By Nick Pollard
On the night of 28th September 1932, a mysterious fire destroyed several of the stands at Kempton Park, which dated back to the opening of the course by Samuel Hyde in 1878. Mysterious, as it was the second time in a month that a fire had broken out at the racecourse, and precautions against accidental fire had been taken by leaving the electrical supply switched off overnight. Although suspected, arson was never proven. Despite the efforts of several local fire brigades, the Members’ stand, which is seen in this picture of the conflagration, was totally destroyed and the adjoining Royal Enclosure and Tattersall’s stands were badly damaged, as well as the refreshment rooms below. Salvage work saved some of the furniture and other items from the stands, but all such efforts had to be abandoned when the roof crashed down with a shower of burning debris. The flames leapt up to 100 feet high, and lit up the countryside for miles around, although fortunately the wind blew the flames away from the big public stand which escaped damage.
The immediate problem for the racecourse management was that there was a race meeting due to take place the following week. Hundreds of chairs were set out in the Members’ enclosure in front of the destroyed stand, but as luck would have it the British weather played its usual part and heavy rain fell, making the lack of a protective roof all too evident, and the chairs were all soaked before they could be used.
Work began the following year to rebuild the stands, and this structure lasted until the race-course underwent a rebuilding programme in connection with the conversion to an all-weather course in 2006.
As you will read elsewhere in this magazine, Sunbury and Shepperton Local History Society is celebrating its 70th Anniversary in 2021. We are planning an exhibition for later this year and are particularly interested in any photos of the area from the 1950s, especially local shops. Please contact monica@villagematters if you have anything suitable.