Hellesdon was the home of the old Firs raceway (home of the Norwich Stars and of Ove Fundin, who was World Speedway Champion on a number of occasions in the early 1960s).
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Hellesdon was one of several manors owned in the fifteenth century by Sir John Fastolf, the original of Shakespeare's Falstaff, and as with other of his properties, his death in 1459 led to something close to a private war between the Paston family and John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk for possession of it.
Speedway racing was staged in Norwich both before and after World War II at The Firs Stadium in Aylsham Road, Hellesdon.