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A satisfied customer in 1879
32.1976. Sepia photograph of Sandown House, 1923.
Sandown Park racecourse was originally the site of Sandon Priory and Hospital, built during the reign of King Henry II. The Priory belonged to the Augustinian order and cared for the poor and the sick.
The 14th and 15th centuries proved challenging for the Priory and Hospital. In 1349 all the occupants died of the plague, and in 1436, Sandon Hospital experienced major financial problems. As a result, Sandon merged with St Thomas The Martyr Hospital in Southwark – or St Thomas’ Hospital as we know it today.
The original hospital building was later demolished, and Sandown House was built in its place in 1740. The surrounding land became Sandown Farm.
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17.1988/8. Sepia postcard of Esher Place.
The land was owned by J.W. Spicer of Esher Place. In 1870 the land came up for sale and a battle royal ensued. The locals were horrified to hear the three ways the land could be used: The construction of a lunatic asylum, the creation of a small town ‘complete with a fine church,’ a racecourse managed by a group of young London Society men who were friends of the Prince of Wales.
The idea of a racecourse was considered outrageous at this time. Despite being a popular sport, it was well known that racing venues were full of the roughest, foulest-mouthed, and coarsest members of society. Racecourses were certainly no place for a lady!
Many people fought long and hard for an asylum. However, undeterred by the uproar, three men strived to make their racecourse idea a reality: William Bret (later Lord Esher), Lieutenant General Owen Williams, and his younger brother Hwfa Williams.
5.1986/7. Colour tinted postcard of The Grand Stand, Sandown Park, with a race-going crowd on the slopes in front of the grandstand building.
Hwfa wanted to create a leisure destination; the first purpose-built racecourse with enclosures.
Costing £2000, the enclosure fenced the whole estate so that everybody had to pay an admission fee (at least half a crown). Nobody had ever paid to go racing before, making Sandown the first racecourse to charge all for attending.
Hwfa wanted his racecourse to be a place for ladies too, something that was very rare for this time. However, it was a masterstroke for reforming behaviour and made races more popular with the leisured Edwardian upper classes and nouveau riche.
Sandown Park Racecourse held its first meeting on 22 April 1875. It immediately stunned everyone with its social innovations and installation of a boundary fence. By 1879, the club had 1800 members. It was clear that Hwfa’s creation would go on to become a consistently innovative and groundbreaking racecourse.
A contemporary diarist
Photograph of 'The Michaelmas Stakes' at Sandown Park on 16th September 1896.
Race meeting at Sandown Park on 5th August 1896.
A race meeting at Sandown Park, showing crowds in the stands, c.1896
15.1986. White painted ‘T’ shape road sign post with “ESHER, LONDON” painted in large black capital letters.
The improvements to integrity, the Victorian love of sport, increased amount of leisure time and the development of the railway network all aided Sandown’s success.
From the early days of the racecourse travelling by rail was a popular option and Esher railway station expanded to accommodate the large numbers of racegoers. The two island platforms (not in use today) were used on race days as special trains brought people all the way from Salisbury and Portsmouth.
The railway was also the primary means of moving horses around the country. Custom-built carriages, called horseboxes, became increasingly sophisticated. A horsebox platform was established so that horses would be safely transported by train before motorised horseboxes became available. The last horse movement by rail for racing in England was in the 1960s.
Hwfa Williams created several races that stood the test of time. His greatest legacy to the sport is The Eclipse Stakes – an event named after a celebrated 18th century race-horse. Eclipse rocketed to stardom in 1770 after winning 18 races in just 17 months. Records testify that he could cover 25 metres a second!
He was born during the solar eclipse on 1 April 1764 at Keates Gore near East Ills-ley in Berkshire. Eclipse was chestnut in colour and measured just over 16 hands, which was very big for this time.
In 1771, Eclipse retired from racing due to a lack of competition as nobody was betting on rival horses. After retiring, he became a very successful sire. It is thought that 95% of thoroughbreds are descended from Eclipse, with many of his relatives still seeing racing success in Elmbridge.
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290.1964/3. Print of the 'head of Old Eclipse.' Eclipse died due to an attack of colic in February 1789 at the age of 25.
His skeleton is now housed at the Royal Veterinary College, Hertfordshire, in the Learning Resource Centre named after him.
In his memory, the Eclipse Stakes were established in 1886. The prize fund of £10,000 was donated by Leopold de Rothschild – a British banker and thoroughbred racecourse breeder. At that time, it was Britain’s richest ever race.
The race has been sponsored by Coral since 1976, and it is now familiarly known as the ‘Coral Eclipse.’
172.1986/6. Official Race Card for the Coral Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park on Saturday, 8 July 1973. 
298.1987/2. Black and white postcard of photograph taken at Claremont, Esher. It is entitled the Duchess of Albany with her children, Princess Alice and Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Albany, and their cousins, Prince Alexander (left), Princess Victoria Eugene (right) and Prince Leopold (baby) of Battenburg, Claremont, April 1890. They are posed at the bottom of the steps on and around a large dapple grey rocking horse.
The royal family, past and present, has always had an affiliation with Sandown. In addition to winning the Eclipse Stakes, many celebrations and royal visits have occurred at the grounds.
In 1887, 1500 people took park in the procession to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. Led by the Rector, the Duchess of Albany who lived at Claremont, and the young Duke and Princess Alice, a long procession snaked its way through the village of Esher.
The royal party took the salute in the Sandown Paddock. Afterwards, tea was served to all the villagers on the lawns of the racecourse. The Esher band, cricket teams and volunteers from the fire brigade all took part. Commemorative medals were given to the children and obstacle races, a tug of war and general sports competitions were held. The winners were presented with a Jubilee threepenny piece. The whole party ended with a torch-light procession to a bonfire on the green.
366.1979. Black and white copy photograph of Mr. Louis Paulhan flying over a passenger train whilst passing Brooklands Motor Track. (London and South Western Railway).
This bond forging between racecourse and the local community was further strengthened by the efforts of a Frenchman named Monsieur Louis Paulhan.
On 29 October 1909, Paulhan made his first official powered flight at Brooklands in his biplane. The plane was made by the French aircraft company Farman Aviation Works. This was also the first public flying display at Brooklands. Over 20,000 spectators watched him fly 720 feet.
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174.1977/3. Glossy photograph postcard showing a biplane in the sky against a background of clouds. Title of postcard "Paulhan's record flight at Sandown Park.
Less than two weeks later, on 6 November, Paulhan used Sandown Park to try and beat his own altitude record. The event was well publicised and drew in a huge crowd. In the morning, Paulhan flew circular miles around Sandown’s racecourse in preparations for the record attempt. He made three rounds of the course. His second circuit set a new British record for the circular miles in a time of 2 minutes, 0 seconds and 24 milliseconds. Despite achieving a record, Paulhan continued flying after the third circuit. He flew up into the air, stopped his engine, swooped down, restarted the motor and eventually landed after 17 minutes and 15 seconds of flying. Spectators watched in wonder from the grandstand.
Paulhan’s accomplishments did not end with these domestic trips. He quickly established himself as a gifted aviator and went on to have a varied and successful career in aviation.
The First and Second World War had significant effects on the racecourse.
49.1977/25. Programme for a Royal Army Service Corps Meeting 1920 at Sandown Park, Thursday 29th January 1920.
6.2022. Sandown Park Club House and Grounds pass for the Royal Artillery Meeting on Wednesday 3rd April 1929.
All leisure activities were suspended and some of the racecourse was ploughed up and sown with crops. These were used to support the war effort at home.
The army came too. Both the Royal Engineers and the recently formed Welsh Guards were based there. Sandown Park reopened as a racecourse in February 1918.
With the onset of the Second World War the racecourse closed once again, and Sandown was turned over to the Welsh Guards.
The Esher Civil Defence Organisation relied heavily on the support of St John’s and the Red Cross ambulance detachments. Aircraft carried out mock air raids leaving ‘casualties’ which received prompt attention. These mock assignments gave the civil defence staff important training. Racing resumed in October 1946.
Sandown reasserted its self-appointed role as the leader of the racecourse pack with two innovations which would transform the industry.
In 1939, the BBC had approached Sandown to seek permission to broadcast the Eclipse Stakes live on television. However, the request was turned down.
A second request was made after the Second World War. This time there was a positive response. On 24 January 1948, two steeplechases and a hurdle race were broadcast by the BBC. This was the first time that horseracing was televised live anywhere in the world!
Just nine years later in 1957, Sandown Park staged the first ever sponsored race, The Whitbread Gold Cup. Although Whitbread’s sponsorship ended in 2001, the race continued and is currently sponsored by Bet365. Despite this change, this race continues to be one of the highlights of the racing year.
Before the invention of electricity, internet or consoles, Victorians had competitive boardgames to pass the time and keep their minds busy. These games were extremely popular, and many remain today, such as draughts.
477.1968. Victorian Games Compendium.
477.1968. The Steeplechase game.
Compendiums are large wooden boxes neatly storing the best board games to entertain and outwit friends. The hinged lid lifts to reveal fitted compartments and trays filled with ebony draught pieces, leather game boards with chess, backgammon, bone dominoes and playing cards.
Steeplechase was a popular boardgame. Bets were placed before the rolling of the dice and the aim was to move your horse to the finishing line, avoiding fences and ditches before claiming victory.
This set includes 5 hand painted horses, each with a rider painted with a different jersey. Over time, much of the paint has been worn away by the players who enjoyed Steeplechase.
Sandown has a steeplechase course with eleven fences for riders to navigate.
Click here to watch a Steeplechase race at Sandown Park from 1936
In the 1960s, the future of the racecourse was uncertain. The original grandstand was now nearly 100 years old and maintenance costs were soaring. On top of this, the land the racecourse was on was being threatened by plans for a new bypass. Two routes had been proposed – The ‘Commons Route’ or the Mole Route.
In 1966, Sandown merged with Epsom Racecourse to form United Racecourses. It was also awarded a £300,000 grant for a new grandstand. However, this was suspended until the route for the bypass was agreed upon.
Eventually the current route for the bypass was confirmed and Sandown’s future was secured. Had the Mole Route been chosen, Sandown’s layout would have been radically altered.
The new bypass opened on 22 September 1973 and work started on Sandown’s new facilities. The changes were designed to be multi-functional and used for exhibitions, conferences and banqueting on non-race days.
Popular since the 1700s, cartoons often represent protesting voices through satire. This cartoon shows commuters sitting in a train carriage looking angrily at the Minister of Transport who is reading the 'Plan For New Esher By-Pass.'
The racecourse celebrated its centenary with a series of races in 1975. In 1994, the Jockey Club purchased, Epsom Downs, Kempton Park and Sandown Park. Now under new ownership, Sandown underwent another redevelopment between 1999 and 2001. This was the largest of its kind at any racecourse at that time.
Sandown’s history has continued to be rich and varied. As well as a nationally renowned racecourse, it is a leading music venue and exhibition and conference centre. The park is now also home to a golf course, go-kart track, sports club, ski slope, hotel and a nursey school.
St Stephen’s Review, 20 July 1889
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