A case of the trots!

A great image has come in from friend of the blog and long time contributor Andy Dennis, who’s dug out this fascinating picture of a once prominent local sport that used to take place in Brownhills.

The original trotting track in the town would be on what is now Brownhills School’s field, between the Black Path and the former railway – indeed, the A-Z bizarrely still shows it. That track closed I believe when the new stadium opened near Chasewater.

Andy had the following to say about this photo:

Hello Bob

Here is a photograph taken by my uncle Frank, who was a keen photographer in the 1940’’s and ‘50s. There is no information as to where it was taken, but I think it was local.

He would have developed this himself. I wonder if any of your followers can work out where it was?

Cheers
Andy

Great thanks to Andy for that – and it’s worth noting the spirit of ingenuity that drove local sportsmen and hobbyists to use their industrial or craft skills to make their own equipment, modify vehicles and so on.

We’re doing quite well with material from the trotting stadium and sport now, with the story of the Race of the Year in 1977 when the place was used for a motorbike race day, and we found an advert for the facility that gave the opening date of the Stadium.

Reader Fred Butler recalled trotting there fondly, and there has been great material in the comments.

This is a fascinating bit of social history and thanks to Andy for taking it further; the sports and pastimes of our area are steadily being forgotten in the modern age, and I think it’s important that we document them as far as possible.

Anything to add? Can you identify the location of Andy’s photo? Comment here please, or mail me: BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. Cheers.