A Fine Collection of Racing Tickets and Passes, the Property of a North Country Collector

DERBYSHIRE, Chesterfield, Chesterfield Race Stand, Built 1830, a silver Admission Ticket, unsigned, legend, named (No. 62, J.H. Barker), 24mm, 5.35g (W –; D & W –). Extremely fine and toned, extremely rare £300-400

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Fine Collection of Racing Tickets and Passes, the Property of a North Country Collector.

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Provenance: E. de Putron Collection, Glendining Auction, 26 January 1928, lot 15 (part); F.S. Cokayne Collection; bt T. Millett.

John Henry Barker, East Lodge, Bakewell, Derbyshire, was a prominent member of the Royal Agricultural Society which he joined in November 1842.

The racecourse at Chesterfield was situated at Whittington Moor, north of the town, and the first competitions were staged there in the early 18th century. Major alterations were made in 1797, to lengthen the course, and in 1870 to accommodate the railway. In 1829 a small grandstand was built on the lines of that erected at Doncaster, for which the Duke of Devonshire put up £50 and another £147 was collected locally, but the builder was still out of pocket by more than £200. To remedy matters a subscription scheme was set up in 1842 to which anyone who gave £5 or more received a silver ticket, giving them free entry to the stand in perpetuity. The final meeting at Chesterfield was held in July 1924