Hurst Park on a Beautiful Summer Day

Image: © Sean Davis Taken: 30 Jul 2008

People enjoying Hurst Park on a beautiful day in July. The round topped building in the centre is Garrick's Temple. A lot went one here through the centuries and a memorial, in the background, on the right-centre of the photo remembers this. There has been horse racing here 1737; the grandstand suffered an arson attack by suffragettes in 1913, at times crowds of 100,000, including royalty, attended, the last race was in 1962; in 871 AD a fleet of Viking longships passed on their way upstream to pillage Chertsey Abbey; the Molesey - Hampton ferry has operated continuously since 1519; Henry VIII often hunted here and in 1539 acquired it as part of his hunting grounds; cricket was played here since at least 1731, including a match with the Australian Test Team in 1890; the first recorded game of golf in Surrey was played here in 1758 when David Garrick was visited by some friends from Scotland; in 1785 pioneering balloonist, James Sadler, took off from here and floated overhead for over an hour and a half, this was only 18 months after the first manned balloon flight; from 1805 crowds of up to 20,000 would gather to watch bare-knuckle prize-fighting; in the 18th and 19th century it was a popular site for duelling, with major consequences; regattas have been held here since 1835, with Molesey Boat Club formed in 1866, many current members have Olympic Medals; during World War I the Royal Flying Corps (now RAF) used the racecourse as a training airfield; during both great wars motor torpedo boats were built at Platt's Eyot; during World War 2 thousands of British, American, Canadian & other troops were billeted here in preparation for the liberation of Europe, and last but not least I set up the UK's longest charity relay race in 1995 (222 miles), it's been going ever since - the first and last stage both follow the Thames Path through here.

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