Tattersall’s

Still one of Britain’s foremost bloodstock auctioneers, Tattersall’s Repository reigned supreme throughout the Regency period at a time when gentlemen vied with one another in being well mounted, and members of the ton drove in stylish carriages with a pair or four in hand.

“Tattersall’s Horse Repository” by Thomas Rowlandson and Auguste Pugin from Microcosm of London, 1809. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

It was established in 1773 near Hyde Park Corner for the sale by auction of horses, carriages, hounds, harnesses, etc. Sales during the winter months were every Monday and Thursday, and on Mondays only during the spring and summer. On the mornings when there was no sale, it was a fashionable lounge for sporting gentlemen. The Hyde Park premises contained accommodation for 120 horses, a large number of carriages, and a spacious kennel for hounds. Approximately 100 horses were auctioned in a week. During this time, the Jockey Club had its headquarters at Tattersall’s. Subscribers paid one guinea per year, and all sporting bets were settled there, regardless of where the sporting event took place.

 

  • In Lady Be Bad,

    Rochdale and Adam attend an auction at Tattersall’s.

Related Regency World Articles: