Whittington Heath was the site of the Lichfield races which had moved from Fradley in 1702.
During the 18th century they were one of the largest and well attended race meetings in the Midlands and in 1773 a grandstand was erected near the Lichfield-Tamworth Road.
However, during the 19th century the popularity of the races dwindled, and military use of the heath grew.

Under the Cardwell Reforms of the army, the War Office  approached the Marquess of Anglesey in 1875 to buy the heath for the building of Whittington Barracks.
Construction of the barracks for the depots of the two regiments and for a militia battalion (of which there were four in the county) started on Whittington Heath in 1877.
1881 was the date recorded as the formal handing over of the newly built barracks to the military.

In 1895 the last race meeting was held after the War Office declared it was "undesirable to hold a race meeting at the gate of the barracks."
The Lichfield races are remembered in the names of pubs called the Horse & Jockey and in Lichfield, The Scales which was where jockeys were "weighed in".
The old grandstand  became a soldiers home before it was purchased in 1957 by Whittington Heath Golf Course as its clubhouse.
Whittington Heath was the site of the Lichfield races which had moved from Fradley in 1702. During the 18th century they were one of the largest and well attended race meetings in the Midlands and in 1773 a grandstand was erected near the Lichfield-Tamworth Road. However, during the 19th century the popularity of the races dwindled, and military use of the heath grew.
Under the Cardwell Reforms of the army, the War Office  approached the Marquess of Anglesey in 1875 to buy the heath for the building of Whittington Barracks. Construction of the barracks for the depots of the two regiments and for a militia battalion (of which there were four in the county) started on Whittington Heath in 1877. 1881 was the date recorded as the formal handing over of the newly built barracks to the military.
In 1895 the last race meeting was held after the War Office declared it was "undesirable to hold a race meeting at the gate of the barracks." The Lichfield races are remembered in the names of pubs called the Horse & Jockey and in Lichfield, The Scales which was where jockeys were "weighed in". The old grandstand  became a soldiers home before it was purchased in 1957 by Whittington Heath Golf Course as its clubhouse.
Whittington, Staffordshire