Cliffe Hotel Tennis Courts, Chapel Lane. 1920s
A series of photographs taken from the Gordon Denoon album; the last two with accompanying captions.
The first photograph shows two pairs of tennis mixed doubles. The identities are not given but it is probable that the pair in the middle are Gordon and Tommie. Undated.
The second photograph is of Muriel with friends. Muriel was Gordon’s sister. Undated
The third photograph is of Lorna Darch (a friend) near the top court. Undated
The last two are captioned. The date of the fourth photograph being 1924. The date of the last photograph is unknown but likely to be in the 1920’s as are the previous photographs.
Gordon Denoon records the importance of tennis in stimulating the social life of the hotel’s guests in his ‘Saga of St Margaret’s’:
‘The real peak period in the use of the courts occurred undoubtedly between the wars when it became customary during each August to hold a tennis tournament. This was a properly organised function spread over three days, with the finals on a Saturday. Entrance fees were payable and prizes awarded to the winners.
These August tournaments (sometimes there were two) were splendid occasions and the cause of much pleasure; there was a gala atmosphere throughout the hotel and everybody helped to make success certain. I well remember the fun and played in several of these events. Many of the contestants were really good; Ralph Wackett, for example, had played at Wimbledon. Tommie was also a strong steady player and was a winner of the ladies’ prize on more than one occasion; in fact in August 1926 she won it in two tournaments. In the mixed doubles her winning partner was ‘Uncle Percy’ (Percy Bowie) and contemporary photographs show them each clutching about six racquets (in the typical championship manner) amid applause from the onlookers.
These tennis tournaments were so popular that in later years the date each August was fixed about a month ahead; like so many things they came to an abrupt finish in September 1939′
Subject
Date of coverage
1920sPlace
St Margaret's at Cliffe, Chapel Lane, Tennis CourtsContributor
Glendinning, PaulCopyright
Glendinning,PaulReference number
MARG.03041Format
License
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC-BY-NC-ND)You can carry out an advanced search of the archive by search term.
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