BL65 657 Posted May 13, 2020 5 minutes ago, steve roberts said: Apparently according to "The Homes of British Speedway" quote: "The site of the stadium was once part of a field owned by the Duke of Devonshire, who put it up for auction,. A small holder bought it and sold a piece to the Eastbourne Motor Sports Club for £100". The Duke owned 1,000 acres plus in and around Eastbourne at the time. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve roberts 9,246 Posted May 13, 2020 10 minutes ago, BL65 said: The Duke owned 1,000 acres plus in and around Eastbourne at the time. The Devonshires also own much of the land around Bolton Abbey (where the charges for the car park are astronomical!) in North Yorkshire...they certainly got around a bit! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BL65 657 Posted May 13, 2020 29 minutes ago, steve roberts said: The Devonshires also own much of the land around Bolton Abbey (where the charges for the car park are astronomical!) in North Yorkshire...they certainly got around a bit! Plus the Duke's residence, Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
norbold 7,116 Posted May 13, 2020 Just to add, that when i was researching for my book, "75 Years of Eastbourne Speedway", I spent many happy days at the Colindale Newspaper Library searching through the Eastbourne Gazette and Eastbourne Courier files. I had read Homes of British Speedway, so I started my search for any mentions of speedway or dirt track racing at Arlington at the beginning of August 1928. The first mention I found, was the one I quoted above from 5 October 1928. There was absolutely nothing about speedway or dirt track racing before that. Honest, guv. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tigerowl 630 Posted May 14, 2020 Thanks for all your input everyone. It's really appreciated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted May 14, 2020 I have a recollection that in subsequent years Eastbourne had a long standing track record although I do not have note of that time. It was set in 1936 by American rider Manuel Trujillo and stood until the late !950s. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BL65 657 Posted May 14, 2020 22 minutes ago, gustix said: I have a recollection that in subsequent years Eastbourne had a long standing track record although I do not have note of that time. It was set in 1936 by American rider Manuel Trujillo and stood until the late !950s. Trujillo had a best time of 75.2 in 1936, but George Newton had set a record of 73.8 on 10th May that year, with 'Bill Bennett' recording 73.6 on 11th October 1936. On 28th March 1937 Bennett set a new record of 68.8. 'Bill Bennett' was, in fact, George Newton. This record was still standing in 1950, as indicated in the newspaper report for the meeting on 30th July, when Harold McNaughton went close with 69.4. Subsequent record holders in the 1950s were Vic Ridgeon 68.4 (15.5.55), Mike Broadbank 67.8 (15.5.55), Merv Hannan 67.2 (26.6.55), Eric Hockaday 66.0 (30.6.56), equalled by Jimmy Heard, Frank Bettis (19.5.57), Leo McAuliffe (8.6.58) and Ivan Mauger (28.9.58), before being broken by Colin Gooddy with 65.2 (19.4.59). 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BL65 657 Posted May 14, 2020 17 hours ago, norbold said: Just to add, that when i was researching for my book, "75 Years of Eastbourne Speedway", I spent many happy days at the Colindale Newspaper Library searching through the Eastbourne Gazette and Eastbourne Courier files. I had read Homes of British Speedway, so I started my search for any mentions of speedway or dirt track racing at Arlington at the beginning of August 1928. The first mention I found, was the one I quoted above from 5 October 1928. There was absolutely nothing about speedway or dirt track racing before that. Honest, guv. Did you ever see a copy of the programme for the first meeting Norbold, with the Opening Ceremony referred to? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
norbold 7,116 Posted May 14, 2020 2 hours ago, BL65 said: Did you ever see a copy of the programme for the first meeting Norbold, with the Opening Ceremony referred to? I have seen a copy of the cover you posted before (in fact I have a copy saved in my "Eastbourne" file), but I have never seen the whole programme. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites