“Trotting Match”

The following article appeared in The Cambridge Independent Press, 4 August 1866:^[1]

Trotting Match.—On Monday last, the New Road and Cemetery End were thronged with spectators to witness a trotting match against time, Mr. Casbon’s five-year old roan filly Strawberry, by Orton, being engaged to trot one mile in harness, drawing her owner and another person. The time fixed for starting was eleven o’clock, and the start took place near the pump at the end of City Road, the finish being near the public house in Eastfield. The task was performed in a little over four minutes and a half.

Although not stated, the event took place in Peterborough, Northamptonshire (now Cambridgeshire). The article doesn’t really contain any information of genealogical interest, but it gives us a little insight into the life and times of people in Peterborough in the latter half of the 19^th century.

Who was “Mr. Casbon”? I’ve written several posts about the Peterborough Casbons. They were all descended from Thomas Casbon (~1807–1863), who was born in Littleport, Cambridgeshire and eventually settled in Peterborough sometime between 1847 and 1851. Thomas established himself as the owner of a nursery in Peterborough and seems to have been quite successful.

Thomas had two sons, John (~1832–1885) and Thomas (1840–1889), both of whom followed their father into the nursery business. Both sons were living in Peterborough at the time of the 1861 census. John moved to Spalding, Lincolnshire, sometime before 1868, but he might have still been in Peterborough in 1866. Therefore, I can’t be sure which of the brothers was the “Mr. Casbon” of the article.

Let’s imagine we were there. “Monday last” would have been 30 July 1866. It’s odd that such an event would occur in the middle of a workday. I wonder if it was a special event or holiday. At any rate, the atmosphere was festive. There must have been advance notice of the event since the roads were “thronged with spectators.” This was not an every-day occasion.

The goal of a “trotting match against time,” was to see how fast a single horse pulling a cart and riders could go a fixed distance, in this case one mile. Apparently, the filly Strawberry had a reputation for speed. I’m guessing that “by Orton” means that Strawberry was the offspring of a better-known horse named Orton. However, I haven’t been able find any more information about either of the horses.

Four and a half minutes is not a particularly fast time for a mile. The current trotting records (individual records are based on the horse’s gait, age, and sex) for a mile are under two minutes, but these were set in groomed tracks, not the city streets of Peterborough. This was before the days of modern paved asphalt or concrete roadways. The city streets might have been paved with stones or bricks, while the road to Eastfield was probably packed dirt or gravel. It would have been a bumpy ride for two men in a two-wheel cart!

The spectators lining the streets would have seen the horse and cart quickly ride past. Then they might have waited until the official time was passed down the line before retiring to the local pubs for lunch and a pint.

Here is a map showing my interpretation of the route taken by Mr. Casbon and Strawberry.

What does the story tell us about “Mr. Casbon”? It appears that whichever brother he was, he was doing well enough financially to possess a horse of some merit. This doesn’t seem like the kind of horse one would buy to help with the nursery business, but perhaps it was.

1866 might have represented a high point in the business affairs and social standing of the two brothers, for they each faced significant misfortune in the coming years. Thomas’s wife, Emily, filed for divorce in 1868, taking their two children with her to London. John was forced to file for bankruptcy in 1870. Thomas apparently tried to drown himself in the Thames in 1871. He later made his way to Australia, where he was jailed twice for drunkenness, and died there in 1889. John was apparently able to re-establish himself in the nursery business in Peterborough, where he died in 1885.

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[1] “Trotting Match,” Cambridge Independent Press, 4 Aug 1866; image copy, British Newspaper Archive (https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ : accessed 24 Feb 2017).