Bringing the silver bell back to life!

One of my fascinations since moving to Lanark has been its old racecourse, steeped in history and nostalgia, very quickly it was decided that this fascinating landmark had to be recreated in pencil.

A brief History

Lanark Racecourse was a historic venue in Scotland, founded by King William the Lion, it hosted the oldest horse race in Britain, the Lanark Silver Bell, and the longest handicap race in Scotland, the William the Lion Handicap. The racecourse also hosted the first aviation meeting in Scotland in 1910. After its closure in 1977, the site was repurposed for various uses, including public walks, equestrian use, and sporting events. The remains of the racecourse are still visible

today, a testament to its historical significance.

The course was a right-handed oval, 10 furlongs (2,000 m) round, with a run-in of around 3+¹⁄₂ furlongs (700 m). There was a straight course of 5 furlongs.

The only visible reminder of what once stood is that of the Tote tower, the tower was the first "Robot Bookie" in Scotland, and is thought to be only the second in the United Kingdom after that at Carlisle. A staff of about 220 were required to run the tower, the hand operated indicator boards showing information about 26 runners (although there were usually nine or less runners in a race). Those in the Indicator Room communicated with the subsidiary buildings by telegraph. Originally the indicator board letters were cardboard, however after the first race meeting electric letters were used. The first time the "Robot Bookie" performed the race course was extremely crowded, "ladies were very much in evidence. There was also an unusual number of clergymen about the course", and over 6000 bets were taken. Although Lanark Racecourse is no longer in use, the Tote Tower is also a reminder of the long history of racing here, which can be traced back as early as the 13th century.

The project

Due to a limited amount of reference material and limited photos of the racecourse in use I decided to create the piece using a new concept (new to myself anyway) this was to create a fictitious scene of the racecourse, paying homage to its still existing tote tower. Using black and white reference photos of the tote tower as a backdrop, along with its crowds and accompanying buildings, I set out to find the main feature of the piece, the horses.

The horses for the piece came from a modern day race from the talented Dennis Penny of Penny Pictures. Minor adjustments were made to the horses in terms of tack to make them more fitting for the period.

The finished piece measures 2 feet tall by 4 feet wide and is my largest piece to date. Prints of this piece are available at a more modest size.