SINCE the first horserace was held on Pitchcroft more than 300 years ago so many punters have lost their shirts there it would have been worth setting up a Sketchley.

For this area of flatland beside the river just off Worcester city centre has become a fixture on the steeplechasing calendar and features as one of the highlights in Worcester’s History and Heritage Calendar, which aims to include important events in the area over the centuries.

According to the book Pitchcroft 300 years of Racing in Worcester by Chris Pitt, the earliest reference is an advertisement in Berrow’s Worcester Journal. This stated: “On Friday the 27th June 1718 there will be run for in Pitchcroft Worcester a Saddle and Bridle £3 value by any horse mare or gelding carrying ten stone, except bridle and saddle, the best of three two mile heats, the winning horse to be sold for seven pounds.”

Although Worcester Races is now confined to a summer jumping programme, to avoid the mucky days in mid-winter when its location was in danger of flooding, it used to host flat racing too and legends like Sir Gordon Richards and Bill Rickaby would fly into Worcester Airport at Perdiswell to compete. It even gained royal patronage when Princess Anne rode there during her successful eventing career.

Other highlights from the calendar’s June entries include:

June 1, 1794: The history of the 29th Foot, which later became the Worcestershire Regiment, includes The Fourth Battle of Ushant in 1794. Called The Glorious First of June, it was the largest fleet action of the naval conflict between Great Britain and the First French Republic of the French Revolutionary Wars. Gathering sufficient manpower was difficult and the lack of Royal Marines was urgent, so soldiers from the Army were drafted into the fleet for service at sea. The 29th Foot served aboard HMS Brunswick during the campaign and their descendant regiments still maintain the battle honour “ I June 1794 “ and the Naval Crown on their colours. One hundred and fifty years later, on June 22, 1944, the Regiment’s First Battalion landed at Ver Sur Mer in Normandy during WW2.

June 2, 1857: Composer Edward Elgar was born in a cottage at Lower Broadheath, near Worcester. The property is now a heritage museum to mark the life of one of England’s foremost musical figures. On June 2, 1981 the Prince of Wales, now Charles III, unveiled the Elgar Statue at the southern end of High Street following a spectacular concert in Worcester Cathedral. It was the work of local sculptor Kenneth Potts, who said: “The statue looked amazing draped in two massive Union Jacks after three years of work and planning. It was all a great tribute to the hard working appeal committee lead by David Hawkins and Robin Mack Smith.”

June 14, 2009: Royal Worcester Porcelain closed after Portmeirion of Stoke on Trent bought its intellectual property and trade name, ending 250 years of porcelain manufacture in the city. However the adjacent, but independent, Museum of Royal Worcester in Severn Street survives and thrives. It contains the largest collection of Worcester porcelain in the world and attracts visitors from across the globe.

June 20, 1966: Worcester born aviator Sheila Scott becomes the first woman to fly over the North Pole. Born in 1922, Sheila attended the Alice Ottley School for 12 years and was a talented athlete and keen on acting before she took up flying at the age of 37 to become arguably Britain’s greatest female aviatrix. This international flying ace notched up 100 world records for speed, endurance and long distance flying and broke solo records for London to Cape Town and from England to Australia. She died in 1988.

June 27, 1883: Although born in Leeds, Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy made his name while vicar of St Paul’s, one of Worcester’s poorest parishes. He volunteered to serve as a padre during the First World War and became famous for boosting morale by handing out cigarettes to soldiers as well as providing spiritual aid to the wounded and dying. He gained the nicknames Woodbine Willie or the Cigarette Saint and was also awarded the Military Cross for bravery. He died in Liverpool in 1929, but his funeral was held in Worcester where the streets were packed with mourners, many of whom were WW1 veterans or from the poor working class.

And finally. In June 1969 two of Worcester’s oldest wine merchants amalgamated to become Malpass Stallard in Fish Street. Joseph Malpas had been established in 1807, while Josiah Stallard could boast trading records going back 1641, when it was wine merchant to Worcester Cathedral. Today the business is run by Nigel and Jeannie Smith in Fish Street and remains very active merchants in the wine trade, particularly for weddings and other social events.