53-597: Burnley Greyhound Stadium also known as Towneley Stadium was a former greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Burnley , Lancashire . South of Burnley there was a large open space known as Towneley Park which served Towneley Hall and the Towneley family for five centuries. In 1902 the estate was sold to the Burnley Corporation and despite the fact that most of the park remained in situ they did agree
106-551: A parimutuel betting tote system with on-course and off-course betting available. Attendances have declined in recent years, mainly due to the decrease in evening fixtures with the majority of fixtures being held in the daytime. Attendances peaked in 1946 at around 70 million and totalisator turnover reaching £196,431,430. As of January 2024, there are 20 licensed stadiums in the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland) and just one independent stadium (unaffiliated to
159-483: A 15-day period, except for special circumstances. In any event the competition must be completed within 18 days. Category One races replaced competitions called classic races in the 1990s. Category Two Race These races must have minimum prize money of £5,000. They can be run with one, two or three rounds but must be completed within a 15-day period. Category Three Race These races must have minimum prize money of £1,000. They can be run over one or two rounds and within
212-430: A former greyhound track, hosts stock car racing . Today the town is known for the presence of two large Enercon E-66 wind turbines . The first of these began operation in 1999 and the second in 2003. Together they generate more than three megawatts . The first of the wind turbines to be constructed was an Enercon E66/1500 with 1.5 MW generation capacity, 67 metres nacelle height and 66 metres rotor diameter. It
265-505: A governing body). Modern greyhound racing evolved from a form of hunting called coursing , in which a dog runs after a live game animal – usually a rabbit or hare. The first official coursing meeting was held in 1776 at Swaffham , Norfolk . The rules of the Swaffham Coursing Society, started by Lord Orford , specified that only two greyhounds were to course a single hare. Coursing by proxy with an artificial lure
318-425: A great number of the carved village signs that are now found in many of Norfolk's towns and villages, including Swaffham's own sign commemorating the legendary Pedlar of Swaffham , which is in the corner of the market place just opposite the old school's gates. Carter was a distant cousin of the archaeologist and egyptologist Howard Carter who spent much of his childhood in the town. The Swaffham Museum
371-496: A nine-day period. A category three race can be staged over one day but must have minimum prize money of £500. Invitation Race A special type of open race usually staged by the promoter in support on the night of other opens. This will be proposed to the committee by the Greyhound Board or by a promoter, with the racers being invited into the competition rather than the usual process. The minimum prize money for these races
424-401: A race. Greyhounds from which samples can not be obtained for a certain number of consecutive races are subject to being ruled off the track. If a positive sample is found, violators are subject to penalties and loss of their racing licenses by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB). The trainer of the greyhound is at all times the "absolute insurer" of the condition of the animal. The trainer
477-524: A result of this prosperity, the town has a large market place. The market cross here was built by George Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford and presented to the town in 1783. On the top is the statue of Ceres , the Roman goddess of the harvest. The former Corn Hall, which was designed by Mathias Goggs, was completed in 1858. About 8 km to the north of Swaffham can be found the ruins of the formerly important Castle Acre Priory and Castle Acre Castle . On
530-468: A standard colour scheme. The starting traps (equipment that the greyhound starts a race in) determines the colour. Races with eight greyhounds are no longer held. A racing jacket worn by a reserve bears an additional letter 'R' prominently on each side. Greyhound racing at registered stadiums in Great Britain is regulated by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB). Greyhounds are not kept at
583-587: A tornado measuring F1 on the Fujita scale and T2 on the TORRO scale on 23 November 1981 during the 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak . Swaffham is one of the many locations for The Man Who Became Rich through a Dream folk tale ( Aarne-Thompson type 1645). The tale tells of a pedlar from Swaffham who dreamed for several consecutive nights that if he waited on London Bridge he would eventually hear good news. He travelled to London, and waited for several days on
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#1732794080805636-555: A vaccination to minimize outbreaks of diseases such as kennel cough and a retirement bond before being allowed to race. All tracks are required to have veterinary room facilities on site. When a greyhound is due to race or trial at a track its health and condition must be checked by the veterinary surgeon at kennelling time and again before they are permitted to race, the weight must be recorded by officials and random drugs tests are conducted. From 1 April 2023, all vehicles transporting racing greyhounds must have air-conditioning. When
689-545: Is RAF Marham , about 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (9 km) west of the town centre. Temperature extremes in the Swaffham-Marham area range from 34.8 °C (94.6 °F) in August 1990, down to −16.7 °C (1.9 °F) during February 1956. The highest and lowest temperatures reported in the past decade are 34.6 °C (94.3 °F) during August 2003, and −10.3 °C (13.5 °F) during January 2010. In
742-631: Is a small, independent social history museum for Swaffham and the surrounding villages in Norfolk from the Stone Age to the modern. It has five galleries exhibiting local history and local geology as well as an Egyptology room about Howard Carter and the Ancient Egyptians , celebrating the centenary year of Howard Carter discovering the Tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922. Swaffham was struck by
795-587: Is built on the foundation of the original church. A wood carving of the "Pedlar of Swaffham" is also in the church. The nearest railway stations to Swaffham are at King's Lynn and Downham Market , on the Fen line . There are regular services to Ely , Cambridge and London King's Cross , operated by Great Northern . Until 1968, the town was served by Swaffham railway station on the Great Eastern Railway line from King's Lynn. Just after Swaffham,
848-548: Is held on just one racecourse. There is no requirement for central registration or licensing, and no code of practice. In England, standards for welfare and integrity are set by local government, but there is no governing or other regulatory body. In the 1940s, there were seventy-seven licensed tracks and over two hundred independent tracks in the United Kingdom, of which thirty-three were in London. There are 20 active Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) registered stadiums in
901-468: Is responsible for any positive test regardless of how the banned substance has entered the greyhound's system. Due to the increased practice of random testing, the number of positive samples has decreased. Over a one-year period from 2017 to 2018, over 15,000 greyhounds were tested by the GBGB 'flying squad' which returned four positive cocaine tests. These cases resulted in disqualification or suspension for
954-613: Is the Greyhound Trust (GT). The GT is a charity but is partly funded by the British Greyhound Racing Fund (BGRF), who gave funding of £1,400,000 in 2015 and rehomed 4,000 greyhounds in 2016. In recent years the racing industry has made significant progress in establishing programmes for the adoption of retired racers. Many race tracks have established their own adoption programmes in addition to actively cooperating with private adoption groups throughout
1007-490: Is £750. Minor Open Race This is any other open race. The minimum added money for these races is £150. In 1986, Ballyregan Bob beat the record for the most number of consecutive races won by winning his 32nd race, besting the record set by Joe Dump in the United States in 1978 and 1979. This is any other race staged at a track, and prize money is varied. This kind of racing is the core of most stadiums and some of
1060-646: The 2001 census had a population of 6,935 in 3,130 households, which increased to 7,258, in 3,258 households, at the 2011 census . For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of Breckland . The name of the town derives from the Old English Swǣfa hām = "the homestead of the Swabians "; some of them presumably came with the Angles and Saxons . By the 14th and 15th centuries Swaffham had an emerging sheep and wool industry. As
1113-645: The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), and a sector known as 'independent racing' or 'flapping' which is unaffiliated with a governing body. Registered racing in Great Britain is regulated by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) and has been UKAS accredited since 2010. All in the registered sector are subject to the GBGB Rules of Racing and the Directions of the Stewards, who set
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#17327940808051166-499: The Irish Greyhound Derby , held at Shelbourne Park , is open to British greyhounds. There used to be a Scottish Greyhound Derby and Welsh Greyhound Derby but the events finished in 2019 and 1977 respectively. In 2010, a short lived Northern Irish Derby was introduced. Category One Race These races must have minimum prize money of £12,500. They can be run between one and four rounds but must be completed within
1219-542: The Tacolneston or Sandy Heath TV transmitters Local radio stations are BBC Radio Norfolk on 104.4 FM, Heart East on 102.4 FM, Greatest Hits Radio Norfolk & North Suffolk on 96.7 FM, Amber Radio, Radio West Norfolk and KL1 Radio. The town's local newspaper is the Watton and Swaffham Times . Swaffham has a Non-League football club, Swaffham Town , which plays at Shoemakers Lane. Swaffham Raceway ,
1272-634: The EcoTech Centre, a visitor centre which was opened in 1999. The centre hosted the 2008 British BASE jumping championships; contestants jumped from the roof of the observation deck. In 2008 the energy company Ecotricity took over the management of the site and in 2012 the visitor centre was renamed the Green Britain Centre. The centre provided a venue for school trips and event hire, and had educational displays focussing on sustainability in food, energy and transport. The height of
1325-988: The General Strike of 1926 looming, the two men scoured the country to find others who would join them. Eventually they met Brigadier-General Critchley , who in turn introduced them to Sir William Gentle . Between them they raised £22,000 and launched the Greyhound Racing Association . On July 24, 1926, in front of 1,700 spectators, the first modern greyhound race in Great Britain took place at Belle Vue Stadium , where seven greyhounds raced round an oval circuit to catch an electric artificial hare. They then hurried to open tracks in London at White City and Harringay . The first three years of racing were financially successful, with attendances of 5.5 million in 1927, 13.7 million in 1928 and 16 million in 1929. The greyhound racing industry in Great Britain currently falls under two sectors: that registered by
1378-494: The Lincolnshire, Suffolk and Portsmouth Greyhound Trusts reported that all retired greyhounds were being homed and that there was a shortage. Concerns were raised that if the shortage of retired greyhounds continued it could force some homing organisations to close. The most recent independently verified published figures show that the 2021 injury rate was 1.23% which equated to 4,442 from 359,083 runs. The most common injury
1431-765: The UK to come to an end but the GBGB responded criticising the charities' inaccurate data. In 2023, trainer Rebecca Perkins received a jail sentence and life ban after committing offences contrary to the Animal Welfare Act. Swaffham Swaffham ( / ˈ s w ɒ f əm / ) is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District and English county of Norfolk . It is situated 12 miles (19 kilometres) east of King's Lynn and 31 miles (50 kilometres) west of Norwich . The civil parish has an area of 11.42 sq mi (29.6 km ) and in
1484-672: The United Kingdom. There are no active GBGB tracks in Scotland and just one in Wales. Northern Irish tracks do not come under the control of the GBGB. There is just one active independent stadium: There are various types and levels of competitions in Britain, with prize money reaching £15,737,122. Greyhound Derby The English Greyhound Derby currently has a winner's prize of £175,000. The competition (held at Towcester) has six rounds and attracts around 180 entries each year. In addition,
1537-470: The attraction's popularity was in 2016, when 22,000 people visited the centre and 8,000 climbed the turbine. In June 2018 it was announced that the centre had closed for financial reasons and that Ecotricity intended to hand the building back to Breckland District Council (BDC). The council subsequently put it up for rent or sale and discussed exchanging it with Swaffham Town Council in return for 5 acres (2.0 ha) of building land. A proposal to convert
1590-532: The bridge. Eventually a shopkeeper asked him why he was waiting, and the man told of his dream. The shopkeeper laughed, and replied that he often dreamed that if he went to a certain orchard in Swaffham and started digging, he would find buried treasure . The pedlar returned to Swaffham, and found the treasure. In medieval folklore, a black, hairy dog called the Black Shuck was rumoured to have wandered
1643-586: The building into a leisure centre was considered by BDC but ultimately abandoned. In 2021 the building was sold to manufacturer Flexion Global for use as their headquarters. Shortly after the sale, Swaffham Town Council gave BCD a parcel of land next to the centre on which BDC intends to build a leisure centre. As with the rest of the British Isles and East Anglia, Swaffham experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest Met Office weather station to provide local climate data
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1696-508: The centre of the town on its north–south route, intersecting with the A47 at a grade separated junction north of the town. First Eastern Counties ' Excel bus routes provide a regular public transport link through Swaffham between Dereham and King's Lynn. Most services continue east to Norwich and west to Peterborough. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC East and ITV Anglia . Television signals are received from either
1749-469: The country. There are also many independent organisations which find homes for retired Greyhounds. Several independent rescue and homing groups receive some funding from the industry but mainly rely on public donations. In 2016, 1,500 greyhounds were rehomed by independent groups. In 2018, several tracks introduced a scheme whereby every greyhound is found a home by the track, these include Kinsley and Doncaster. During 2020 many homing organisations including
1802-409: The greyhounds finish their racing careers they are retired under the GBGB bond scheme (introduced in 2020) which ensures the homing costs are met. Owners may keep the dog for breeding or as pets, or they can send them to greyhound adoption groups. The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) have introduced measures to locate where racing greyhounds reside after they have retired from racing and from 2017
1855-517: The line split into two: one branch headed south to Thetford and the other east towards Dereham . The lines were all closed as part of the Beeching cuts , though the possibility of rebuilding a direct rail link from Norwich to King's Lynn, via Swaffham, is raised occasionally. The east–west A47 Birmingham to Great Yarmouth road now bypasses the town, using a northerly bypass opened in 1981. The A1065 Mildenhall to Fakenham road still passes through
1908-562: The north side of the stadium. From the east there was footbridge over the River Calder that met the Hall's north access road. Whichever entry was chosen resulted in the same turnstile entrances on the east side of the stadium being used where the main stand overlooked the course. A local company with a share capital of £13,000 purchased and constructed the greyhound track which was a very large 570 yards in circumference. The first race night
1961-470: The offending parties. Isolated incidents have occurred that resulted in national newspaper articles. In 2007, a builder called David Smith destroyed greyhounds with a captive bolt gun, he received a jail sentence. Subsequently, anyone found to have sent a greyhound to him was warned off for life by the GBGB. During September 2022, the RSPCA, Blue Cross and The Dogs Trust jointly called for greyhound racing in
2014-509: The racing can be viewed in betting shops on the Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service (BAGS). The Racing Manager selects the greyhounds based on ability and organises them into traps (called seeding) and classes (usually 1–9) with grade 1 being the best class. The sex and weight of the greyhound has no bearing. + Only used if a track has an alternative standard distance. Greyhound racing in Britain has
2067-462: The retirement data has been available to the public. Concern among welfare groups is the well-being of some racing greyhounds who are not adopted upon their retirement, and that they may subsequently be put down or sold by their owners, some others are put down because they are not suitable for retirement. However the GBGB require all owners to sign a retirement form indicating the retirement plans. The main greyhound adoption organisation in Britain
2120-562: The sale of a plot of land that ran alongside the River Calder and the Hall's north access road. This ten-acre plot was in the area known as Towneley Holmes. The stadium could be accessed from either the east or west side, on the west side the path was opposite the Smalley Street junction with Woodgrove Road and cut across Towneley Park meeting the Hall's north access road. The stadium kennels were adjacent to this path situated on
2173-493: The site became playing fields. A golf course then spread its wings north and incorporated the site into the course. The position of the stadium today would have been on the northerly holes of a golf course, exactly on the opposite side of the River Calder to the £33 million Unity College . Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom Greyhound racing is a sport in the United Kingdom. The industry uses
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2226-400: The stadium blaming the government betting bill that restricted the days that tracks could race. With meetings limited to a maximum of 101 per annum the management put the stadium, kennels and equipment up for auction. A Burnley speedway team were formed and they joined the inaugural 1929 Speedway English Dirt Track League but withdrew mid-season and had their results expunged. During 1935
2279-461: The stadium was taken over by Captain Ramsbottom who had replaced Harry Bury as the judge and handicapper under a previous promotion. Ramsbottom then made a quick profit by selling onto two brothers Dr. and Clem Hodgson with the last greyhound meeting taking place on 2 November 1935. The buildings associated to the stadium (stands, shelters and kennels) were demolished and the track was filled in as
2332-532: The standards for greyhound welfare and racing integrity, from racecourse facilities and trainers' kennels to retirement of greyhounds. There are Stewards' inquiries, and then disciplinary action is taken against anyone found failing to comply. The registered sector consists of 20 racecourses and approximately 880 trainers, 4,000 kennel staff and 860 racecourse officials. Greyhound owners number 15,000, with approximately 7,000–8,000 greyhounds registered annually for racing. Independent racing, also known as 'flapping',
2385-692: The summer of 2006, location filming was done in the town for the ITV1 series Kingdom , starring Stephen Fry . In Kingdom the town is called Market Shipborough. The pub the Startled Duck in the TV series is better known as the Greyhound Inn , in which the Earl of Orford created the first coursing club open to the public, in 1776. Peter Kingdom's office is Oakleigh House, near the town square (formerly
2438-628: The third was the Old Craven Park in Hull. Haulage businessman Bill Sharples had a litter out of track bitch Calliope, sired by Grand National finalist Douro and trainers included Jack Hillman (a former England goalkeeper) and Jack Ashworth. In 1931 just four years after opening the Associated Greyhound Racecourses went bankrupt with the track then being taken over by a local businessman named W Spencer who closed
2491-443: The three settlements of Swaffham, Castle Acre , and Great Cressingham , ambushing merchants who were on their way to large towns to sell their goods. There are still rumours of a puma-like black cat wandering around Norfolk and Cambridgeshire . The church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul is one of only a few churches that have angels carved in wood instead of stone around the top of the walls. The current building, dating from 1454,
2544-530: The tracks and are instead housed in the kennels of trainers and transported to the tracks to race. Licensed kennels have to fall within specific guidelines and rules and are checked by officials to make sure the treatment of racing greyhounds is within the rules. In 2018, licensing and inspecting trainer's kennels was conducted through the government-approved, UKAS accredited method. Greyhounds require microchipping, annual vaccinations against distemper , infectious canine hepatitis , parvovirus , leptospirosis ,
2597-463: The west side of Swaffham Market Place are several old buildings which for many years housed the historic Hamond's Grammar School , as a plaque on the wall of the main building explains. The Hamond's Grammar School building latterly came to serve as the sixth form for the Hamond's High School , but that use has since ceased. Harry Carter, the grammar school's art teacher of the 1960s, was responsible for
2650-494: Was a hind limb muscle at 1,012 (0.28%), this was followed by foot injuries 876 (0.24%), hock 811 (0.23%), wrist 752 (0.21%), fore limb muscle 414 (0.12%), fore long bone 106 (0.03%) and hind long bone 26 (0.01%), other equated to 425 (0.12%). Track fatalities were 120 (0.03%). The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) actively works to prevent the spread of drug usage within the registered greyhound racing sector. Attempts are made to recover urine samples from all six greyhounds in
2703-402: Was also built with an observation deck just below the nacelle which was open for the public to climb during the 2000s and 2010s, the only wind turbine in the world to have such a facility. These two turbines have since been joined by an independent development of a further eight turbines at the village of North Pickenham , three miles from Swaffham. The turbines were originally associated with
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#17327940808052756-461: Was held on 3 September 1927 with seven thousand attending the meeting opened by Lady O’Hagan. The greyhounds initially housed at the Burnley track consisted of 100 brought mainly from Hull. The stadium came under the control of a company called the Associated Greyhound Racecourses with Towneley becoming their second of three tracks that they would eventually own. The first being Darnall Stadium and
2809-470: Was introduced at Hendon , on September 11, 1876. Six dogs raced over a 400-yard straight course, chasing an artificial hare. This was the first attempt to introduce mechanical racing to the UK; however it did not catch on at the time. The oval track and mechanical hare were introduced to Britain in 1926, by Charles Munn, an American, in association with Major Lyne-Dixson, a key figure in coursing. Finding other supporters proved to be rather difficult, and with
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