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Has any one noticed the horses names above the shops at Moreton Cross?

The small bit of research I did has revealed that the shops were financed by the races.
In short......If a horse won then a house/shop was built and the horses name put as a plaque on the building??

Is this a myth?

Any one else know anything??

Ive never heard about this, I have a book about Moreton, one of a series however so it could be in another one, I will have a look for any info later, will also ask me uncle who knows a lot about Moreton and it's history next time I see him.

Interesting stuff, will keep me eye peeled for these next time am out and about there!

I just did a Google search......Nothing turned up

Down to just local knowledge maybe?

The names are up there...."Some" have been painted over but still there...

I know there used to be a major racecourse at Leasowe. Lord Derby used to organise races there. Maybe there's a connection?

Wasn't there a racecourse on the RH side of the road between Upton Cross and Moreton many moons ago ?

Wow i didn't know that

Just updated the title with race course so its easier to find

I think that this means there was at least 4, now vanished racecourses on the Wirral:

1. The big one near Leasowe (I remeber reading about this in one of John Boumphry's books.

2. Hoylake races, which is now the golf course http://www.merseysideviews.com/Wirral%20Views/Hoylake/index.htm

3. The one on the farmland below Storeton Woods

http://books.google.com/books?id=HUHKY-rqwg0C&pg=PP9&lpg=PP9&dq=storeton+racecourse&source=web&ots=lXhFbbLnzr&sig=-v57Wu-33VlSfe1wxhzCG8B5vvo#PPA75,M1

4. Also referred to in this book is one between Raby and the Chester highroad

They must of been horse mad in the 19th Century!

The one near leasowe was where the Grand National started before it was moved to Aintree.

I've read that there was a course in upton somwhere, even saw a black and white photo...but as usual what that book was or went too god knows.

we were told at school that the races on leasowe forshore were the blue prints for what we know today as the derby which is now run at epsom.aintree has always been a national hunt course where as the races run at leasowe were flat races .if you look into the history of leasowe castle you find some info on the leasowe races.as mentioned in an earlier post the earl of derby founded the leasowe races and he basically built the castle to accomodate upper class race goers.it was the earl of sefton who founded aintree and they still run a couple of races to honour his name to this day.The Grand Sefton and the Earl of Sefton Stakes...

Im sure the names of the horses on the shops where winners that local jockey Titch Mason rode. One was called Kirkland and his house which used to be the old cattery next to cadburys was named after it.Will check though i know his great grand daughter.I also understood that the first grand national was run on the Leasowe race course.

thanks leliann - shows us ppl of the wirral we do have somethin to be proud of haha

WOW

Got the following from the offical history of national hunt racing and there is no mention of leasowe in regards to the grand national:: There is much debate among historians regarding the first official race held and most who have trawled the newspaper libraries of the United Kingdom now prefer the idea that the first running was in 1836 and was won by The Duke. This same horse triumphed again in 1837, while Sir William was the winner in 1838. These races have long been disregarded because of the belief that the 1837 & 1838 runnings took place at Maghull and not Aintree. In the last twenty years, several race historians have unearthed indisputable evidence that these three races were all run over the same course at Aintree and were regarded as having been Grand Nationals up until the mid 1860s. To date though, their calls for the Nationals of 1836-38 to be restored to the record books have been ignored. The first Grand National at Aintree was in 1839 and was won by the aptly named horse, Lottery.

got this fromk wikipedia hope this helps:::Leasowe Castle was built by Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby - a patron of Shakespeare - in 1593, possibly (though this is disputed) as an observation platform for the Wallasey Races which took place on the sands in the 16th and 17th centuries, and which are regarded as a forerunner of the Derby races. Ferdinando's brother William, the 6th Earl, was described as a noted sportsman and is remembered as a keen supporter of the Wallasey races.

There have in fact been 11 race courses in Wirral over the years:

1. Wallasey (Leasowe)

The racing stables were located in Jockey Lane (renamed Sandiways Road) in Wallasey Village. Racing at Leasowe is recorded as far back as 1653, the Wallasey Stakes starting in 1727 and continued for six years until 1732. The following year a race called the Wallasey Stakes was held at Newmarket. Racing continued at Leasowe until 1785.

2. Parkgate

Racing at Parkgate began during the 1820s. The Parkgate Steeplechase was taken over by the Wirral Hunt Club in 1881, and although they continued to use the old Parkgate course, it was officially known as the Great Neston Races. The track was an oval which occupied the total length of Parkfield as far as the Leighton Boundary, with Wood Lane running along the top edge of the course.

3. Great Neston

Although the Parkgate races became known as the Great Neston races in 1881, the Great Neston races date back to 1728 and were run on a track at Windle Hill until the last race in 1846.

4. Hoylake

Racing at Hoylake started in the 1840s and the track was known as the Hoose Racecourse. The course was pear shaped and was 1.5 miles in length, it stood on land between the Royal Hotel and Green Lodge Hotel. Racing at Hoylake ended in the 1870s.

5. Upton

Horse racing was a feature of the two fairs held in Upton each year, races were held on a field known as 'Great Croft' and there are records of them back to 1762. Racing was revived in Upton in 1922, with a new couse laid out in Upton Park. Upton Park was next to Upton Manor on land belonging to Home Farm. Racing continued until 1924 when Wallasey Corporation successfully claimed that some of the land was within Wallasey and was required for a new Cemetery.

6. Bidston

The West Cheshire races began at Bidston on 29th October 1921. The course ran alongside the railway track at Bidston Station. The last recorded meeting at Bidston was on 14th August 1926.

7. Storeton

Horseracing in Storeton began in the 18th century and was confined to steeplechases. The race took place over a three mile course starting from Storeton windmill towards Barnston. The fences have been described as "rather stiff with big ditches".

8. Hooton Park

Hooton Hall was for many years home to a great racing stud, started by Sir Thomas Stanley and continued by R.C.Naylor until he sold the hall in the 1860s. In 1906 the first race meeting was held in Hooton Park, within the grounds of Hooton Hall. Racing continued here until 1916, except for one race held in 1930. This was a recreation of 7th Hussars midnight Steeplechase. Eight riders in white nightshirts rode in the race which started on the stroke of midnight.

9. Oxton

Little is known of the race course in Oxton Village, it existed in the 18th century and was very small, the couse is believed to have been located on Oxton Common.

10. Rock Ferry

On 14th May 1859 Liverpool Amateur Races were held on a course that is believed to be close to the Derby Arms as the prize giving ceremony was held in the Derby Arms.

11. Seacombe

Seacombe boasted a race course during the late part of the 18th Century. The first meeting was in August 1792 and was orgainsied by the Lord of the Manor of Poulton. The races continued for several years, but it was no match for the neighbouring Wallasey meetings.

The nameplates on the buildings on the SE corner of Moreton Cross roundabout include "Kirkland" and "Caubeen". Frank Mason (nickname "Tich" or "Titch") rode these horses in the 1905 and 1909 Grand National races - he won in 1905 link .
The other nameplates include "Spring Gate", "Rosewreath", "The Golden Valley".

I think there was a racecourse somewhere off Manor Drive or thereabouts - was it called Upton Park (there is an Upton Park Drive) ?

There is indeed an Upton Park Drive - off Manor Drive.

I grew up in a house down Upton Park Drive, and My sister Still lives there.

There is also an "Upton Park", this is on the Moreton Side of the Moreton Spur.

The Race Course in Upton was on land between Moreton Road and the present Manor Drive. The land was originally part of Home Farm (later Manor Farm) and was called Upton Park. Upton Park extended across the boundary of the township into Wallasey and racing came to an end in 1924 when Wallasey Corporation decided they wanted their part of Upton Park for a new cemetery. The cemetery was never built.

The entrance to the race course was just about where Moreton Road crosses the motorway spur.

Just to confuse people, Upton Park Drive is not where Upton Park was.

Thanks Old Hand - I knew it was there somewhere !

Here is a map of Windle Hill Racecourse in about 1841

Interesting to see there's 'Sod Hall' next to Windle Hill...

Crimewatch UK February 1989