The Bedford Open also known as the Bedford Lawn Tennis Open Tournament was men's and women's grass court tennis tournament established in 1880 as the Bedfordshire LTC Tournament. It was held at the Bedford Lawn Tennis Club,

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and ran through until 1974 when it was abolished.

History

The first Bedfordshire Lawn Tennis Club evolved out of a croquet club established in June 1871 by the Brooks family of

Flitwick Manor Flitwick Manor is a Georgian country house in the south of Flitwick, Bedfordshire, England. It is located on Church Road off the A5120 road. Now operating as a hotel, the manor is a Grade II* listed building. Now owned by Flitwick Town Council ...

. The first tournament tennis was played there on 29 August 1876, one year before the first

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, All England Club in ...

were held. Records show that the field consisted of six pairs, the final grouping included a Mr G. Tylecote and Miss P. Hodgson who beat Mr. and Mrs. Cobbe in the mixed doubles. By 1879 at least two lawn tennis clubs had been established in Bedfordshire, the South Bedfordshire Lawn Tennis Club (LTC), that usually staged tennis events at

Wrest Park Wrest Park is a country estate located in Silsoe, Bedfordshire, England. It comprises Wrest Park, a Grade I listed country house, and Wrest Park Gardens, also Grade I listed, formal gardens surrounding the mansion. History Thomas Carew (1595 ...

Silsoe Silsoe is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. The village used to be on the main A6 road but a bypass around the village was opened in 1981 at a cost of £1.6m. History Origin The village name is derived from the Danish word ...

and

Cranfield Court Cranfield Court was a country house in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England. It belonged to the Harter family. The last house at the site was Elizabethan, and designed by Thomas Chambers Hine of Nottingham for Reverend G. G. Harter in 1862–4. In 191 ...

. The North Bedfordshire LTC had courts at Sutton Manor, Sutton and Sandye Place. Between 1884 and 1885 both the North and South Bedfordshire LTCs had ceased to operate. Between 1882 and 1884 a new Bedfordshire LTC was established at Bedford on land next to Bedford College. The current Bedford LTC based at at Bradgate Road (f.1890), is thought to be the successor club to Bedfordshire LTC. From 1880 the South Bedfordshire LTC organised three recorded tournaments held at Fairfield Park,

Stotfold Stotfold is a small town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. Stotfold is thought to have gained its name from the northern drovers breaking their journey south at this point on the A1 Great North Road and penning their horses (stots) ...

, and two editions at Blunham House,

Blunham Blunham is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England, about east of Bedford. At the 2011 census date its population was 946. The River Ivel forms the parish's eastern bou ...

. In July 1882 a second edition of a Bedfordshire tournament was held on 18 July that year. On 28 August the Bedfordshire LTC had concluded an tournament the gentleman's singles was won by Mr. A. Payne, the ladies singles was won by Miss. A. Lindsell and the veteran's singles was won by a Reverend H. B. Allen. In 1891 the Bedford Open was founded. In July 1939 the tournament held its 48th annual open event. this event ran through till 1966 before it ceased. In 1974 the tournament was revived for one edition only. This highly popular event was a regular stop on the senior worldwide tour for many years. Former winners of the men's single's title has included;

Alan Stedman Alan Christie Stedman (23 April 1908 – 1 July 1984) was a New Zealand tennis player. Biography Born in Palmerston North, Stedman was New Zealand's 1930 national singles champion. Stedman, credited with a strong forehand, competed on tour throu ...

Nigel Sharpe Nigel G. Sharpe ( 23 December 1904 – 3 October 1962) was a British tennis player. Career Sharpe represented the Great Britain Davis Cup team in one tie, against Poland in Torquay in 1930, called up to a side weakened by key withdrawals. The B ...

John Bromwich John Edward Bromwich (14 November 1918 – 21 October 1999) was an Australian tennis player who, along with fellow countryman Vivian McGrath, was one of the first great players to use a two-handed backhand. He was a natural left-hander, though ...

, Erik Bjerre,

Ignacy Tłoczyński Ignacy Tłoczyński (; 14 July 1911 – 25 December 2000) was a Polish tennis player, coach and World War II veteran. Tłoczyński participated in 10 Davis Cup ties for Poland from 1930–1939, posting a 23–8 record in singles and a 3–9 r ...

Peter Cawthorn John W. Peter Cawthorn (17 February 1931 – 2002) was an Australian amateur tennis player who later turned professional in 1953. As an amateur he competed at the 1950 Australian Championships – Men's singles, 1950 Australian Championships and ...

, Czeslaw Spychala, Mike Davies, Bobby Wilson,

Frew McMillan Frew Donald McMillan (born 20 May 1942) is a former professional male tennis player from South Africa who won five grand slam doubles titles including three Wimbledons with Bob Hewitt. All together, he won 63 doubles titles, surpassed only by ...

Keith Diepraam Keith Diepraam (born 11 September 1942) is a retired South African male tennis player. Diepraam started playing tennis at age 15 when he went to Glenwood High School in Durban, South Africa. In 1964 he was runner–up to countryman Cliff Drysd ...

, Alan Mills and Alberto Esplugas. The previous winners of the women's singles title has included; Evelyn Blencowe, Ruth Pennington-Legh Winch,

Phyllis Satterthwaite Phyllis Helen Satterthwaite (née Carr; 26 January 1886 – 20 January 1962) was a female tennis player from Great Britain who was active from the early 1910s until the late 1930s. Tennis career In 1911, she participated for the first time in t ...

Phoebe Holcroft Watson Phoebe Catherine Holcroft Watson ( Holcroft; 7 October 1898 – 20 October 1980) was a tennis player from the United Kingdom whose best result in singles was reaching the final of the U.S. Championships in 1929, losing to Helen Wills in straigh ...

Elsie Goldsack Pittman Elsie Goldsack Pittman (née Goldsack; 21 January 1904 – 28 March 1975) was an English tennis player who competed during the second half of the 1920s and the 1930s. Between 1925 and 1939, she participated in 15 Wimbledon Championships. Her be ...

Gem Hoahing Gem Cynthia Hoahing (20 October 1920 – 15 October 2015) was an English female tennis player of Chinese heritage who was active from the second half of the 1930s until the early 1960s. Early life Hoahing was born in British Hong Kong on 20 Oct ...

Lorna Cornell Lorna Cornell (born 3 January 1933) is a British former tennis player. Cornell is the daughter of athlete Muriel Cornell, Muriel Gunn-Cornell, who was a Women's long jump world record progression, world record holder for long jump. Active in th ...

Rita Bentley Rita Bentley (16 July 1931 - 26 October 2016), Rita Lauder after marriage, was a British tennis player of the 1950s and 1960s. She also played field hockey and represented the England women's national team. A native of Blackpool, Bentley was a ...

, and

Angela Mortimer Florence Angela Margaret Mortimer Barrett, MBE (née Mortimer; born 21 April 1932) is a British former world No. 1 tennis player. Mortimer won three Grand Slam singles titles: the 1955 French Championships, the 1958 Australian Championships, an ...

Venue

The Bedford Open Tennis Tournament was held continuously for 76 years at the Bedford Lawn Tennis Club. In the late 1990s Bedford LTC which then consisted of 10 grass courts and 2 hard courts, had to move from its Bradgate road grounds due to the land being redeveloped. The club moved to new premises at Chester Road, Bedford, where it still operates today.

Finals

Men's Singles

(incomplete roll)

Women's Singles

(incomplete roll)

References

{{Reflist, 2 Defunct tennis tournaments in the United Kingdom Grass court tennis tournaments