Chester racecourse

The home of Chester Races is the beautiful 65-acre Roodee- the "Sweet rood of Chester" (Gascoigne 1575)- whose curious name derives from the Saxon Rood- a cross and the Norse suffix Eye- meaning an island- literally 'The Island of the Cross'.
In Saxon times, the waters of the Dee covered the whole of this area with the exception of a small island upon which stood a stone cross, the stump of which you may still see in the middle of the racecourse today.