When bicycle racing at Huntingdon cricket ground stopped after the Whit Monday meeting in 1891, the Earl of Sandwich stepped in and offered the use of Hinchingbrooke Park for sports meetings. The Earl was a keen sportsman and assisted with the running of the events.
The first bicycle racing at the park was a Wednesday afternoon meeting of Huntingdon Cycling Club on 14th October 1891. Unfortunately there was rain at the start of the meeting, which made the going heavy on the grass track. The events were a one mile novices handicap, a steeplechase, a one mile club handicap, a slow race and a combination race of riding, running and carrying their machines. The Huntingdon Militia provided the music, but the attendance was poor.
The traditional Whit Monday sports meetings that were held through the 1880s at Huntingdon cricket ground were carried on at Hinchingbrooke Park, with the first annual meeting there on 6th June 1892. The Park was admirably suited to host the sports and the organisers provided amusements such as swings, shooting galleries and roundabouts which made the event very popular, around 3,000 people attended the meeting. There were four bicycle races, a one mile novices scratch, a one mile open handicap, a one mile handicap for which pneumatic tyres were barred and a two miles handicap race. JA Robertson of Peterborough BC succeeded in winning three out of the four events.
Huntingdon CC organised a Wednesday afternoon track meeting on 24th August 1892 with running and bicycle races followed by dancing in the evening, support was disappointing with only 200 people paying for entry.
There was a special sports meeting in August 1894 at which there were roundabouts, gymnastic displays and amusements and 1500 people attended the event, which had five bicycle races. There were three events for members of Huntingdon CC, a one mile novices scratch race, the one mile championship and a two miles handicap race. The two other bicycle races were a two miles open handicap and a race for the County Championship, held over three miles to win a challenge cup presented by Mr A Smith-Barry.^^
An evening meeting was held on 4th September 1895, at which the club and County Championship races were decided, but the evening meetings were not well supported and did not last long.
The Whit Monday sports continued through the 1900s and from 1902, they were organised by the Huntingdon Cycling and Athletic Club. The Whit Monday sports in 1914 was the last meeting before the First World War, but the sports resumed in 1920. The attendance at the Whit Monday sports was declining and the one and two miles open handicap events at the 1923 sports were the last bicycle races to be held at at Hinchingbrooke Park.
In 1962, the estate was sold to the local council and in 1970, Hinchingbrooke House and its immediate grounds became part of Hinchingbrooke School. The remaining parkland was developed into Hinchingbrooke Country Park, which opened to the public.
$$ The Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion was formed in 1914 and Lord Sandwich was the Colonel.
^^ Arthur Smith-Barry, 1st Baron Barrymore was an Anglo-IrishConservative politician, who was MP for Huntingdon from 1886 to 1900.
