York Racecourse
York Racecourse
We produced a comprehensive heritage assessment that informed the future of York Racecourse - one of the oldest horse racing sites in the country.
York Racecourse, a signatory of the UNFCCC Sport for Climate Action, aimed for net zero by 2040 under its Green Knavesmire 300 strategy. The three oldest stands at the Racecourse are listed: the remains of John Carr’s original eighteenth century Grandstand is Grade II*, and two Victorian structures – the County and Press Stands – and the 1920s Clock Tower are listed at Grade II. Many other structures were identified as contributing positively to the character and appearance of the Conservation Area, including the two largest stands, erected in the last 30 years. Through extensive assessment and the development of diagrams that conveyed the Racecourse’s historic development and significance, we established that York Racecourse is a landscape and location of national, possibly, international heritage significance. It expresses the history and character of racing in ways that are arguably more complete than any other course in the country: through landscape; history; architecture; and culture and character.
Following completion of this initial assessment, we then advised Dawson Williamson Architects on the redevelopment of the southern end of the racecourse, with a masterplan that brought together conservation, sustainability, and inclusivity, creating accessible spaces and sustainability improvements such as solar energy and rainwater harvesting. It included the reorganisation of open spaces, a new Roberto Bar Pavilion, and the restoration of the historic Bustardthorpe Stand, which now includes now includes a brick colonnade and has better revealed early twentieth-century engineering.
The project emphasised adaptive reuse, with reclaimed materials used for a new boundary wall and existing buildings repurposed for staff facilities.
Client: York Racecourse
Architect: Dawson Williamson Architects