The Flying Horse

Gatwick Airport covers the site of Gatwick Race Course, at which race meetings were held for fifty years (1890-1940). The name 'The Flying Horse' links the old race course with the airport. Furthermore, Pegasus, the most famous flying horse, has given its name to a constellation in the night sky. Traditionally, the name 'flying horse' has also been associated with coaching inns. Before the advent of rail and air travel, these inns were the transport hubs of their day.

The name 'Gatwick' can be traced to 1241, when John de Gatwick purchased land which was originally part of the Manor of Charlwood - which later became known as the Manor of Gatwick. In 1890, the site was purchased by the Gatwick Racecourse Company, which opened a racecourse there in 1891. In August 1930, the site was licensed as an aerodrome by Roger Walters; in 1933, the site was purchased by Morris Jackaman - and the airport received its first public licence, allowing it to be used for commercial travel. A ne