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THE CANTERBURY RACES
(circa 1804)

by
Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827)

Canterbury's race—course'was on Barham Downs, beyond the
village of Bridge and a few miles outside the city on the way to
Dover. Races were held here throughout the 18th century, and
for much of the 19th — with the last race in 1879. They were very
popular in their heyday, attracting a wide range of local
people and others too. The young Mozart, staying at nearby
Bourne Park on his way home, visited the races in 1765, and
Jane Austen had a good account of them from her brother
Henry. No traces of the course now survive.

Purchased with grant—aid from the V&A Purchase Grant Fund, the
National Art Collections Fund, Beecroft Bequest and the Friends of the
Museums for Canterbury’s Museums © 1999.

OG22/6164