cheltonian lifestyle The History Hour byHannahWright


80years ago, the first sports engine roarswere heard on PrescottHill, at the inaugural hill climb on 10the April 1938. The BugattiOwnersClub,which


was founded by three gentlemen in 1929, had been searching for a venue for several years before buying the PrescottHouse estate a fewmilesNorth ofCheltenham, in 1937.Nestled in the hills above Gotherington, the course enjoys spectacular views of the Cotswolds. The landwas purchasedwith


the help ofmembers of the Vintage SportsCarClub,most notably thewell-knownwriter and engineer TomRolt,with an agreement they could hold one event a year there. The first event was formembers of the Bugatti OwnersClub,whomet for lunch at theQueen’sHotel in Cheltenham, before driving to Prescott and participating in timed runs up the hill, and tea at the club house. At the nextmeeting inMay, the


sports car recordwas set by Sydney Allard, founder of AllardCar Company,who had recently emergedwith just bruising froma crash during his attempt to drive up BenNevis. Part of theHill climb course is named Allard’sGap due to a later event in 1947,when Sydney shot through the hedge in one of his own single seater vehicles and came to a stopwell out in a field. During thewar years, the events ceased, and the coursewas sadly


28 JUNE 2018 THECHELTONIAN


left derelict until 1946when the racing continued, with international events, and rounds of the newBritish HillClimb Championship; the most prestigiousHill Climb event in the country. In 1948, Stirling


StirlingMoss


“The first event was for members of the Bugatti Owners Club, who met for


lunch at the Queen’s Hotel in Cheltenham, before driving to Prescott and


participating in timed runs up the


hill, and tea at the club house.”


Moss entered his firstHillClimb in his CooperMkII.He finished 4th out of 12 in the 500cc class butwent on to become a highly successful F1 driver and broadcaster and was knighted for his services tomotor racing.Most recently he narrated the children’s cartoon,


Roary the RacingCar. The course continues to run


events and growin popularity, as vintage and supercar fans travel fromaround the country and beyond to spend theweekends watching their favourite cars, or just enjoying a relaxed day in the CotswoldCountryside. Even those with no knowledge of the sport, gather towatch themblast up the tough uphill start and bends, reaching speeds of 110mph. It still hosts the Vintage SportsCar event and two rounds of the British Championship, aswell as French, Italian and American themed events, and the Prescott Bike Festival.


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