A TROPHY from the historic Northallerton Racecourse dating back to the 1800s has fetched thousands at auction.

The ‘Stewards’ Silver Cup’ dates from a three-day meeting hosted at Northallerton racecourse from October 8 in 1835.

It was is estimated to sell for up to £4,000 but recently went under the hammer for £6,470 at auction by Cheffins in Cambridge.

The trophy was made by Emes and Barnard, the famous London-based silversmithing company.

Steven Collins of Cheffins described it as 'a fabulous example of some of the best in 19th century silver-smithing'.

Northallerton first staged a three-day racing event on its course near Otterington back in 1765.

By the 1800s the Northallerton competition was regarded as one of the most prestigious race meetings in the North of England.

The three-day meeting from which the auctioned cup dates was stewarded by the Duke of Leeds and the Honourable Colonel Arden.

On the second day of the meeting, the Silver Cup in question was awarded to the Duke of Leeds’s horse, ‘Longinus,’ along with 50 sovereigns.

Runners up in the race included ‘Durham’, ‘Morpeth,’ ‘Winkley’ and ‘Opodeldoc.’

Meetings continued for over 100-years at Northallerton before the final race day on October 22 1880.

Today the former racecourse is covered by County Hall, North Yorkshire County Council offices and Broomfield Primary School.