Off to the Races! The Royal Ascot

Depiction of the Ascot Gold Cup race, by James Pollard, 1834

June is a busy month in the UK’s royal calendar. In addition to the King’s Birthday Parade (also known as Trooping the Colour), on the second Saturday of June there’s the Royal Ascot – arguably the most famous horse race in the world.

The Royal Ascot races, held every year, span five days in the middle of June, from Tuesday through Saturday. This year’s event took place last week on June 20-24.

Fabulous hat seen in the Royal Enclosure at the 2009 Ascot

It’s the social event for the sporting season, and a must for everyone who can afford tickets, especially the upper classes who go to see and be seen in their formal clothes. Some female guests like to display their hats – which can be huge, show-stopping creations or whimsical “fascinators.”

Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, 1964

As to the social importance of this royal racing event, who can forget the scene in My Fair Lady when Professor Higgins takes his pupil, Eliza Doolittle, to the Ascot races to prove that he has transformed her from a Cockney flower girl into a “real lady?”

But the Ascot races have a history that started long before the Edwardian setting of George Bernard’s famous play. It’s a history that includes our favorite time period, the Regency.

Here a selective timeline of that history, (as detailed on the Royal Ascot Hub, linked below), from the inception of the races through the mid 1820s:

1711: Queen Anne, an avid horse racing fan, starts a racing tradition at East Cote in London. Her race, called Her Majesty’s Plate, takes place in August and carries a prize of 100 guineas. The race was open to any horse, mare or gelding that was six years or older and capable of carrying a rider weighing 12 stone (168 pounds).

Queen Anne, painted by Michael Dahl, 1705

1744: A ceremonial guard called the Greencoats is formed. The Guard got its name from a rumor that their green uniforms were sewn with fabric left over from curtains made for Windsor Castle. By the early 19th century the guards’ duties expand to include crowd control. Today, Greencoats still can be seen assisting attendees of the Ascot races.

1752: By the mid-18th century the popularity of the annual races, especially among the ton, is becoming apparent. Peers like the Duke of Bedford complain that when he visits London during the races he can find “no soul to dine or sup with.” Surrounding the races are other diversions, and attendees can watch cockfighting and prize-fights, gamble in gaming tents, listen to balladeers, see freak shows and marvel at lady stilt-walkers.

1783: A new rule states that jockeys must wear the colors of their horse’s owners. Up to this point, jockeys could wear whatever colors they wished, making it confusing for spectators to follow the race.

Late 18th century: Men in the Royal Enclosure must don black silk top hats, or “toppers.” Vintage top hats, made from the original material of silk hatter’s plush, are very rare and valuable now. If you can find one that fits your head (apparently men’s heads were smaller 200 years ago) it can cost a small fortune – tens of thousands of pounds.

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Beau Brummel caricature by Richard Dighton, 1805

Early 19th Century: A general dress code for upper class men attending the races develops. Influenced by Beau Brummell, one-time friend of the Prince Regent,  men abandon the bright colors and ornate embroidery of 18th century fashion for plain white waistcoats, and pantaloons, worn with a black cravats. The emphasis is on cleanliness, quality fabrics, and expert tailoring.

1807: This year the Gold Cup, Ascot’s oldest surviving racing event, is introduced. Winners of the Gold Cup today still receive – and get to keep – an engraved gold trophy.

1813: Ascot Heath becomes the new home of the races, thanks to an Act of Enclosure, passed by Parliament. Although the property actually belongs to the Crown, the act guarantees that the land will be used as a racecourse, open to the public.

1822: Prinny, now King George IV, orders the construction of a two-story seating stand at the racecourse. Access to the Royal Enclosure is granted only by the king’s invitation.

1823: The tradition of Ladies Day, also known as Gold Cup Day, starts. It gets its name from an anonymous poet, who describes this day, Thursday of the racing week, as Ladies Day, “when women, like angels, look sweetly divine.”

1825: King George IV inaugurates the first Royal Procession, a tradition which has endured to modern times. Each day of the five-day event begins with the king and queen, along with other members of their royal family, arriving at the racing grounds in horse-drawn landaus. They drive in a procession along the track before going into the Royal Enclosure to watch the races.

There was much excitement at this year’s Royal Ascot when King Charles’s horse, Desert Hero, won Thursday’s marquee race, the King George V Stakes. Desert Hero, ridden by jockey Tom Marquand, was bred by the late Queen Elizabeth II. The odds against the horse winning were long – 18 to 1 – making the victory all the sweeter.

This is King Charles’ first Royal Ascot win as a reigning monarch. It’s yet another first for the newly crowned king.

AscotFinishingPost.JPG
The finishing post at the Ascot racecourse, photo by John Armagh, 2007.

**

Sources for this post include:

The Royal Ascot Hub

“King visibly moved as horse bred by Queen Elizabeth wins at Royal Ascot,” by India McTaggart, Royal Correspondent and Tom Cary, Senior Sports Correspondent, The Telegraph, June 22, 2023

“King Charles III claims his 1st Royal Ascot winner; Dettori rides to victory in Gold Cup,” by The Associated Press, June 22, 2023

All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

 

Assembly Rooms, May 2015

So many articles this month! I hope you find some of them to be of interest.

Gillray-very slippy weatherThe prodigiously talented Gillray: http://18thcand19thc.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/james-gillray-prince-of-caricaturists.html

The care and upbringing of foundlings: http://www.thehistoryoflondon.co.uk/thomas-coram-and-the-foundling-hospital/

A London walk: https://londonhistorians.wordpress.com/2015/03/30/footsteps-of-soane-ii/

Continue reading “Assembly Rooms, May 2015”

Assembly Rooms – April 2015

Here’s the monthly assemblage of links of interest to lovers of the Regency era — everything from prisoners’ mementos to dishonest valets. Continue reading “Assembly Rooms – April 2015”

Assembly Rooms, January 2015

Assembly Rooms is a collection of links to blogs and articles of interest to lovers of the Regency Era.

Glorious Gothic: http://www.regencyhistory.net/2015/01/strawberry-hill-horace-walpoles-gothic.html

Strawberry Hill by Paul Sandby, courtesy Wikipedia
Strawberry Hill by Paul Sandby, courtesy Wikipedia

An impressive display of carriages: http://www.regencyhistory.net/2014/10/the-national-trust-carriage-museum-at.html Continue reading “Assembly Rooms, January 2015”

Below stairs at Belton House — Lincolnshire   by Jane Lark

Jane Lark, author of a number of historical romances, spent some time at historic Belton House, near Grantham, in Lincolnshire. This great seventeenth century house played the part of the many-windowed mansion of Rosings Park, Lady Catherine de Burgh’s country estate in the 1995 series of Pride and Prejudice. Today, Jane tells us about her tour of the servants’ areas of the great house.

Continue reading “Below stairs at Belton House — Lincolnshire   by Jane Lark”

Attingham Family Tales, Sophia Dubochet and the 2nd Lord Berwick   By Jane Lark

Jane Lark, whose most recent Regency romance is The Passionate Love of a Rake, was released this past November. Today, Jane tells us about her visit to the grand estate of Attingham, which was the home of Lord Berwick and his young wife, the former courtesan, Sophia Dubochet, in the early years of the nineteenth century. Fortunately, this elegant house is now the property of the National Trust, and is open to visitors. Once you have read Jane’s tale of its history, you may want to see it for yourself.

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Belgravia — Not a Regency Address

A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:

Unless you like living in a swamp infested with thieves!

Despite the use of Belgrave Square, Eaton Square, or other locales within Belgravia as the address for one or more characters in recent Regency novels I have read, Belgravia did not exist in the Regency. Wishing, or in this case, writing, cannot make it so. The area which encompasses Belgravia was known as Five Fields during the decade of the Regency, and for centuries before that. It was a marshy, muddy lowland and a known haunt of footpads and highwaymen. It was by no stretch of the imagination a posh address during the Regency. In fact, there were only a few ramshackle sheds in the fields, some used for bull-baiting or cock-fighting. Large sections of the fields were unhealthy as they were heavily saturated with brackish water.

When and how did this marshy wasteland become the address in London?

Continue reading “Belgravia — Not a Regency Address”

The Most Haunted House in London by Angelyn Schmid

October. The month for scary things. A haunted house fits right in. Today, Angelyn Schmid tells us about some frightening and unexplained things which occurred in the most haunted house in London, which was situated in prestigious Berkeley Square. A word of advice, don’t read this story alone, or in the dark!

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Stories of Amore in Eighteenth Century Bath – Miss L— by Jane Lark

Jane Lark, author of the recently-released romance novel, Illicit Love, has done a lot of reseaarch into the lives of real Georgian and Regency women for her books. In today’s article, she shares one of those true stories with us. This one is about a Miss L– and her amorous adventures in the Bath of Beau Nash. In fact, the famous Master of Ceremonies was complicit in this curious affair.

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The Trees of Kingston Lacy — Part II by Jane Lark

In her previous article, Jane Lark, author of the new release, Illicit Love, shared her insights into the history of the old trees which adorn the grounds of the Kingston Lacy estate, in Dorset. Today, Jane shares more information about the history of the trees on the estate, along with a selection of additional photographs.

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The Trees of Kingston Lacy — Part I by Jane Lark

Jane Lark, author of the recently-released romance novel, Illicit Love, also loves old trees. And is fascinated by the idea of who might have walked beneath those same trees, centuries ago. Today, in her first of a pair of articles on the old trees on the grounds of Kingston Lacy, a great country house in Dorset, England, she muses on who might have strolled the grounds and enjoyed the shade of those trees. The house was built in the seventeenth century, and many of the trees on the estate were planted at that time. Which means they would have been fully mature by the Regency, providing a lush canopy of leaves over those who rambled below.

Continue reading “The Trees of Kingston Lacy — Part I by Jane Lark”

The Great Love Story of Llangollen   By Susanna Ives

On a recent trip to the British Isles, Susanna Ives, Regency romance author, had the good fortune to travel to Wales. While there, she took her landlord’s recommendation to visit Llangollen, the home of a pair of quite eccentric ladies during the Regency. Today’s article is the post she filed from Wales after her tour.

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The Pantiles or Where the Duke Slipped ……..   By Michele Ann Young

Today, in the follow-up post to her article on Royal Tunbridge Wells, Regency romance author, Michele Ann Young, aka Ann Lethbridge, shares her knowledge of Pantiles, a unique feature of that spa town. If you have never been to Royal Tunbridge Wells, you may be quite unaware of the existence of this historic item with multiple royal connections. Here is your chance to learn all about them.

Continue reading “The Pantiles or Where the Duke Slipped ……..   By Michele Ann Young”

Royal Tunbridge Wells   By Michele Ann Young

Today’s article is by Michele Ann Young, aka Ann Lethbridge, Regency romance author and one-time resident of the famous spa town of Royal Tunbridge Wells. More recently, she spent some time there on a research trip and provides us with a series of questions and answers regarding the history of this charming town in western Kent. She also explains why the town should never be called "Royal" in any stories set there during the Regency.

And so, the answers to your questions about Tunbridge Wells …

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Berry Bros. & Rudd – Historic Wine Merchants in London During the Regency By Regan Walker

Berry Bros. at Christmas

 

Today you can find Berry Bros. & Rudd wine merchants at No. 3 St. James Street in London—just as you could during the Regency period from 1811 to 1820, though the name over the door then was “George Berry.” This historic establishment has been in business since 1698 at the same location. The current owner, Simon Berry tells me the shop has changed little since it opened. Though the fireplace has been abandoned for central heating, and the cellar is now a place for elegant wine dinners, it still has the original oak plank floors, and it still honors its roots as a merchant selling provisions, exotic spices, tea and coffee—as well as wines from around the world.

Berry’s was first established in 1698 by the Widow Bourne as a grocer’s shop, the “Coffee Mill,” and remained in the hands of the good widow until her daughter, Elizabeth, was successfully wooed by William Pickering. In 1731, Sir Thomas Hanmer, Speaker of the House of Commons, leased the shop to Pickering to be rebuilt along with the houses in the court behind, now known as Pickering Place.

In 1734, William Pickering died and his widow Elizabeth took over the running of the business until 1737, when she handed over both the grocery and the “arms painting and heraldic furnishing” side of the business to her sons William and John. John Pickering died in 1754. With no suitable heir, his brother William took as his partner John Clarke who was distantly related.

By 1765, at the sign of the “Coffee Mill,” (which still hangs from the storefront but cannot be clearly seen in the picture as it’s at a right angle), Berry’s not only supplied the fashionable “Coffee Houses” (later to become Clubs such as Boodles and Whites), but also began weighing customers on giant coffee scales. Records of customers’ weights, including those of the Royal Dukes, Lord Byron, former Prime Minister William Pitt and the Aga Khan, span three centuries and are still added to, to this day.

Berry’s first supplied wine to the British Royal Family during King George III’s reign, and today holds two Royal Warrants for H.M. The Queen and H.R.H. The Prince of Wales.

John Clarke died in 1788, and while he had no son, his daughter, Mary had married John Berry, a wine merchant in Exeter. Their son, George, although only one year old, had already been designated by his grandfather as heir to the Coffee Mill. Before he died, John Clarke found as a suitable “caretaker” to manage affairs, the Browne’s of Westerham, a rich and prospering family of lawyers and yeomen into which John Berry’s sister had married, and they agreed to look after the business until George was old enough to take over.

George was only sixteen in 1803 when he made the two-day journey from Exeter. For seven years he must have played the part of apprentice, for it was not until he was 23, in 1810 that his name was stretched across the double-fronted fascia of No. 3 St James’s Street. And this is how it looked in Regency England.

In 1815, St James’s Street was a very masculine domain (Georgette Heyer describes her heroine in The Grand Sophy as risking her reputation just by driving her phaeton down St James’s Street); however, the Dighton etching of the shop front, which dates from that same year, shows women amongst the male passers-by, and they do not seem to be causing too much scandal. They are either walking with a male companion or as a pair, so perhaps some form of protection was still the norm.

The paving of Westminster’s streets began in the mid 18th century, but wasn’t completed until the mid 19th. Still, the main roads, such as St James’s Street, would have been paved by 1815 as suggested in the etching.

In 1838 the Chartist riots raged through provincial England and spread panic in London. Accompanied by his friend Prince Louis Napoleon, George Berry was sworn in as a special constable. Prince Louis Napoleon, who as Napoleon III founded the Deuxième Empire in 1851, had a close association with Berry’s. During his two-year stay in London he used the cellars for sundry secret meetings with Sherer the (reputed) editor of the “Standard.”

My new Regency Christmas story, The Holly & The Thistle, begins in Berry’s wine shop where the heroine, a young English widow (“the holly”) and the hero, a Scot (“the thistle”) meet just before Christmastide, each believing the other is someone else. It will put you in the mood for Christmas, I promise!

Regan Walker

http://www.reganwalkerauthor.com

Traveling to the UK – What to Know Before You Go by Jo Ann Ferguson

       Traveling to the UK – What to Know Before You Go

                    by Jo Ann Ferguson

          It’s that time of year to think about a vacation/research trip to the UK.

Okay, any time of year is good, but many trips to the UK are in the late spring, summer, or early fall.

2012 is a very exciting year for the UK. With the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Summer Olympics, make sure you’re up to date on what is happening where. My husband and I are heading to the northeast this spring, and we are keeping an eye on where the Olympic torch will be traveling. We hope to see it, but we also want to be aware of possible traffic restrictions. For information on events occurring in conjunction with the Jubilee, check sites such as  or

Information on the Olympic events as well as route of the Olympic torch can be found at:

http://www.london2012.com/ or http://www.london2012.com/olympic-torch-relay-map

Please click the “Details” button for all the helpful details …

Continue reading “Traveling to the UK – What to Know Before You Go by Jo Ann Ferguson”

Horseracing: The Thoroughbred of English Sports by Cheryl Bolen

Horse racing can be an exciting aspect of a Regency romance novel. In today’s article, Cheryl Bolen gives us a brief overview of the origins of the sport and some historical details about some of the most prominent racing venues in England.

Continue reading “Horseracing: The Thoroughbred of English Sports by Cheryl Bolen”

Regency Florida by Darlene Marshall

                    “THERE IS NOT SO GAY A TOWN…”  FLORIDA IN THE REGENCY ERA

Regency Florida by Darlene Marshall

St. Augustine Map 1763
St. Augustine Map 1763

In 1812 a plucky band of men of diverse races, nationalities and backgrounds came together to defend their homes from foreign invaders intent on seizing their land and destroying their way of life.

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Top Ten Places to See the Sea in the UK

Top Ten Places to See the Sea in the UK by Jo Ann Ferguson

The sea has had such an impact on British history. It has protected the country so well that the saying goes that the last successful invasion of England was in 1066 (though there have been a lot of unsuccessful ones, which explains the many castles and fortified sites along the shore). The sea currents affect the weather, so you have palm trees in Cornwall and even in northern Scotland. It inspired the formation of a navy that created a worldwide empire and a maritime fleet that made London a center of industry and shipping and finance.

And it helped create a tourist industry that still thrives today. What would 19th century bank holidays have been without a trip to Blackpool for the lower classes and to Brighton for the upper?

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