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THE NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY RACES AT STACEY HILL FARM |
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A SUITABLE VENUEStacey Hill Farm was the venue for many sporting events before the building of the Wolverton Sports Ground in 1885. After this time sporting events were held at the farm less often.
However, the fields surrounding the farm house were still used when a larger area than was available at the sports ground was needed. In the 1920s and 30s one of the country's most prestigious athletics events took place at the farm. The national cross country championship for men visited twice and the equivalent women's event once.
WHY WOLVERTON?Wolverton was a natural venue for the event because the town is situated on one of the country's main railways. This meant competitors and officials could get there relatively easily. The town also enjoyed a strong reputation for its sporting facilities in the first half of the 20th century and this may have contributed to the decision to hold the event there. |
THE "NATIONAL"The men's English National Cross Country Championship is the oldest event of its kind in the world. The event, known among athletics fans as "The National", was first held in 1876 and is still held every year. Since its inception the National has visited a different venue each year. Towns in the middle of country were a popular choice because they were easily accessible for many of the athletes. The National first visited the area as early as 1898 when the race was held at Horton, a small village midway between Wolverton and Northampton. Indeed, the Amateur Athletic Association track championships themselves were held in Northampton on three occasions (1893, 1896, 1903) before the First World War. Some of the walking events (then perhaps more popular than today) were held there in 1924. The men's "National" was held in Wolverton in 1926 and 1932. The women's race was held there in 1930. Find out more about the 1926 race. Find out more about the 1930 race. Find out more about the 1932 race. During this period there were separate organisations controlling men's and women's athletics and this is why events for each sex were held at different venues. It is only since 1995 that the men's and women's events have been held in the same place on the same day. The team trophy for the National is known as the Frank Wynne Cup. This has been awarded to winning teams since 1905. A centenary trophy has been awarded since 1984 to the best team of the 11 still extant from the formation of the ECCU. Each club can now enter a team of no fewer than six and no more than nine. Team scoring is very simple: each member of the team is given an individual score that is equal to their position in the race. The scores of the first six finishers are added together and the team with the lowest total score wins the trophy. |
BACKGROUNDRELATED LINKSNorthampton Museum & Art Gallery Original Pathe NewsreelsOTHER "LOCAL" NATIONALSAlthough 1932 was the last year either the men's or women's National was held in Wolverton the event has since been held in the area on a number of occasions: 1950 Aylesbury The 1985 event was held at Milton Keynes Bowl. This is the only time since 1932 that the National has been held in the area now designated as Milton Keynes. HELP US BUILD THE SITEThe pages on this section of the Museum website aim to give as much information about the events as possible. We would be pleased to hear from anyone with additional information or images that we could add in the future. CREDITSWe should like to thank Northampton Museum & Art Gallery for allowing us to photograph and use images of shoes in their collection in this section of the website. Thank you also to Dr Richard Armstrong for advice and information on cross country running.
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