Priory Park was established in the early 1800s as the grounds of Priory Hill House, which had been owned by the Rowley family since 1790. In the 1890s, Mr G Fydell Rowley, president of the St Neots and District Cycling Club, built a 440-yard cinder bicycle track in the park and allowed the club to use it for training. Modern observations and footage show that the track was banked, and remnants of the banking are still visible today. Historical maps from around 1900 confirm the track’s layout, and traces of the original earthworks remain discernible, though overgrown.

The first recorded bicycle racing at Priory Park occurred during the Primrose League sports meeting on Saturday, June 8, 1895. Events included open races over half, one, and five miles, along with a one-mile race for local riders. Although the Bedfordshire Times described the track as a “fine cement track,” it was actually a cinder surface.

On April 6, 1896, the St Neots sports meeting featured races on a “specially prepared cinder track, four laps to the mile,” including ½-mile handicap races and 1- and 3-mile scratch races. The track was noted as being “much improved this season.” On June 16, 1897, the Primrose League Fete hosted athletics and cycling competitions with £40 in prizes. The three-mile scratch race was contested for the AH Smith Barry Challenge Cup, valued at £20, and was open to amateurs from Huntingdonshire.

Easter Monday sports meetings continued into the early 1900s, typically including half, one, and two-mile handicap bicycle races. The 1907 Easter Monday fete advertised events under NCU rules, with half and one-mile handicap races and a one-mile scratch race on the “quarter-mile speed cinder track.” The event also included a tug-of-war and a “grand football match.”

After several decades without recorded racing, bicycle events returned on August 29, 1949, when the St Neots & District Cycling Club organised a six-hour sports meeting. This included two NCU cycling championships and a bicycle polo match between Middlesex and Surrey. The Bedfordshire Times described it as “the finest amateur meeting ever held at Priory Park,” attended by 2,000 spectators, with 69 cyclists and 183 athletes competing. R Walden of Wolverton won the five-mile championship. This was the final competitive cycling event at Priory Park.

While much of the track is no longer visible, the route is still traceable, with remnants of earthworks and the banking giving clues to its original layout. Local cycling enthusiasts continue to celebrate this historic venue, keeping its memory alive.

Today, Priory Park covers 80 acres and features five football pitches, several mini soccer pitches, and a pavilion with changing rooms and a refreshment area.

Map courtesy of the National Library of Scotland.