102-487: Lakeside is a suburb of Doncaster , South Yorkshire , England, centred around a circular lake. Approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) south-east of central Doncaster, it has recently seen new development and modernisation with the construction of several new luxury housing estates, a leisure park with restaurants, a cinema, and a bowling alley, the Herten Triangle , which has more eateries and fast food establishments,
204-584: A lowland valley in southern Yorkshire. To the west are low rolling hills eventually reaching the Pennines . To the east are the low-lying Isle of Axholme and Humberhead Levels . The south is relatively low-lying, with a large forested area including Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire . The Vale of York lies to the north. The floodplains of the River Don lie to Doncaster's north-east; this area
306-663: A mayor every four years. Additionally, the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster is one of twelve districts in the United Kingdom to have a directly elected mayor , currently Ros Jones , who was re-elected in 2021. The local authority applied several times, unsuccessfully, for city status . Its borough population of greater than 300,000 is larger than that of many cities' such as Hull , Southampton and Newcastle . On 28 October 2021, Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council announced its bid for Doncaster City for
408-641: A 2000 guinea match against the Duke of Somerset . The influential Tregonwell Frampton , known as the "Father of the Turf" was keeper of William's horses, and performed the same task for Queen Anne , George I and possibly Charles II and James II. He did much to improve the breed. The three foundation sires of the modern thoroughbred, the Byerley Turk , Darley Arabian and Godolphin Barb were imported to England in
510-414: A 2011 population of 302,402, while a 2021 estimate was 308,000. The 2011 census figure makes Doncaster's population very slightly larger than that of Rotherham (pop 109,691). Doncaster emerged as an industrial centre in the late 18th to 20th centuries. Its communications, particularly its waterways, meant that it became extremely busy and experienced migration to its centre. Underneath Doncaster lies
612-564: A festival of championship races, also held at Ascot . In National Hunt racing , the Cheltenham Festival is the foremost jump racing festival in the world, and is an annual target for both British and Irish trainers. The festival hosts races such as the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle , which are seen as the peak of their disciplines and over the years have been won by horses whose appeal has transcended
714-480: A huge natural resource by way of deep seam coal. Doncaster's proximity to major urban centres and motorway/rail infrastructure gives it a number of major distribution centres, including the 420-acre Doncaster International Railport , which dispatches goods to Europe. It also has large warehousing and logistic capabilities for retailers such as Next , Tesco , IKEA , Amazon.com , Lidl and Faberge . A marked proportion of fresh and frozen goods for northern supermarkets
816-544: A hugely important centre for thoroughbred racehorse breeding. In fact all racehorses are called English Thoroughbred, the breed having been created in England. All modern thoroughbred racehorses can trace a line back to three foundation sires which were imported to Britain in the late 17th/early 18th centuries and the General Stud Book first published by James Weatherby still records details of every horse in
918-455: A hunting lodge and so he could enjoy the racing there. Private match races between gentlemen, riding their own horses, rather than using hired jockeys as became the norm later, became commons. Around the time that Charles I of England came to the throne , Spring and Autumn race meetings were introduced to Newmarket and in 1634 the first Gold Cup event was held. Charles gave a 100 guinea silver cup to be raced for at Hyde Park , and instituted
1020-570: A large number of stallions and mares for breeding from Spain, Italy and the East. He kept a training establishment at Greenwich and the stud at Eltham . and founded the Royal Paddock at Hampton Court , where he kept mares and a "Barb worth his weight in silver", which has been given to him by the Marquis of Mantua . Formal race meetings began to be instigated too. It is believed that
1122-539: A local accounting firm. Other notice boards feature walking/cycle path, location map, scan codes and walking trials and these boards are managed by Doncaster Metropoliton Borough council. Doncaster Doncaster ( / ˈ d ɒ ŋ k ə s t ər , - k æ s -/ DONK -ə-stər, DONK -ast-ər ) is a city in South Yorkshire , England. Named after the River Don , it is the administrative centre of
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#17327762641691224-468: A race that still bears their name. One of the bells is inscribed "The sweftes horse thes bel tak" ("The swiftest horse takes this bell"). Racing was firmly established at Chester , the oldest surviving racecourse in England, by 1540. By the time of Elizabeth , the sport was a "common amusement", and the Queen herself is recorded as attending races on Salisbury Plain in the 1580s, as well as keeping up
1326-399: A separate members' enclosure. By the turn of the 20th century, it was said that "time has only strengthened and confirmed the national passion for the sport." Concerns over its moral effects were prevalent though. An interest in horse racing and the attendant gambling was described as the "offspring of a passion we should wish to disown", with a warning that "the modern turf is fast becoming
1428-573: A silver plate at Newmarket. Meetings at Stamford and Epsom were now well established. All horse racing was then banned in 1654 by Oliver Cromwell , and many horses were requisitioned by the state. Despite this Cromwell himself kept a stud running of his own. With the restoration of Charles II racing flourished and he instituted the Newmarket Town Plate in 1664, writing the rules himself: Articles ordered by His Majestie to be observed by all persons that put in horses to ride for
1530-597: A single all-weather Polytrack course at Dundalk . Courses also vary wildly in layout. There are very few which are regular ovals, as is the typical layout of other countries like the United States. Each course has its own idiosyncrasies, and horses are known to be more suited to some tracks than others, hence the idiom " horses for courses ." There are two main operating groups of British racecourses – Jockey Club Racecourses , which runs fifteen courses, and Arena Racing Company , which runs sixteen courses. Britain
1632-476: A tour of Yorkshire by King Charles III and Queen Camilla . Possibly inhabited earlier, Doncaster grew up on the site of a Roman fort of the 1st century CE, at a crossing of the River Don . The 2nd-century Antonine Itinerary and early-5th-century Notitia Dignitatum ( Register of Dignitaries ) called the fort Danum . The first section of road to the Doncaster fort had probably been built since
1734-632: Is Fibresand . Wolverhampton installed a Tapeta surface in August 2014, replacing the existing Polytrack; Newcastle converted its Gosforth Park flat racing turf track to a Tapeta course with the addition of a floodlit all-weather straight mile in May 2016. All flat racing at Newcastle now takes place on the Tapeta surface with a turf course retained solely for a winter programme of jumps racing. The other three British all-weather tracks are all Polytrack . Ireland has
1836-487: Is a limited amount of racing coverage in broader equestrian magazines, such as Horse & Hound . Many national dailies also carry racing news and information in their sports pages. At various times in history, there has been more than one racing daily, and fierce rivalries have existed between them. For most of the 20th century, the Sporting Life and Sporting Chronicle were the two competing papers, before
1938-514: Is a shopping centre and transport interchange. Opened in June 2006, it connects with the railway and bus stations. Lakeside Village, a retail outlet with some 45 retail shops and restaurants lies along the A6182 dual carriageway. The Waterdale area of the town centre is currently undergoing rejuvenation, with a new theatre (known as CAST), new civic offices and a new public square having been completed on
2040-551: Is about as far north as the 21.5 °C (70.7 °F) average July/August maximum temperature isotherm reaches – Indeed, the August 1990 record high of 35.5 °C (95.9 °F) is the most northerly temperature above 35 °C (95 °F) in the British Isles. The nearby town of Bawtry, slightly further south, still holds the UK's September monthly record high temperature of 35.6 °C (96.1 °F), set in 1906. Typically,
2142-402: Is an ancient word for baker: Baxtergate was the bakers' street. Historians believe that Frenchgate may be named after French-speaking Normans who settled there. The medieval township is known to have been protected by earthen ramparts and ditches, with four substantial gates as entrances to the town. These were located at Hall Gate, St Mary's Bridge (old), St Sepulchre Gate and Sunny Bar. Today
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#17327762641692244-538: Is attested by William Fitzstephen writing at some time after 1174 and the poet Drayton . During the Crusades , horse-breeding improved and horseback contests were popular, but in the form of tournaments, rather than races. King John established a stud at Eltham , Kent and the Middle English romance Sir Bevis of Hampton has couplets which refer to races taking place in the time of Richard I . For
2346-402: Is controlled throughout the town by the local planning authority , Doncaster Council. It reduces urban sprawl , prevent areas in the conurbation from further convergence, protects outlying communities, encourages brownfield reuse, and protects nearby countryside by restricting development in the designated areas and imposing stricter conditions on permitted building. It surrounds the side of
2448-536: Is dispatched by road from Doncaster. On 5 March 2004, Doncaster was granted Fairtrade Town status. Over the last few years the Doncaster Lakeside , as home to the Doncaster Rovers ground, has undergone modernisation. Doncaster has a bowling alley and a cinema near Lakeside. The Dome, opened in 1989 by Princess Diana , contains a swimming pool, gym, ice rink and café. The Frenchgate Centre
2550-555: Is from core racing industry expenditure, and the major horse racing events such as Royal Ascot and Cheltenham Festival are important dates in the British and international sporting and society calendar. The sport has taken place in the country since Roman times and many of the sport's traditions and rules originated there. The Jockey Club , established in 1750, codified the Rules of Racing and one of its members, Admiral Rous laid
2652-421: Is home to a flock of mute swans which have the gene for leucism . In around 1800 some swans were brought in from Poland and were called Polish swans. At first, they were thought to be a new species, which was named cygnus immutabilis . Compared to normal mute swans, these swans are whiter, and their legs are pinkish, not dark. Later, modern science discovered the variant in the swans' DNA and confirmed that it
2754-550: Is home to some of the world's most important flat races and race meetings. While ancient horse races like the Kiplingcotes Derby and Newmarket Town Plate are now mainly curiosities, there are many older races which retain modern relevance. The five British Classics – the 1,000 Guineas , 2,000 Guineas , The Oaks , The Derby and the St. Leger – were founded in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and still represent
2856-404: Is regularly flooded, notably in 2007 and 2019. Thorne and Hatfield Moors , east of Doncaster, is the largest area of low-lying peat bog in the United Kingdom. It is protected as a national nature reserve. Potteric Carr , including Potteric Carr Nature Reserve , lies to the south. Doncaster is within a green belt that extends into the surrounding counties. First defined in 1966, the policy
2958-504: Is served by a daily, national newspaper, the Racing Post , founded in 1986. This publication carries industry news, race cards for all British and Irish race meetings, tipping columns and betting information, as well as smaller sections on greyhound racing and general sport . There are also dedicated weekly publications including Racing Plus and monthly magazines such as Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder . In addition, there
3060-770: Is the Isle of Axholme in Lincolnshire , which contains the towns of Haxey , Epworth and Crowle , and directly south is Harworth Bircotes in Nottinghamshire . Also, within the city's vicinity are Barnsley , Wakefield , Pontefract , Selby , Goole , Scunthorpe , Gainsborough , Retford , Worksop and Rotherham , to which Doncaster is linked by road and rail. As part of the Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours , Doncaster received city status by Letters Patent . A ceremony to confer city status took place at Mansion House on 9 November 2022 as part of
3162-633: Is thought that the first horse races to take place in Britain were organised by soldiers of the Roman Empire in Yorkshire around 200 AD, although whether the Romans actually introduced the sport is a matter of conjecture. It is believed that Romans at the encampment at Wetherby matched horses against Arabian horses brought to England by Emperor Septimius Severus . Traces of racecourses dating to
Lakeside, South Yorkshire - Misplaced Pages Continue
3264-554: Is thought to have lain on the site now taken by St George's Minster , beside the River Don . The Doncaster garrison units are named in a Register produced near the end of Roman rule in Britain : it was the home of the Crispinian Horse, presumably named after the tribes living near Crispiana in Pannonia Superior (near present-day Zirc in western Hungary ), but possibly after Crispus , son of Constantine
3366-663: The Lakeside Village shopping centre, and the Eco-Power Stadium . The area has settled vegetation, paths, bridges, notice boards and space for public gatherings around the lake. It is split between the Town and Bessacarr and Cantley wards within the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster . Lakeside borders Bessacarr to the east, Belle Vue to the north, Balby to the west, and Potteric Carr to
3468-491: The Antonine Itinerary . The itinerary includes the same section of road between Lincoln and York and lists three stations between these two coloniae . Routes 7 and 8 ( Iter VII & VIII ) are entitled "the route from York to London ". Several areas of intense archaeological interest have been identified in the town, although many such as St Sepulchre Gate remain hidden under buildings. The Roman fort
3570-838: The British Horseracing Authority . with the exception of point-to-pointing which is administered by the Point-to-Point Authority with the BHA taking on regulatory functions. There is also a limited amount of harness racing which takes place under the auspices of the British Harness Racing Society and Arabian racing which takes place under the auspices of the Arabian Racing Organisation. Horses were used as beasts of burden in pre-Roman times, but it
3672-674: The City of Doncaster metropolitan borough , and is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield . Noted for its racing and railway history, it is situated in the Don Valley on the western edge of the Humberhead Levels and east of the Pennines . It had a population of 87,455 at the 2021 census , whilst the wider metropolitan borough had a population of 308,100. Adjacent to Doncaster to its east
3774-575: The Ebor at York (1843), the City and Suburban Handicap at Epsom (1851) and the traditional opener for the flat racing season, the Lincoln (1853). Steeplechasing first became organised by Tom Colman at St Albans in the early 1830s. By the end of that decade, the Grand National had been established at Aintree by William Lynn. In 1875, Sandown Park became the first racecourse to open
3876-539: The First English Civil War , King Charles I marched by Bridgnorth , Lichfield and Ashbourne to Doncaster, where on 18 August 1645 he was met by numbers of Yorkshire gentlemen who had rallied to his cause. On 2 May 1664, Doncaster was rewarded with the title of Free Borough as a way for the King (Charles I's son, King Charles II ) to express gratitude for the allegiance. Doncaster was connected to
3978-552: The Latin castra (military camp; fort). It was mentioned in the 1003 will of Wulfric Spott . Shortly after the Norman Conquest , Nigel Fossard refortified the town and built Conisbrough Castle . By the time of Domesday Book , Hexthorpe in the wapentake of Strafforth was said to have a church and two mills . The historian David Hey says these facilities represent the settlement at Doncaster. He also suggests that
4080-691: The Manchester -based Chronicle closed in 1983 due to debts and falling circulation. The Racing Post was founded in 1986 to fill the gap and challenge the Sporting Life monopoly that resulted and these two were rivals throughout the 80s and 90s. Ultimately, only the Post survived as the owners of the Sporting Life , Trinity Mirror , closed the Life and took over the Racing Post trademark. In
4182-497: The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 , which standardised how most boroughs operated across the country. The borough boundaries were enlarged several times, notably in 1914 when it absorbed Balby with Hexthorpe and Wheatley. By 1927 the borough was considered large enough to run its own county-level services, and so it was made a county borough , independent from West Riding County Council . The county borough
Lakeside, South Yorkshire - Misplaced Pages Continue
4284-932: The Old Sporting Magazine (founded 1792), the New Sporting Magazine (founded 1824), the Sporting Review (founded 1837) and the Sportsman (stated to have originated in 1829, so not the same as the Sportsman above which was founded in 1865). However, coverage of horse racing in newspapers is believed to date as far back as the Evening English Chronicle in 1779. There are two dedicated horse racing channels on British digital television – Sky Sports Racing (free to air) and Racing TV (subscription only). Daily broadcasts of British race meetings are split between
4386-594: The Pilgrimage of Grace ended in Doncaster. This rebellion led by the lawyer Robert Aske commanded 40,000 Yorkshire people against Henry VIII, in protest at the Dissolution of the Monasteries . Many of Doncaster's streets are named with the suffix "-gate", after the old Danish word gata , meaning street. In medieval times, craftsmen or tradesmen with similar skills tended to live in the same street. Baxter
4488-630: The West Riding of Yorkshire in 1899. Under the Local Government Act 1972 it was drawn into a new metropolitan borough in 1974 and became part of the new county of South Yorkshire. Doncaster has traditionally been prosperous within the wapentake of Stafford and Tickhill . The borough was known for rich landowners and huge stately homes such as Brodsworth Hall , Cantley Hall , Cusworth Hall , Hickleton Hall , Nether Hall and Wheatley Hall (demolished 1934). This wealth appears in
4590-633: The 1960s. Perhaps the most striking building to survive is St George's Minster , built in the 19th century and promoted from a parish church in 2004. Doncaster was already a communication centre by this time. It straddled the Great North Road or A1 , gaining strategic importance, as this was the main route for traffic between London and Edinburgh . Doncaster is represented in the House of Commons by three Members of Parliament (MPs). Sally Jameson represents Doncaster Central , Ed Miliband ,
4692-459: The 19th-century Doncaster Corn Exchange building (1873). The Corn Exchange was much rebuilt in 1994 after a major fire. During the 14th century, numerous friars arrived in Doncaster who were known for their religious enthusiasm and preaching. In 1307 the Franciscan friars ( Greyfriars ) arrived, as did Carmelites (Whitefriars) in the mid-14th century. Other major medieval features included
4794-519: The Don Valley, in the lee of the Pennines, and inland from the North Sea, mean daytime summer temperatures are no lower than parts of South East England, despite the more northerly location. The nearest weather station is RAF Finningley, now known as Doncaster Sheffield Airport , about 5.5 mi (8.9 km) to the south-east of Doncaster city centre and at a similar elevation. The Doncaster area
4896-697: The Great , who was headquartered there while his father was based in nearby York . The Register names the unit as under the command of the " Duke of the Britons ". In 1971 the Danum shield , a rectangular Roman shield dating to the 1st or 2nd century CE, was recovered from the site of the Danum fort. An inscribed altar, dedicated to the Matres by Marcus Nantonius Orbiotalus, was found at St Sepulchre Gate in 1781. This
4998-645: The Horse Matches run, and all plates and prizes run for in England and Wales which dates to 1727. The Weatherby family succeeded Cheney as the keepers of the most complete set of racing records, and in a later work which came into their possession, published in York in 1748, the result is recorded of a race run in September 1709 on Clifton and Rawcliffe Ings, near York, for a gold cup of £50. In 1740, Parliament introduced an act "to restrain and to prevent
5100-670: The Hospital of St Nicholas and the leper colony of the Hospital of St James, a moot hall , a grammar school and a five-arched stone town bridge with a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Bridge. By 1334, Doncaster was the wealthiest town in southern Yorkshire and the sixth in Yorkshire as a whole, even boasting its own banker. By 1379, it was recovering from the Black Death , which had reduced its population to 1,500. In October 1536,
5202-508: The Jockey Club continued to regulate the sport. In 2006 it formed the Horseracing Regulatory Authority to carry out the regulatory process whilst it focused on owning 13 racecourses and the gallops in Newmarket and Lambourn. In July 2007 the HRA merged with the BHB to form the British Horseracing Authority . There are 60 licensed racecourses in Great Britain, with a further two in Northern Ireland ( Down Royal and Downpatrick ). Apart from Chelmsford City and Ffos Las (which opened in 2009), all
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#17327762641695304-402: The Levett monopoly. Doncaster's Levet Road is named after the family, as are nearby hamlets of Hooton Levitt and the largely abandoned Levitt Hagg , where much of the town's early limestone was quarried. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Doncaster continued to expand, but it suffered several outbreaks of plague between 1562 and 1606. Each struck down significant numbers of victims. During
5406-452: The Plate, the new round heat at Newmarket set out on the first day of October, 1664, in the 16th year of our Sovereign Lord King Charles II, which Plate is to be rid for yearly, the second Thursday in October for ever King Charles II, Rules of the Newmarket Town Plate William III founded a riding academy and gave plates to be ridden for in many parts of the country. Between 1695 and 1702, he ran his own horses at Newmarket, including in
5508-457: The Queen's Platinum Jubilee . This has been supported by the Doncaster Labour Group and the Doncaster Conservative Association. All three MPs for Doncaster expressed support for city status, with Don Valley 's Nick Fletcher speaking for it in Parliament. Alongside seven other areas, Doncaster was announced to have succeeded in its bid to gain city status on 20 May 2022 as part of the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II . The city status applies to
5610-418: The Roman occupation exist, but records are scarce. The Venerable Bede reports that the English began to saddle their horses about the year 631. The earliest written mention of "running-horses" is a record of Hugh, from the French House of Capet , gifting some as a present to King Athelstan of England in the 9th/10th century. During Athelstan's reign a ban was placed on the export of English horses, such
5712-480: The Victorian era, there was a wide range of sporting newspapers that carried racing news to a greater or lesser extent. These include Bell's Life in London (forerunner to the Sporting Life), The Sporting Times and The Sportsman (not to be confused with the short-lived 2006 newspaper of the same name). In 1840, Bell's Life is reported to compete with the Sunday Times as the two weekly turf newspapers. There were also four monthly magazines at that time –
5814-403: The above racing is often referred to as racing "under rules" , since there is another form of racing which is run on an altogether more informal and ad hoc basis, known as point-to-point racing . Point-to-point is a form of steeplechasing for amateur riders. All the above forms of the sport are run under the auspices of the governing and regulatory body for horse racing in Great Britain ,
5916-489: The breed. Gambling on horseraces has been one of the cornerstones of the British betting industry and the relationship between the two has historically been one of mutual dependence. The betting industry is an important funder of horse racing in Great Britain, through the betting levy administered by the Horserace Betting Levy Board and through media rights negotiated by racecourses and betting shops. There are two main forms of horse racing in Great Britain. Collectively,
6018-407: The central part of the parish, including the town. Such townships were also made civil parishes in 1866. Doncaster was also an ancient borough , with its earliest known charter dating from 1194. The borough just covered the Doncaster township, although it exerted some authority over a surrounding rural area known as the soke. The borough was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836 under
6120-452: The conference in Doncaster, UKIP were "now parking our tanks on the Labour Party's lawn", referring to Labour leader Ed Miliband 's Doncaster North constituency. Shortly afterwards in the seat, at the 2015 general election , UKIP won 8,928 votes to Labour's 20,708. In the 2016 membership referendum , 69 per cent of Doncaster voted to leave the European Union. Doncaster forms part of the South Yorkshire Combined Authority , which elects
6222-410: The courses date back to 1927 or earlier. The oldest is Chester Racecourse , which dates to the early 16th century. Unlike some other countries, which include the United States , racing in Britain usually takes place on turf. However, there are six courses which have all-weather tracks – Kempton Park , Lingfield , Southwell , Wolverhampton , Chelmsford City and Newcastle . Southwell's surface
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#17327762641696324-475: The early 50s, while a route through the north Derbyshire hills was opened in the later 1st century, possibly by Governor Gn. Julius Agricola in the late 70s. Doncaster provided an alternative land route between Lincoln and York , while the main route Ermine Street involved parties breaking up to cross the Humber in boats. As this was not always practical, the Romans saw Doncaster as an important staging post. The Roman road appears on two routes recorded in
6426-415: The excellence of the British horse... may be ascribed much of our superiority over other nations, both in commerce and in war." In the early 18th century, Queen Anne kept a large string of horses and was instrumental in the founding of Royal Ascot where the opening race each year is still called the Queen Anne Stakes . The first published account of race results was John Cheney's Historical list of all
6528-602: The excessive increase in horse racing"; this was largely ignored and in the 1750 the Jockey Club was formed to create and apply the Rules of Racing . However, until the 1760s, individual horses seldom ran more than five or six times, due to the scarcity of prizes on offer, but this began to change with major race meetings expanding the prizes on offer. Newmarket and York led the way in this. Races were still generally for mature horses, and were typically run in matches, or in best-of-three heats over long distances. Three-year-old races were first run in 1731 and two-year-olds raced for
6630-400: The first occurrence of a trophy being presented to the winner of a race was in 1512 by organisers of a fair in Chester and was a small wooden ball decorated with flowers . Meanwhile, the oldest horse race still in existence, the Kiplingcotes Derby was first run in 1519. The Carlisle Bells , reputedly the oldest sporting trophy in the world, were first competed for in the 16th century, in
6732-442: The first time at Newmarket in 1769. In 1791, Cash became the first yearling to race, and beat a three-year-old in a match at Newmarket, in receipt of 3 stones. Newmarket itself continued to grow as a centre of racing and many of the racecourse's historic meetings (with persist to this day) were established in the 1760s and 1770s. By the end of the century the 12th Earl of Derby and Sir Charles Bunbury were key influencers in
6834-635: The former Labour Party leader , represents Doncaster North , and Lee Pitcher represents the Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme . From 2023 , the Don Valley constituency will be renamed Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme , and will cover part of North Lincolnshire . A new Rawmarsh and Conisbrough constituency will be created covering the south-western suburbs of Doncaster and parts of Rotherham. Doncaster Central and Doncaster North will see minor boundary changes. In September 2014, UKIP held an annual party conference at Doncaster Racecourse . UKIP party leader Nigel Farage claimed that by holding
6936-448: The foundations of the handicapping system for horse racing , including the weight-for-age scale. Britain is also home to racecourses including Newmarket , Ascot and Cheltenham and races including The Derby at Epsom , The Grand National and Cheltenham Gold Cup . Great Britain has also produced some of the greatest jockeys , including Fred Archer , Sir Gordon Richards and Lester Piggott . Britain has also historically been
7038-510: The gates at Sunny Bar are commemorated by huge "Boar Gates"; similarly, the entrance to St Sepulchre Gate is commemorated by white marble "Roman Gates". The boundary of the town mainly extended from the Don along a route known now Market Road, Silver Street, Cleveland Street and Printing Office Street. Access to the town was restricted and some officeholders secured charters to collect tolls. In 1605, King James I granted to William Levett of Doncaster, brother of York merchant Percival Levett ,
7140-428: The green belt is to encourage recreation and leisure interests, with rural landscape features, greenfield areas and facilities including the River Don and valley west of Hexthorpe; Hexthorpe Park; Cusworth Hall , museum and country park; Potteric Carr and Huxter Well Marsh; and the Trans Pennine Trail . Doncaster has a maritime climate lacking extreme temperatures, like much of the British Isles. Its low elevation in
7242-415: The home of horse racing in England. In fact, James spent so much time there that the House of Commons petitioned him to concentrate more of his time on running the country. The region has had a long association with horses going back to the time of Boudica and the Iceni . The first recorded race there was a match for £100 between horses owned by Lord Salisbury and Marquess of Buckingham in 1622, and
7344-538: The irritation of nature lovers and interest groups. Annual dragon boat racing has also been promoted. Various groups have used the lakeside track as cycling tours for their events. This area is monitored by the Lakeside Wildlife Action Group. Other groups include Birdwatch, Swanwatch, Butterflywatch, Frogwatch, as well as walking and cycling groups. The Lakeside Wildlife Action Group recently erected informative notice boards, sponsored by
7446-458: The late 17th and early 18th centuries and founded the lines which can be traced down to every modern thoroughbred racehorse. At this point, they weren't the only influential sires. Others, including the grey Barb donated by the King to a Mr Hutton, and known as Hutton's Grey Barb contributed importantly to the breed. The improvement of the breed was not purely for sporting purposes though. Warfare and conquest were also factors. As Whyte noted, "to
7548-594: The luxurious, historic gilded 18th-century Mansion House in High Street . This land ownership developed over what is an ancient market place and large buildings were erected in the 19th century, including the Market Hall and Corn Exchange . The old Doncaster Guildhall in Frenchgate was designed by John Butterfield with a tetrastyle portico and completed in 1847: it was demolished in the redevelopment of
7650-464: The next three centuries there are numerous records of Kings of England keeping 'running horses'. Edward III bought horses at £13 6s 8d each, and was also gifted two by the King of Navarre . The royal stud continued to grow throughout the reign of Henry VII . Records become more substantial during the time of Henry VIII . He passed a number of laws relating to the breeding of horses and also imported
7752-534: The paddocks at Hampton and founding her own at Blackheath . Racing in the Forest of Galtres dates to 1590, Leith Races were established by 1591, and at Doncaster by 1595. During Elizabeth's reign, interest in horse racing appears to have waned, for reasons unrecorded, but this changed when in 1605, James I discovered the little village of Newmarket whilst out hawking or riding. He began to spend time there racing horses, and from then on it has been known as
7854-453: The pinnacle of achievement for each generation of horses. The structure and distances of these races, if not the exact names, have been adopted by many other European horse racing authorities, such as Ireland . Royal Ascot is the major flat racing festival in Europe and attracts horses from all over the world. The modern flat season in Britain now also climaxes with British Champions Day ,
7956-707: The racecourse was founded in 1636. Chester continued to be a centre of the sport and by 1609 there are records of the St George's race being run five time round the "Roody" for a prize of silver bells and a sum of money. The first known Rules of Racing date from Kiplingcotes in 1619. Race meetings began to spring up elsewhere in the country. Races were run for silver bells at Gatherley, near Richmond in Yorkshire, Croydon and Theobalds on Enfield Chase . Jockey weights began to be measured and rigorously enforced, and formal training of horses took place, paying attention to food and exercise. James VI and I encouraged
8058-410: The rail network in 1848 and a plant and carriage works for Great Northern Railway was constructed in the town in 1853. The Doncaster Carr rail depot was opened in 1876. The area to the east of Doncaster started developing settlements where coal miners lived from the 1850s onwards, exploiting coal near Barnsley . One such settlement is Deneby. Doncaster and surrounding settlements became part of
8160-537: The rest of the UK. The Doncaster skyline is overlooked by the minster in the middle of the city. The Frenchgate Shopping Centre is in a similar position in the skyline, along with the Doncaster College Hub building. After the old Doncaster College and surrounding buildings were demolished, the new Doncaster Civic Office designed by Cartwright Pickard was built for Doncaster Council at a cost of £20 million and completed in 2012. Doncaster lies in
8262-499: The right to levy tolls at Friar's and St Mary's bridges. Having served as mayors and aldermen of Doncaster, the Levetts probably believed they could control a monopoly. In 1618 the family began enforcing it, but by 1628 the populace revolted. Capt. Christopher Levett , Percival's son, petitioned Parliament to enforce the tolls, but Parliament disagreed, calling them "a grievance to the subjects, both in creation and execution," and axing
8364-659: The site of the Waterdale car park. The old council house and civic theatre have been demolished and new housing is being built in the town itself, opposite Doncaster Racecourse, and in out-of-town suburbs. During the 19th and 20th centuries, confectioners based in Doncaster included Parkinson's the Butterscotch inventors, Nuttalls Mintoes and Murray Mints. In August 2011, Parkinson's put its 190-year-old trademark up for sale on eBay. The waterways, River Don and Don Navigation were used to transport coal from Doncaster to
8466-592: The south. Many species of bird and fish have established themselves here and the nearby Potteric Carr Nature Reserve , which offers bat, spider and other guided tours, has included this area in its extended walks about wildlife in the area. Several species have been recorded here, including Gadwall , Canada Geese , Moorhens , Cormorants , mallard , Tufted ducks , Northern Shovellers , Gulls , Coots , Great crested Grebe , Sand Martin , Temminck's Stint and Pochards . Raptors have also been seen here, including Osprey , Kestrel and Horned owl . This lake
8568-644: The sport was at a high throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. As Whyte's History of the English Turf noted in 1840, "For nearly a century and a half, the "Turf" has formed a favourite amusement of "Kings, Lords and Commons". Or as Rice's History reported in 1879, "for some two hundred years the pursuit of Horse-racing has been attractive to more of our countrymen than any other out-door pastime" Other traditional rural sports, including hawking, shooting and hare-hunting, had much diminished by this period, due to enclosure and "gradual refinement of manners" and racing
8670-404: The sport, including Kauto Star and Desert Orchid . More widely known still is the Grand National at Aintree , which despite being a very long and difficult race that is historically contested by a lower grade of horses than races at Cheltenham, has produced some of the sports equine superstars, like Red Rum . It has an estimated global audience of 600 million viewers. British horse racing
8772-683: The sport. Some of the Spanish horses that ended up in Galloway after the wrecking of the Spanish Armada were kept by local people and raced against the King's own horses when he was in Ireland. They proved better than the King's and were bought for the royal stables. The King supported several meetings, even acting as Clerk of the Course at Lincoln in 1607 and built a house at Newmarket as
8874-771: The sport. Under their auspices the Derby and Oaks were established at Epsom , inspired by the St Leger and the growing popularity of shorter races, for younger horses. These races, along with the Leger and the Guineas at Newmarket (which were established early in the 19th century) became known as the Classics . At around the same time, jockeys began to earn a reputation in their own right, with early pioneers including Frank Buckle , Sam Chifney Sr and Jem Robinson . Interest in
8976-660: The steel production centres at Rotherham , Scunthorpe and Sheffield . Horse racing in Great Britain Horse racing is the second largest spectator sport in Great Britain , and one of the longest established, with a history dating back many centuries. According to a report by the British Horseracing Authority it generates £3.39 billion total direct and indirect expenditure in the British economy , of which £1.05 billion
9078-464: The street name Frenchgate indicates that Fossard invited fellow Normans to trade in the town. Doncaster was ceded to Scotland in the Treaty of Durham and never formally returned to England. With the 13th century, Doncaster matured into a busy town. In 1194 King Richard I granted it national recognition with a town charter . It suffered a disastrous fire in 1204, from which it slowly recovered. At
9180-554: The time, buildings were built of wood, and open fireplaces used for cooking and heating. In 1248, a charter was granted for Doncaster Market to be held in the area surrounding the Church of St Mary Magdalene, which was built in Norman times. In the 16th century, the church was adapted for use as the town hall . It was finally demolished in 1846. Some 750 years on, the market continues to operate, with busy traders located under cover, at
9282-656: The two according to contracts arranged by racecourses and racecourse owning groups. Saturday racing and key midweek festival meetings are also broadcast on terrestrial television by ITV . The channel broadcasts a Saturday afternoon programme of live racing, usually between 13:30 and 16:00, and an hour-long weekly magazine show on Saturday mornings. The coverage is presented by Ed Chamberlin and Oli Bell with AP McCoy , Alice Plunkett , Mick Fitzgerald and Francesca Cumani . 60 days of racing are shown on ITV4 , and 40 days of racing are shown on ITV . ITV had previously shown horse racing since its first weeks on air in 1955, and in
9384-481: The urban area west of the East Coast Line, preventing suburbs such as Sprotbrough , New Edlington , Old Edlington , Scawsby and New Rossington merging. As a result, open rural land can be very close to the town centre at some points (for example the wide undeveloped valley of the River Don is adjacent to the town centre), while at other points the urban sprawl rolls on for up to five miles. Another aim of
9486-635: The very manor of the worst". In 1947 Hamilton hosted the first evening race meeting in Great Britain. Now Wolverhampton Racecourse holds the most evening meetings, with nearly 50 a year. The Jockey Club governed the sport until its governance role was handed to the British Horseracing Board , (formed in June 1993) and while the BHB became responsible for strategic planning, finance, politics, race planning, training and marketing,
9588-447: The warmest day of the year reaches 29.1 °C (84.4 °F) and 12 or 13 days report a daytime maximum of 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above. The lowest known temperature is −13.5 °C (7.7 °F), set during December 1981. Online records only go back to 1960, and lower temperatures may have been recorded earlier. During the 1971–2000 period, an average of 51.9 nights of the year recorded an air frost. Typically 106.9 days of
9690-427: The whole metropolitan borough rather than just the built up area of Doncaster. Doncaster formally received the letters patent and became a city when a ceremony took place on 9 November 2022 as part of a royal visit. Doncaster was an ancient parish , which was subdivided into six townships : Balby with Hexthorpe , Langthwaite with Tilts , Long Sandall , Loversall , Wheatley and a Doncaster township covering
9792-459: The year report 1 mm or more of rainfall. Total annual precipitation is slightly below 560 mm (22 in), which is comparable to the driest parts of the UK, due to Doncaster's location in the rain shadow of the Pennines. In the 2011 census the town of Doncaster (identified as the "built-up area subdivision") had a population of 109,805, while the wider " Built-up area " had a population of 158,141. The Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster had
9894-430: Was abolished in 1974 and replaced by the larger Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster , which also took in the abolished urban districts of Adwick le Street , Bentley with Arksey , Conisbrough , Mexborough , Tickhill , the rural districts of Doncaster and Thorne , and (from Nottinghamshire) the parish of Finningley and part of the parish of Harworth (the latter being added to the parish of Bawtry ). The borough
9996-505: Was at its "acme". Handicap races, in which horses are assigned weights to carry in proportion to their ability, became popular from the turn of the 19th century onwards. The first had been run at Ascot in 1791 and others followed. Many have persisted to this day including the Chester Cup (from 1824), Northumberland Plate (1833), Cesarewitch and Cambridgeshire Handicaps at Newmarket (both 1839), Goodwood's Stewards' Cup (1839),
10098-507: Was donated to the Yorkshire Museum in 1856. Doncaster is generally identified with Cair Daun listed as one of 28 British cities in the 9th-century History of the Britons traditionally ascribed to Nennius . It was certainly an Anglo-Saxon burh , and in that period received its present name: "Don-" ( Old English : Donne ) from the settlement and river and "-caster" ( -ceaster ) from an Old English version of
10200-409: Was not a new species but a different allele . After sunset the resident bats show themselves. Pipistrelle , Noctule , Daubentons , Brandts and Natterers have been heard on walks around Lakeside. A popular path for walkers, joggers and cyclists surrounds the lake. It follows the perimeter of the lake and is about 2 miles (3.5 kilometres) long. Annual water sports events take place here, to
10302-408: Was raised to city status in 2022. Doncaster is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire and the largest metropolitan district in England by area . It expanded dramatically in population with the development of coal mining. Closure of coal mines in the 1970s and early 1980s caused economic difficulties; the town then developed its service industry , drawing on the good communication links with
10404-473: Was supposed to be their superiority to continental ones. Continental ones were still permitted for import, and many were brought to England by William the Conqueror . Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury introduced Spanish stallions to the country. The first recorded race meetings were during the reign of Henry II at Smithfield, London , during the annual St Bartholomew's horse fair . The event
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