Calender

The Seasonal Calender

There is no set calender for the Season.

It always starts at the end of April, and always ends in the last week of July, but the time in between that is more or less unstructured. The exceptions to this are the races: The Derby, held at the beginning of June, Ascot, held two weeks later, and Goodwood, which more or less marks the end of the Season.

The races are the high point of the Season. Ascot marks the middle of the Season, and the Derby marks the beginning of the middle: it is after this point that Society will work itself into a frenzy of parties and events, when Society sees the long four months dwindle into a matter of just a few more weeks, and will begin to host as many parties, attend as many operas, and make its way into as many newspapers as they can manage.

Each race is slightly different. The Derby is one of the many races held at Epsom during the June weekend, but it was the most important race of the year in terms of racing. It attracted people from all walks of life, and was thus not exclusive in the least, although Society could stick to its little corner, "a cluster of black hats in a corner of a grandstand that rose as high as the Equitable Building." (Evans, pg. 107)

Ascot was somewhat more exclusive, yet still important to

the racing community, in that it presented the largest pots. (Evans, pg. 110) More famous for its hats than its horses, both now and a hundred years ago, it was the most obligatory event for Society during all the London Season. Said one observer "You have not ‘done' London– fashionable London– until you have trod on the Lawn at Ascot." (Evans, pg. 110)

The final race of the year was Goodwood, which the Prince of Wales called "a garden party with racing tacked on." (Evans, pg. 118). It was a close to the Season, a final excuse for a party. It was held in a place chosen for it's scenery, and was far out of London, so only the most faithful followers of Society bothered to venture there, and none of the lower classes. As Goodwood ended, so did the Season.

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