Tattersalls (formerly Tattersall's) is the main auctioneer of race horses in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Founding
![Tattersall's The First Auction at Tattersall's New Buildings ILN 1865](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Tattersall%27s_The_First_Auction_at_Tattersall%27s_New_Buildings_ILN_1865.jpg)
It was founded in 1766 by
Richard Tattersall
Richard Tattersall (June 1724 – 21 February 1795) was an English horse auctioneer and the founder of the racehorse auctioneers Tattersalls.
Early life
Tattersall was born in Hurstwood in Lancashire, and was educated at Burnley Grammar School ...
(1724–1795), who had been stud groom to the second
Duke of Kingston
Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain, with the title Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull being a title in the Peerage of England. The Earldom was created on 25 July 1628 for Robert Pierrepont, 1st Viscount Newark. Th ...
. The first premises occupied were near
Hyde Park Corner
Hyde Park Corner is between Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Mayfair in London, England. It primarily refers to its major road junction at the southeastern corner of Hyde Park, that was designed by Decimus Burton. Six streets converge at the junc ...
,
in what was then the outskirts of London. Two "Subscription rooms" were reserved for 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, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, amo ...
, and they became the rendezvous for sporting and betting men. Among the famous dispersal sales conducted by "Old Tatt" were those of the Duke of Kingston's stud in 1774 and of the stud of 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 the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...
) in 1786. The prince often visited Richard Tattersall, and was joint proprietor with him 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 Po ...
'' for several years. He was succeeded by his son, Edmund Tattersall (1758–1810), who extended the business of the firm to France. The third of the dynasty, Richard Tattersall (1785–1859), the eldest of Edmund's three sons, became head of the firm at his father's death. He had his grandfather's ability and tact, and was the intimate of the best sporting men of his time. Another Richard Tattersall (1812–1870), son of the last, then took command of the business. His great-grandfather's 99-year
lease
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...
having expired, he moved the business to
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End.
...
in 1865. Richard was followed by his cousin, Edmund Tattersall (1816–1898), and he by his eldest son, Edmund Somerville Tattersall (1863–1942).
20th century
Tattersall's remained a family business until Somerville Tattersall's death in 1942, when it was passed to his partners, Gerald Deane, Robert Needham and Terrence Watt. At this time Major Gerald Deane took over as chairman. In 1965 it introduced bloodstock auctions at Park Paddocks,
Newmarket, and in 1988 it also began holding auctions at
Old Fairyhouse
Old or OLD may refer to:
Places
*Old, Baranya, Hungary
*Old, Northamptonshire, England
*Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD)
*OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...
in
County Meath
County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...
, Ireland. Tattersalls Ltd (which has dropped the apostrophe from its name) is now based in Newmarket. There is a separate company in Ireland, but it shares some of the same directors.
21st century
, Tattersalls is the leading bloodstock auctioneer in Europe, selling 10,000 horses a year. It still prices horses in
guineas (originally 21
shillings
The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence or ...
and now one
pound and five
pence
A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is th ...
), in accordance with horse-racing tradition.
This firm (at the time trading under the style of "Messrs. Tattersall") has the distinction of setting a judicial precedent on the taxability of unclaimed balances (purchase moneys for horses that had been paid to the firm but which had gone unclaimed for substantial periods of time by the firm's clients). In ''Morley v Tattersall'' (1938), the English Court of Appeal held that such sums were not to be treated as profits for the purposes of income tax.
In Ireland, a yearling
Sadler's Wells filly, who would be named
Liffey Dancer, set a new world record price of $5,330,000 at the October Tattersalls Book 1 sale. (The previous sale record price was set at the 2000
Keeneland yearling sale for Moon's Whisper at $4.4 million.) Liffey Dancer, out of the mare, Brigid, was sold to mobile-phone executive, Craig Bennett. She is a full sister to 2000 Irish champion juvenile filly,
Sequoyah and to the 2007
Group I Group 1 may refer to:
* Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal
* Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N
* Group On ...
winning filly called
Listen.
In 2014 Tattersalls Ltd announced that it had acquired a majority stake in Osarus; a bloodstock-sales company based in the South West region of France which has been rapidly establishing itself within the French market since its founding in 2007. The purchase was a reflection of the French racing and breeding industry at the time, which (according to Tattersalls chairman) is respected and admired throughout the world.
Continuing in this trend, Tattersalls Ltd, announced the completion of its purchase of the bloodstock auctioneering business of Brightwells Ltd in October 2015. It planned to promote the former Brightwells Bloodstock division as the Tattersalls Ireland Cheltenham and Tattersalls Ireland Ascot Sales.
See also
*
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 ( ...
(1817–1849), a son of the second Richard Tattersall, who was a well-known sporting artist.
*
Tattersall Tattersall may refer to:
People
* Alfred James Tattersall (1861–1951), New Zealand photographer
* David Tattersall (born 1960), British cinematographer
* Gale Tattersall (born 1948), British-American film maker and cinematographer
* Geoffrey T ...
, a type of cloth named after the business,
used commonly in modern shirts. During the 18th century at Tattersall's horse market
blanket
A blanket is a swath of soft cloth large enough either to cover or to enfold most of the user's body and thick enough to keep the body warm by trapping radiant body heat that otherwise would be lost through convection.
Etymology
The term ...
s with this checked pattern were sold for use on horses.
References
*
External links
Official siteTattersalls Ireland*
{{Horse racing in Great Britain
Horse racing organisations in Great Britain
London auction houses
Horse auction houses
Newmarket, Suffolk