Downs House - Epsom, Surrey
After Eclipse retired to stud it is believed the Sherwood racing dynasty occupied Downs House when Ralph Sherwood was the private trainer to Sir Gilbert Heathcote. In 1819 and 1838 they saw great success and won the Epsom Derby with Amato. Ralph's other very successful horse was the French filly, Jouvence, who won the Goodwood Cup (ridden by his son Tom) and both the Prix de Diane and the Prix du Jockey Club, (ridden by his son Robert, in 1853). Following this Downs House passed to Ralph Sherwood's son Tom whose increasing difficulty to make weight meant he turned his attentions to training. The Sherwood family purchased Downs House in 1888. During the Epsom race meetings, the family held a renowned open house for trainers and jockeys, including Fred Archer, whilst the yard accommodated a number of famous horses including Spearmint, Lemberg and Pretty Polly. Epsom ~ Surrey Downs House The property extends to approximately 4.29 hectares (10.6 acres) and includes a five bedroom house, the Eclipse Barn, a two storey building known as The Bothy and a training yard comprising 43 boxes, all located within gardens, paddocks and woodland. HisTory Downs House is believed to date back to the 1780s and was once the training yard of the unbeatable Eclipse, a thoroughbred from which 80 per cent of today's bloodstock is believed to be descended. Eclipse was an outstanding 18th-century racehourse who won 18 races, including 11 King's Plates. The horse is still remembered in the phrase "Eclipse first and the rest nowhere", referring to any dominating victory. The name of the horse is still remembered at Downs House with the historic red brick barn being named the Eclipse Barn. Tom Sherwood died in 1923 and his wife Helen continued to reside at Downs House until her death in 1942. In an interview with a local newspaper in 1938, aged 80 and still resident at Downs House, she reminisced about the Derby. She had seen it 66 years earlier, wearing her first bustle and said "It's not just a race for me. It's all I live for. I remember when the crowds drove up in their carriages and their hansoms, when this house was crowded with the cream of the racing world, when my stables were packed with the runners...". Epsom and Ewell Borough Council purchased Downs House in 1944. siTuATion The situation of Downs House must be one of the most prominent and desirable positions for a property of this nature. The late Mrs Helen Sherwood was reported as saying: "We used to sit in the grandstand in those days. Now I stand in my garden as they gallop past". Down House is uniquely positioned within Epsom and Walton Downs, an area of 600 acres of unspoilt downland. On a clear day, the views from here take in London and the panoramas of rural Surrey. Downs House is located inside the southern boundary of the Racecourse. Surrounded by mature woodland the property remains private yet enjoys enviable views of the Downs across to the impressive racecourse grandstands. Access to Downs House is via Walton Road, which runs across the Downs from The Rubbing House car park and an access road which crosses the Racecourse just beyond the Derby starting post.
