When the Happy Valley Racecourse opened in 1846, spectators likely had to stand near the course, or possibly temporary stands had been built. So far, we do not have any photos from that time. In this post, photos of the stands are presented in the order of assigned dates. These, however, might not be accurate and possibly need to be updated later.
The first image of a permanent stand can be seen in the London Illustrated News from May 5, 1866.
It shows a permanent building with a two-storey balcony. To the left (i.e. north-west), another building (stand) can be seen.
The first photo is said to be from 1868. It is by W. P. Floyd.
Here one can see a stand with a two-storey balcony. This is the Grand Stand. Behind it is a stone building with a rectangular shape, and behind that is another stand which seems to have a matshed roof.
Another photo by W. P. Floyd, also from 1868, shows a similar view, but from a different angle.
The building with the two-storey balcony is on the left, and the rectangular building on the right. The third one is outside the photo.
The next photo is attributed to John Thomson. An album with this photo was sold at an auction in 2019. In the album is a handwritten caption stating “Grand Stand 1869”. This is likely the correct date.
Likely this year, a third storey has been added to the Grand Stand. Behind is the rectangular building and one with a matshed roof.
A similar view gives the photo by William Pryor Floyd from 1868/69.
It is dated to 1868. It should be more from 1869, or taken later in the year 1868 than this one.
Another photo from this time is this one:
The next photo is also dated to c.1869.
There is the Grand Stand (three storeys) and the stand with the matshed roof, but the rectangular building is missing. This is the only photo that does not fit into this series.
A photo from 1873 is again by W. P. Floyd
Again, Grand Stand and rectangular building.
The same photo is also shown in the HSBC collection of W.P. Floyd photos from 1873. They own an album with Floyd's photos from that year, and on this photo a caption appears naming the rectangular building “Portuguese Stand”.
Another photo from c.1875 shows all three again. The stand with the matshed roof is now smaller compared to the 1869 photo.
Last one in this series is dated to c.1880. The Grand Stand has lost its third storey, but there seems to be a more substantial roof with tiles. The rectangular building is still there, but the stand with the matshed roof seems to have been removed.
Summary
Although some dates of the photos are probably not exact, an estimate of the Grand Stand’s lifetime can be given. It first appears in an engraving published in 1866 with a two-story balcony. A third one was likely added in 1869, and removed again approximately around 1880.
A similar estimate can be given for the “Portuguese Stand”: It is there on the 1868 photo until the 1880s one, only missing of the photo attributed to 1869.
Except the 1875 photo was…
Except the 1875 photo was not 1875 but likelier earlier as explained in the node for the panorama from which the cropped photo was taken.