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The Woottons and Epsom Downs
The sporting potential of Epsom Downs was recognised by Henry VIII. In 1537 he instigated the building of Nonsuch Palace at Ewell on the edge of the North Downs. The palace subsequently passed on to James I and then to Charles II. Epsom was the base for some of Charles' amorous affairs, and for a while he kept Barbara Villiers at Nonsuch, and Nell Gwyn at The Kings Head in Epsom. The discovery of springs on Epsom Common in the 17th century saw the growth of Epsom as a spa town. Visitors took the waters in the morning, then spent the afternoon in the inns and coffee houses, or engaged in sporting pastimes that included racing horses on Epsom Downs. The horse racing became more organised and in 1780 the famous Derby was staged for the first time. 
In 1828 a Mr Charles Bluck approached the Lord of the Manor of Epsom with a proposal that if Epsom was to retain its position as the home of the premier race, it should have a permanent grandstand in addition to the variety of temporary stands that were in operation. The Lord of the Manor leased to Bluck, for ninety years, one acre of "manorial waste" at a rental of £30 per annum, with Bluck agreeing to complete the erection of the stand within 12 months at a cost of £5,000. Within ten days Bluck sublet the site at a premium of £1,000 to a syndicate known thereafter as the Epsom Grand Stand Association. The letting and subletting of parcels of land, which was to become an inherent part of Epsom racecourse, had commenced. At one stage the racecourse covered land that the EGSA held on short leases from four different landlords.
The resumption of racing after the 1914-18 War saw enormous crowds attending racing at Epsom. Following the 1922 Spring Meeting there were protests about the high admission charges and the poor facilities. However the same problem that had hindered progress for centuries still existed, i.e. could the Association take the risk of investing in the building of a new grandstand on land that it owned on short lease? The problem was presented to Mrs Strange, the owner of Epsom Downs. She suggested that she would consider an offer, and the EGSA offered £55,000 for the freehold. Stanley Wootton, a local horse trainer had followed the proceedings with interest. Knowing that the Association urgently needed to raise capital, on 2nd March 1925, Wootton's solicitors wrote to the EGSA:
The sale of Six Mile Hill to Wootton provided the EGSA with part of the capital to purchase Epsom Downs. In 1936 the Epsom & Walton Downs Regulation Act was passed. The Conservators consisted of six representatives of the Borough Council, three from the EGSA and Stanley Wootton. The duty of the Conservators was "to preserve the Downs in their natural state of beauty". The Conservators have the power to make their own by-laws, and regulate the use of Epsom and Walton Downs to ensure that activities involving horse racing and training can take place, while at the same time preserving the public's right of access to the Downs. Thus, for over forty years, Stanley Wootton and the EGSA worked side by side in a relationship that had never been a happy one. The gallops on Six Mile Hill were used in summer, and the Epsom Downs gallops in winter. Wootton's lease on some neighbouring farmland was due to expire in 1969, negotiations between the two parties made no progress, and in November 1967, the Association gave Wootton notice to quit on expiry of the lease. Wootton applied successfully to the High Court for a declaration that as an agricultural holding, the lease on the land was not determinable under normal landlord and tenant procedure. Having fought and won a complicated legal battle, Stanley Wootton effectively gave the downs to the nation. He retained the farmland, but offered the 206 acres of Walton Downs (Six Mile Hill) to the Horserace Betting Levy Board on a 999-year lease at the rent of "a peppercorn if demanded." Wootton's action was the catalyst for a rapid change in the Levy Board's role, that now set about purchasing United Racecourses, (which included Sandown Park and Epsom), thus combining Epsom and Walton Downs under one administration. Levy Board Chairman, Lord Wigg said, "I stood up there and I looked over that marvellous hill and over the trees on Walton Downs and there was Headley Church standing up, tiny against the sky, and I thought, "Why not for ever?" and by God we've done it." Stanley Wootton said, "In handing over the gallops, I have in mind what the people of England have given the Wootton family." Stanley Wootton was born in Australia and was the second son of Richard Wootton. In 1907 Richard Wootton arrived in Epsom. In 1912 he was champion trainer, and his eldest son, Frank, was champion jockey. In 1913 Wootton's Treadwell House establishment at Epsom was described as the best known in the world. Richard Wootton was based in Epsom for less than ten years, in addition to his outstanding success he was an active litigant, on one occasion being awarded a farthing damages in a libel case. His wife died in childbirth in 1910 leaving him with five young children. Boys hoping to become jockeys flocked to Epsom to learn the "Australian secrets." Stanley Wootton won the Military Cross during the 1914-18 war, and then took over his father's stables. He was the greatest tutor of jockeys in the 20th century. Both Richard and Stanley were fearless gamblers. In the 1920s Stanley turned out numerous well-backed winners of moderate races, all ridden by apprentices from his own "school." In the book "THE WOOTTON FAMILY-AUSTRALIA TO EPSOM", author Bill Eacott traces the family's career, and the career of some of the stable protégés, Smirke, Smyth, Ingham etc. Eacott reproduces some of the hitherto unpublished correspondence regarding Stanley Wootton's purchase of the Walton Downs gallops in 1926, and details of his jockeys' contracts. There are thirty-four pages of illustrations, Stanley and Frank Wootton on leave at Windsor in 1917 is a favourite, and there are many pictures of Wootton's stable lads, apprentices and jockeys. Other memorabilia includes the menu for a benefit dinner for Stanley Wootton by his former apprentices in 1948, and an Epsom Stable Lads Gang Show in 1951. Copies priced at £7.50 are available from Collectors Centre, Waterloo Road, Epsom, or they can be purchased online at £8.50 incl. p&p in the UK and Europe or £9.50 for the rest of the world. Review Of The Wootton Family-Australia to Epsom 
In 1907 Australian Richard Wootton arrived in Epsom. In 1912 he was Champion Trainer, and his eldest
son, Frank, was champion jockey. Frank Wootton won the jockeys championship four years in succession
before he was twenty. In 1913 Woottons Treadwell House establishment at Epsom was described as the
best known in the world. Richard Wootton trained in Epsom for less than ten years, in addition to
his outstanding success he was an active litigant, on one occasion being awarded a farthing damages
in a libel case that is re-constructed in the text. His wife also died in childbirth in 1910 leaving
him with five young children.
Boys hoping to become jockeys flocked to Epsom to learn the Australian secrets. Richards second son Stanley, won the Military Cross during the 1914-18 war, and then took over his fathers stables. He was the greatest tutor of jockeys in the 20th century. Both Richard and Stanley were fearless gamblers; some of Richards betting coups are detailed. In the 1920s Stanley turned out numerous well-backed winners of moderate races, all ridden by apprentices from his own school. By the end of the decade Stanley was having trouble getting his bets on, but by then had won enough to finance the purchase of Epsoms training gallops. In this well researched book, Bill Eacott details the careers of the Wootton family, and many of their pupils: the Smyth, Dick, Ingham and Smirke families. Eacott reproduces some of the hitherto unpublished correspondence regarding Stanley Woottons purchase of the Walton Downs gallops in 1926, and details of his jockeys contracts. There are thirty-four pages of illustrations, Stanley and Frank Wootton on leave at Windsor in 1917 is a favourite, and there are many pictures of Woottons stable lads, apprentices and jockeys. Other memorabilia includes the menu for a benefit dinner for Stanley Wootton by his former apprentices in 1948, and an Epsom Stable Lads Gang Show in 1951. Copies priced at £7.50 are available from Collectors Centre, Waterloo Road, Epsom, or they can be purchased online at £8.50 incl. p&p in the UK and Europe or £9.50 for the rest of the world.
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