BBCStriking Victorian images, unearthed by the BBC, show how Salford was home to a racecourse before the land was converted into a shipyard and now the modern urban landscape known as MediaCityUK.
The 1.5 mile New Barns Racecourse opened in 1868 and entertained racing fans for 34 years before making way for a new jetty.
Maps show the home straight and grandstands are now occupied by the Ashton-Eccles Metrolink line running through Harbor City.
The paddock and winning post of the long-forgotten course were now located where the bend of the tram line towards Anchorage is located.
The demolition of the racecourse began after a six-year legal dispute between the Manchester Racecourse Company and the Manchester Ship Canal Company.
In 1905, Dock 9 – which split the abandoned racecourse in two – was opened by King Edward VII.
“New Barns would have been a central hub for the community,” says Dr Sam Oldfield, a sports historian from Manchester Metropolitan University.
“In the field of sports, athletics [was] very popular and there are several examples of New Barns hosting athletics competitions.”
Salford Red Devils, hit by the crisis, once played for more than thirty years on a field behind the main stand.
The rugby league side moved to The Willows in 1901, where they remained for 111 years until moving to Salford Community Stadium.
Racing enthusiast and author William Morgan described New Barns as “a good gallop”.
In addition to rugby, cycling and other sports, the area was also used for markets, public events and political meetings.
Dr. Oldfield explained: ‘In 1895, due to the prolonged frost that affected the whole of Manchester and Salford, the racecourse was used as a soup kitchen for local residents.
“A very lively carnival-like experience” with temporary marquees, tents and huts, serving food and drinks.”
Ordnance investigationOvercrowding was regularly reported on race days.
For example, to avoid a clash in the summer of 1876, officials opened all the gates and let people in for free, after nearly 80,000 people packed into the area.
When the track opened, the Manchester Guardian noted that the two stands were only intended for 5,500 people.
“It was loud, colourful, the best and the worst of society all together in one place,” Dr Oldfield added.
In 1887, American entertainer William Cody – better known as Buffalo Bill – brought 180 wild horses, 18 buffalo and 97 Indians to the area.
The showman performed to sold-out audiences every night for five months.
He could hardly have believed that 120 years later the site would have turned into MediaCityUK – full of apartment blocks, offices, bars, restaurants and a university campus.
There were no hotels in the area at that time; Cody’s tour group camped on the icy banks of the nearby River Irwell.
The course has hosted major races including the November Handicap, now held in Doncaster, and the Lancashire Plate, first held in 1888.
The Lancashire Plate was the most lucrative race in Britain at the time, with a prize of £11,000.
Just over a decade before the course closed, the owners took legal action after being told their land would be taken for the extension of the Manchester Ship Canal.
Sports historian Dr Oldfield said the owners ‘were not happy to be told what to do with their estate.
“You have the excitement of a sport trying to grow and you have an industrial, commercial world that is growing.”
After the lawsuit, the course owners received £250,000 for the land (about £27 million in today’s prices), more than six times the amount they paid to move from New Barns back to their original site at Castle Irwell.
Dr. Oldfield commented, “I don’t think they were that upset in the end!”
MediaCityUK / LandsecIn 2024, plans were announced to further rejuvenate the MediaCityUK area.
Some councilors advised caution and warned the area threatened to become a ‘concrete jungle’.
Labor councilor Jake Rowland said two parks are within “a short walk” for most residents.
Local guide Mark Charnley believes there should be more green space.
Reflecting on the site’s evolution from fields to a modern media centre, Mr Charnley said: “There are lots of places to sit, but not much grassland. Most of the space is concrete.
“The course has just been forgotten. No one alive today would remember it.”
“These are quite remarkable changes. You wouldn’t recognize it.”
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