but its principal race was the Gatwick Cup. From around 1930, the course was managed by George Gurton, who moved there from the

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

area of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

with his wife Ruby and two sons, Eustace Guy and Oswald George. A small airport was built at the southeastern edge of the property, with a circular terminal building called "The Beehive". There is a pub at nearby

Tinsley Green Tinsley Green is an area in the Borough of Crawley, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. Originally a hamlet in the parish of Worth, it was absorbed by the New Town of Crawley in the 1940s and became par ...

called The Beehive.

After closure

After the Second World War, the stables and racecourse were used for training by, among others, Jack Holt. The surrounding land was farmed by George Gurton and subsequently by his elder son, Eustace Guy Gurton. The Gurton family lived in the farmhouse until 1959 and farmed the area, using the land for mixed arable. Private trainers rented the stables and used the defunct course for training. In 1957, the racecourse was chosen as the site of the second major London airport, and the stables and house were demolished around 1960. A lodge house still remains on Povey Cross Road. The Gurton family emigrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 1959. Many of Gurton's descendants still live in the surrounding Horley,

Crawley Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...

and Charlwood areas. Some members of the family are buried at Charlwood Parish Church cemetery. The airport was expanded onto the site of the racecourse and as a result, left no evidence that there was ever one there, but there is a restaurant named the "Racecourse Restaurant" in Gatwick Airport. There are also roads around the airports boundaries called "Racecourse Road" and "Furlong Way". The racecourse's bandstand was relocated to Queens Square in Crawley.

References

External links

Gatwick Racecourse on race day

Map: Gatwick Racecourse superimposed on map of the modern Gatwick Airport
{{coord, 51.159, N, 0.169, W, region:GB, display=title Defunct horse racing venues in England Sports venues completed in 1891 1891 establishments in England Gatwick Airport