The former Lincoln Racecourse Grandstand at West Common in Lincoln, Lincolnshire.
It was built in 1897 by W Wright and designed by W Mortimer and Son. The Grandstand is these days owned by the City of Lincoln Council and hired out as function rooms and a venue. Carholme Road, Lincoln, Lincolnshire.
The current West Common was created in 1803-5 under the Enclosure Act of 1803, combining the former Carholme, Ox Pasture and Short Leys. 1872 dredging of the Brayford resulted in the mud being dumped in the South West corner of the Common. It was used as the venue for the Royal Show in 1907 & 1947 and the County Show in 1955.
West Common was the original location of the Lincolnshire Handicap. The course closed in 1965 and the race renamed the Lincoln Handicap relocated to Doncaster Racecourse. From 1727 at the earliest, Lincoln had held a Royal Plate race, run in 4 mile heats by 6 year olds carrying 12 stone.
The racecourse was established by the Lincoln Corporation on West Common in 1773. The grandstand of 1897 is a Grade II listed building, now used as a community centre. The A57 road passed between the course and the grandstand. During race meetings, this was closed off and traffic diverted, enabling BBC cameras to follow the leaders of the race at close distance all the way from start to the winning post.
During WWI much of the Common was designated No.4 Aircraft Acceptance Park and was used to test aircraft assembled in the city’s many industrial plants. The airfield had turf runways and a number of outbuildings, many of which survive as earthworks such as the former area of hangars to the south of the current football pitches, and building platforms on the opposite side of Saxilby Road to the racecourse grandstand, which were used to accommodate test pilots. Crenellated earthworks just south of the Grandstand identify the location of a former training trench from WWI. These are earthworks formed from a pattern of multiple, regular, rectangular spaces cut from the ground.
West Common today eleven percent of Lincoln's neutral grassland and marsh resource, and supports a population of skylark. A number of sports facilities are supported on the West Common, including football, tennis, cricket, bowls and a golf course. The tennis courts have recently been refurbished by the Lincoln County Council, with new surfacing, fencing, posts and nets. The grass courts are available until September and the hard courts are available all year round.
The area is a popular space for the horse's owners to ride and train the horses. Horses can be found grazing across the whole area, a right dating back to the 11th century and the High Medieval Era common grazing rights. A right for citizens of Lincoln which extends to the current day.
Originally back in medieval England the common was an integral part of the manor, and was thus part of the estate held by the lord of the manor under a feudal grant from the Crown or a superior peer, who in turn held his land from the Crown which owned all land. This manorial system, founded on feudalism, granted rights of land use to different classes. These would be appurtenant rights, that is the ownership of rights belonged to tenancies of particular plots of land held within a manor. A commoner would be the person who, for the time being, was the occupier of a particular plot of land.
On most commons, rights of pasture and pannage for each commoner are tightly defined by number and type of animal, and by the time of year when certain rights could be exercised. For example, the occupier of a particular cottage might be allowed to graze fifteen cattle, four horses, ponies or donkeys, and fifty geese, whilst the numbers allowed for their neighbours would probably be different. On some commons (such as the New Forest and adjoining commons), the rights are not limited by numbers, and instead a marking fee is paid each year for each animal turned out. However, if excessive use was made of the common, for example, in overgrazing, a common would be stinted, that is, a limit would be put on the number of animals each commoner was allowed to graze.
