THURNSCOE

Spike Stadium, Thurnscoe Sporting Club, George Street, Thurnscoe East, South Yorkshire.

POSTCODE———————————S63 0BA

LOCATED———————————–The village of Thurnscoe lies roughly between Barnsley and Doncaster in South Yorkshire. The site of the old track lies about one mile north of the present day Highgate Greyhound Stadium. CBR Container Services on Albion Drive in Thurncoe East now covers the site, with the entrance to the stadium roughly 50 yards north of the end of George Street, and its northern boundary adjacent to chapel street.

ORIGINAL SITE—————————–A football ground

DATE CONSTRUCTED——————–Dont know

DATE VENUE OPENED——————-Dont know
Meaning other sports may have taken place prior to the arrival of Greyhound Racing.

FIRST MEETING—————————-May 29th 1936.
Greyhound Racing only.

LICENSED OR INDEPENDENT———-Independent
All venues covered would have to be be licensed with the government, licensed suggested in this section would refere to tracks operating under NGRC Rules.

INSIDE OR OUTSIDE HARE TYPE——Dont know
Please note that the Electric Hare suggested is only a guidance, and would have been in operation for a certain amount of time at this venue. Although it is not necessarily guaranteed that it was operational all the time, as other types of lure may have been used and updated as time progresssed.

DISTANCES———————————–240 and 368 yards.
Please note that most racing venues distances had become varied throughout the years, the ones given above were at once point set and offers only a guidance to the track size.

CIRCUMFERENCE—————————Dont know
Please note that alterations at most racing venues throughout its existence would see that the circumference of the track would vary, the one shown above offers only a guidance to the track size.

BIG RACE NAMES—————————None found

STADIUM SHARED WITH—————–Whippet Racing, Amateur Football.

LAST MEETING——————————-Possibly mid 1950’s
Greyhound Racing only.

STADIUM CLOSURE DATE—————-Dont know
Meaning other sports may have taken place after Greyhound Racing had ceased.

STADIUM DEMOLITION——————–Dont know

BUILT ON SITE——————————–CBR Container Services on Albion Drive.
In some cases, structure’s that originally covered the venue after the stadium had been demolished, may have been themselves demolished too, so the one described is more likely to be the one which now presently covers the site.

EVIDENCE LEFT TODAY——————–Possibly a perimeter wall north of the Industrial Estate still survives.

FURTHER COMMENTS———————None

The small village of Thurnscoe lies roughly half way between Barnsley and Doncaster in South Yorkshire. Thurnscoe was one of a number of coal mining villages that lay in the Dearne Valley, an area were the popularity of Whippet Racing had grown during the post years of the First World War, and had established as a popular past time amongst the coal miners.

During the early months of 1936, and having witnessed the popularity of dog racing, it became an idea of a local butcher to approach the Thurnscoe Sporting Club, to construct a greyhound track around its football pitch. Having agreed terms, the first meeting came on May 29th, 1936, with both Whippet and Greyhound Racing events being staged.

The venue would continue as a flapping track from then on right up until its closure during the mid 1950’s. It became known locally as the Spike Greyhound Track, or sometimes the Thurnscoe Fairplay Greyhound Track, and was located within one mile of the present-day Highgate Greyhound Stadium.

Thurnscoe Sporting Club no longer exists, as the site is now covered by CBR Container Services on Albion Drive in Thurnscoe East. Any evidence of the stadium being there has totally been removed, but there is a chance that the perimeter wall north of the Industrial Estate may possibly still exists.