HORSE RACING ON CLAVERTON DOWN The O’Kelly years.

The first recorded racing on Claverton Down was in 1729, but the racing there was at its zenith between 1771 and 1783 when the town was visited annually by the extraordinary Col. Dennis O’Kelly, his much-envied horses, his enormously wealthy friends and, possibly, by his infamous 'wife' Charlotte Hayes.

Dennis O'Kelly

O’Kelly had come to England from Ireland and initially earned his living as a sedan chair carrier. A series of adventures led him to the Fleet prison, where he met and joined forces with Charlotte Hayes. Together, they made an immense fortune based on gambling, brothel keeping and horse dealing. The latter led him to acquire 'Eclipse,' the horse from which some 95% of today’s racehorses are descended.

1771 was an important year for Dennis and racing as it was the year 'Eclipse' went to stud, and his progeny featured in all the Bath races from 1776. It was also a big year for Bath with the opening of the New Assembly Rooms: race meetings took place just before the season's opening and generally lasted three or four days.

Claverton Down was used for many equestrian activities; the race course was laid out over two miles in front of Claverton Down House, facing Hampton Down, and from at least 1773, there was a grandstand erected on the course, but Genteel spectators were either mounted or in coaches often riding alongside the horses in the race. Racing in the 18th century was as much a test of stamina as speed and typically was settled by running three, four-mile heats. Claverton Down horse racing attracted sizable crowds, enormously wealthy owners and gamblers. HRH, the Duke of Cumberland, regularly sent horses to run there and may have attended in person. Many businesses in Bath sought to profit from this, and tradesmen paid substantial fees to have booths on the course and to provide services such as shoeing. The Assembly Rooms would also take advantage of the crowds and put on special pre-season balls, while local eateries would provide special meals.

A typical race was the first one of the 1771 meeting, which was for a prize of £50 (about £3000 today). The race was open to any horse, and all runners had to carry a minimum of 8st 7lbs except horses who had won a King’s Plate, which had to carry 9st. The result was to be determined by the outcome of three, four-mile heats. As it happened, only two heats were run by only three horses. Mr Hugo’s grey mare 'Frolic' beating Mr Carpenter’s grey horse 'Danger' and Mr Brereton’s bay horse, 'Star'. This could be the same Mr Brereton who was banned from the Jockey Club coffee rooms for making accusations of cheating against two fellow members. 

'Frolic' won the first heat easily, the general opinion being that the other two had not really tried. Surprisingly, the odds going into the second heat went as high as 20:1 against 'Frolic' winning again. However, despite 'Danger' having run much better, 'Frolic' won by several lengths. Two other horses had originally been entered, but Mr Bishop’s 'Daniel' had gone lame, and Dennis had been paid not to start his horse, 'Helen.' It's quite likely that 'Helen' was a nine-year-old mare that appears in the records as having been bred out of Daphne, a daughter of the Godolphin Arabian, one of the three founding Arab stallions of thoroughbred breeding,  by the noted stallion 'Spectator,' winner of the Jockey Club plate. This first race set a precedent with the crowd, who were surprised by and often suspicious of the way races were run and the curious movements in the betting market.

At the end of the meeting, Gyde’s Rooms held a ball, and The Chronicle declared the meeting to be equal, if not superior, to any meeting in the kingdom, which may reflect the impact of O’Kelly. The popularity of the races can be judged by the estimate of 1000 carriages on the Down on the Wednesday of that week. 

Another typical race was a sweepstake, such as the second race on the second day of the 1772 meeting. A fifty guinea sweepstake for three-year-olds over a four-mile course which was competed for by:

Mr Parker’s grey filly. Mr Parker is almost certainly John Parker of Saltram house in Devon, who represented Devonshire in Parliament and who would go on to win the 1783 Derby. The grey filly was probably a horse called 'Charlotte' out of a Regulus mare, and the stallion 'Shakespeare,' 'Shakespeare,' bred by Sir John Moore, was not a very successful racehorse but had a solid reputation for breeding good mares.

Mr Wildman’s grey colt was entered on his behalf by Mr Coxe. Wildman was a wealthy wholesale butcher and stock dealer who had bought the horse 'Eclipse' from the sale of the Duke of Cumberland’s stud. It's not clear who the J. Coxe that entered Wildman’s colt was, but he was almost certainly a connection to the Coxe family, which owned Ston Easton Park. The grey colt was probably a horse called 'Lamplighter' and was bred from 'Antinous' by the 3rd Duke of Grafton at Euston. 'Antinous' ran for six years from age four, beating the top horses of his day in big purse matches.

Mr. O’Kelly’s chestnut colt, Young Colin.

Lord Corke and Mr Coxe paid forfeits of 25 guineas each to withdraw their horses.
Betting before the start was: Mr Parker’s filly, evens. 6 to 4 against the grey colt and 2 to 1 against 'Young Colin.' In running, bets were offered that 'Colin' would not come last. The race reports described it as a very fine heat won with difficulty by the filly carrying 8st 5lb against the colts' 8st 7lb. The winner won 200 guineas (about £24,000 today).

The third race of the 1780 season was for three-year-olds over one two-mile course. The field consisted of: HRH, the Duke of Cumberland’s colt 'Polydore' by 'Eclipse' out of a Spectator Mare. 

Mr Luttrell’s bay colt 'Tetrarch' by Herod, dam by 'Careless.' 

Mr O’Kelly’s colt 'Budroo' by 'Eclipse' out of a Sweeper mare. 

Mr Parker’s brown colt by 'Matchem' out of an Old England mare. 

In fact, 'Budroo' and 'Polydore' had in May competed in the first running of the Epsom Derby, 'Polydore' coming 6th and 'Budroo' coming 2nd out of a field of nine. But this day, 'Budroo' won and 'Polydore' came last. The following year 'Budroo' beat the winner of the first Derby, Sir Charles Bunbury's 'Diomed' at a 300 guinea rematch at Newmarket.

In addition to pre-advertized races, two owners often agreed to race their horses against each other in a match. In 1774, the match planned between Dennis’s 'Catchpenny' and Mr Fenwick’s 'Playfellow' for 200gs was called off because O’Kelly objected to how Fenwick proposed paying with a credit note payable in America. This undoubtedly reflects his concerns about the rapidly deteriorating relationship between the British government and the American colonists.

At the end of each meeting, the subscribers chose one of their number to be the steward who organised the following year’s meeting. Among the many colourful characters who undertook this role in Bath was the notorious Sir John Lade, Dr Johnson’s godson and soon to be the husband of the even more notorious Letty Lade.

Letty Lade

Sir John Lade

It's not clear why O’Kelly stopped coming to Bath, but by 1783, he was 58 with only another four years to live. There were increasing disputes with landowners on the Down, who resented the damage and disruption caused by the racing. But Dennis was also starting to distance his family from all that had made him rich with the intention of making his heirs gentlemen, and in that, he succeeded.

The Equestrian Circus in Monmouth Street and the Child of Promise

On 17 April 1788, the following advertisement appeared in the press:

'By particular Desire of several Ladies and Gentlemen positively the last night. At Ryle’s Ride, the top of Monmouth Street, will be presented a variety of equestrian exercise, consisting of horsemanship by the whole troop, tight rope dancing by the unrivalled Signora Riccardini, and the Child of Promise. Slack Rope Vaulting by Master Smith, Mr Smallcomb will pick up a watch blindfold. Mr Handy, in the character of harlequin, will make several surprising leaps through a hogshead of real fire (Beatles fans take note) to conclude with the tailor's disaster Or disagreeable journey to Brentford, with the hunter and road horse, by Mr Smallcombe. The doors open at half past five, and begin at half past six. Front seats, 2s. Back seats, 1s. Mr Handy returns his best thanks for the great encouragement he has been honoured within this city.'

Stephen Ryle, who put in this advertisement, kept equestrian premises in Monmouth Street, from which he sold carriages and horses and ran a stud. He also offered riding tuition in his ‘Circular Riding School.' 

Benjamin Handy began his career as an ostler with Hughes Equestrian Circus. Hughes had been a performer with Phillip Astley’s famous circus in London but left to create his own company and amphitheatre with the intention of breaking Astley’s virtual monopoly. Handy’s appearance with his own company in Bath seems to have been one of his first. The company mostly consisted of members of his own family and former members of the company Astley had brought to Bristol in the 1770s. 

The Tailor's Disaster Or Disagreeable Ride to Brentford was a well-established clowning routine which would have been familiar to those who had attended Astley's shows.

Signora Riccardini was Handy’s wife who could perform on 'One and Two Horses in a capital Manner’ and famously would stand on her head on top a spear surrounded by fireworks. She and  Benjamin had married in Birmingham in 1873.

The 'Child of Promise' was the Handy's daughter, Mary Ann, whose star turn was riding on another rider's shoulders ‘without the assistance of Hand or Rein, having nothing to keep her up but her perpendicular Balance, and which is allowed to be the greatest balance ever attempted.’ She would have been around four years old in 1788. A year later, her father refused an offer of 365 guineas a year from Astley for his daughter's services. 

The Master Smith mentioned in the bill was Handy’s indentured apprentice; however, by the 1787 -8 season, he was a well-established performer, which may explain his running away from his service in 1793 to become a major star of the London circus scene.

Astley's Amphitheatre in 1777

At Bristol on 25th April 1788, in 'a large commodious yard at the back of the Angel, in the Borough Walls, leading from Redcliff Street to Thames Street, ' a group of performers from Astley’s and Hughes’s riding schools in London were presenting riding, rope dancing and other entertainments. Still, the group was called (Benjamin) Handy’s Troupe in the advertisements. Featured were 'the celebrated Mr Franklin, the Child of Promise' (Mary Ann Handy), Signora Riccardini (Mrs Handy), and Benjamin Handy. Mr Franklin was Thomas Franklin, the son of a clown, famous for his feats of strength.

In December 1788 and early January 1789, ‘Ryle’s Circular Riding-School,’ which by now had been granted a Royal Patent to Host Equestrian Entertainments, hosted the same troupe of performers. The wonders promised included: ‘Mr Franklin will carry the Child of Promise over the leaping bar on two horses in the attitude of a Flying Mercury.’  This show did not feature Handy’s wife, possibly because she was incapacitated by the illness of which she would later die. By October of that year, Ryle’s was putting on a show, under the patronage of the Mayor of Bath, that did not include the Handy family, probably because of the death of Handy’s wife on the 25th of September. But they did have Franklin and many other members of the Handy troupe. The performers also included Mr Parker throwing 'a Somerset (sic) off the horse at full speed.’ (Beatles fans may wish to take note here, too!). Parker's celebrated actress wife, who was said to be the best Columbine in England, joined him and was a member of the company at the Theatre Royal for the 1789/90 season.

By November, Ryle and Franklin had formed a partnership and put on their own shows at what was now billed as 'Ryle and Franklin’s Amphitheatre' with facilities comparable to Astley’s London arena, e.g., heating and ringside boxes which could be reserved, as in the Theatre, by sending your servants to occupy them. There were three performances a week. The Ryle Franklin enterprise doesn't seem to have thrived because, by March 1790, Franklin and Hardy had become partners and were again in Bristol building a new riding school and ring for performance behind the Full Moon in North Street, St Paul’s. Construction was delayed, however, and the planned opening on 8th March was postponed until the 22nd. Meanwhile, the two men offered riding lessons to the ladies and gentlemen of Bristol.

Even though they had so recently erected an arena, on 10th May 1790, Franklin and Handy announced plans for a more elaborate riding school and performance ring. They promised their patrons that construction would commence as soon as 500 gs (of a total of 1000 gs needed) should be subscribed. They also noted they would attend six months of the year to teach riding to Bristolians and to break horses for them. They continued to perform in their old circus at Bristol throughout May and then left to perform elsewhere. Their new establishment in Bristol opened in 1792, but Handy seems to have sold his interests in the Bristol establishment in 1793. Handy went on to have a long and successful career both as a performer and proprietor, eventually owning a part share in Astley’s Amphitheatre in London. Jacob DeCastro, the comedian, in his memoir of 1824, said that Handy 'lives as an independent gentleman, and a magistrate for the county of Somerset, very near the famed city of Bath . . .'

In February 1793, Franklin brought his company to Monmouth Street four times a week. The company consisted of 9 performers and 9 horses. The programme offered horsemanship, rope-vaulting, ground and lofty tumbling and Egyptian Pyramids. Performers included:

• Mr Franklin, himself performing his "much-admired trick with oranges and forks
• The astonishing eight-year-old "Young English Mercury", whose speciality was playing the violin while on the shoulders of Franklin while he rode two horse
• Master Smith
• The Little Devil performing somersaults on horseback
• Mr Crossman, who had learned his trade with Astley

Franklin’s Bristol venture never seems to have been adequately capitalized and appears to have failed around 1794. DeCastro says that Franklin went to America, where he died. Ryle seems to have gone back to focussing on his core business, and his 1804 advertisements announce his hiring of a fashionable London riding master to teach the gentry alongside his livery and horse hire services. He also seems to have acquired additional livery accommodation in Pulteney Street.

In July 1813, the newspapers announced that 'Mr Sam Ryle, former livery stable keeper and master of the riding school in Monmouth Street; he retired to bed in his usual state of health and in the morning was found dead.'

And what of the Child of Promise? She went on to have a successful career as a performer on horseback but, more famously, as a slackrope dancer until her tragic death at about thirteen. Travelling with her company from Liverpool to London in the packet Viceroy, she drowned when it sank in St Georges Channel in December 1797.