Gatwick Racecourse was a racecourse in the county of Surrey, 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 ...

and Lowfield Heath. 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. 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 ...

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 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 and flat races."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 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 handica ...

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. Colc ...

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 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 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