Horseracing Hits Britain

<p>Chester Racecourse hosted Britain’s first ever recorded horse-racing meet on 9th February, 1539. The winner received a set of silver bells to hang from their bridal.</p><br><p>Mayor Henry Gee had come up with the idea as a replacement for the traditional Shrove Tuesday football match - which he’d banned for being too riotous and violent.</p><br><p>In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly debate the folk etymology of ‘Gee Gees’; explain why the Royals were responsible for robbing the North of its equestrian edge; and reveal why Oliver Cromwell took objection to a day at the races… </p><br><p><strong>Further Reading:</strong></p><p>• ‘History - Chester Racecourse’ (chester-races.com): <a href="https://www.chester-races.com/about/history/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.chester-races.com/about/history/</a></p><p>• ‘Shrove Tuesday football: “No quarter asked nor given”' (BBC News, 2020): <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-51445310" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-51445310</a></p><p>• ‘Horrible Histories, HHTV Tudor Horse Racing’ (CBBC, 2011): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S53q_Cij3XY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S53q_Cij3XY</a></p><br><p>Image: <a href="https://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/8378" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">John S Turner</a> and licensed for <a href="https://www.geograph.org.uk/reuse.php?id=366961" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reuse</a> under this <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Creative Commons Licence</a>.</p><br><p><strong>For bonus material and to support the show, visit</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/Patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong> </strong></a><a href="http://patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Patreon.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><p><strong>We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong> </strong></a><a href="http://podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>podfollow.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><br><p><em>The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.</em></p><p><em>Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.</em></p><p><em>Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.</em></p><br><p><em>#Sport #1500s #UK </em></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

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