It was once the headquarters of British racing - why now are horses conspicuously absent and signs of racing barely detectable?

Had things worked out differently, last month’s Racing Heartlands series in the Racing Post, on the five most significant training centres in Britain and Ireland, might well have featured Stockbridge front and centre. These days, though, evidence of a rich racing heritage is in short supply.

It’s a very good place to go if you like trout fishing, as it has been for centuries. The waters of the River Test still run clear and cold under the bridge at the bottom of the high street and sportsmen still flock to the town in their droves, to dine (on trout, perhaps) and sleep at the well-appointed Grosvenor Hotel and flick the odd fly across the celebrated chalky stream. It’s also good if you like buying oriental carpets, browsing expensive women's clothing or spotting men in jauntily coloured corduroy trousers. If you've heard it's good for sportswear and go there in the expectation of Lycra or replica football shirts, you'll probably be disappointed to find tweed jackets, flat caps and waders, all in their natural habitat.

What Stockbridge isn't good for these days is horseracing. Yet in the second half of the 19th century, this well-heeled Hampshire settlement boasted yards that rivalled the best in Newmarket, both for numbers and sheer quality of horse.