"The earliest record of a meeting on Barham Downs, near Canterbury, was on Monday 22nd March 1708 when an article appeared in the ‘Post Man and Historical Accounts of March 1708’. That meeting is covered in the Barham Downs section of this edition. However, one of the earliest recorded meetings mentioning the Kent City of Canterbury took place on 28th August 1729 when His Majesty’s 100 Guineas Plate over 4 miles was won by Mr Henly’s Thunderbolt. The course extended to 2 miles, although for the staying races the horses could start near the stands and go back on themselves for a distance until reaching the top turn, then rejoining the course for a straight run of a mile to the winning post, but there were also offshoots of the main course to cater for sprint races. By 1762 the meeting had been extended to a 3 day meeting from Tuesday 20th to Thursday 22nd July when the feature Canterbury 2 ½ mile Purse went to Brown George owned by Mr Rogers. At the 4 day meeting starting on Tuesday 20th August 1782 there was a royal win in the City Plate when Dido, owned by HRH the Duke of Cumberland, was victorious, while at a 4 day meeting from Tuesday 17th August 1824 the City Plate went to a Sir Huldibrand filly. Between these two meetings it is known that Jane Austen visited Barham Downs to enjoy the races on a number of occasions, probably around 1796 when she was 21. The final meeting took place on Barham Downs on Wednesday 20th August 1879." (1).

"During its heyday , from around 1760 to 1820, the races were a popular fixture in the area’s social calendar. Horse racing took place there between 1729 and 1879. The course was situated on Barham Downs" (2).

<1> John W. Slusar, 2017, CANTERBURY RACECOURSE (Website). SKE32478.

<2> Redd Lyon Curios Ltd, 2017, The Old Parish of Nonington: A small place in East Kent history (Website). SKE32476.