Furnivall Sculling Club is a
rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...
club
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea''
Brands and enterprises
...
based on the
Tideway
The Tideway is a part of the River Thames in England which is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock. The Tideway comprises the upper Thames Estuary including the Pool of London.
Tidal activity
Depending on ...
in
Hammersmith, London
Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
It ...
. It was for a time called Hammersmith Sculling Club. It was founded in 1896 by
Frederick Furnivall
Frederick James Furnivall (4 February 1825 – 2 July 1910) was an English philologist, best known as one of the co-creators of the ''New English Dictionary''. He founded a number of learned societies on early English literature and made pione ...
, after whom the riverside
Furnivall Gardens
Furnival Gardens (also spelt Furnivall Gardens) is a park in Hammersmith alongside the river Thames.
It was once the location of the mouth of Hammersmith Creek, which had an active fishing trade until about 200 years ago. The creek was filled in ...
a few metres away are named. For its initial five years, in the reign of
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
, the club was for females only and is widely considered to have had the world's first female rowing team (crew). Furnivall has also admitted males since 1901. The club colours are a precise pallette: myrtle and old gold.
History
The club was founded by and is named after Frederick Furnivall (when he was 71, in April 1896). It was at the time called the Hammersmith Sculling Club for Girls. Given his passionate opposition to discrimination, he wanted to break into the man's world of river sport, by building a club for women.
In 1901, men were admitted to full membership, and the name was changed to Furnivall
Sculling
Sculling is the use of oars to propel a boat by moving them through the water on both sides of the craft, or moving one oar over the stern. A long, narrow boat with sliding seats, rigged with two oars per rower may be referred to as a scull, it ...
Club for Girls and Men. However until 1946 the captaincy was restricted to female members in honour of the founding premise. After his death in 1910 the club honoured his memory by celebrating 'The Doctor's Birthday' for many years. Two female-only British rowing clubs exist:
Barnes Bridge
Barnes Bridge railway station, in Travelcard Zone 3, is on The Terrace, Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, in south west London. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South Western Railway. It is on the Houn ...
(which share premises with what was a men-only club) and
Weybridge Ladies.
As at 2022, Furnivall has over 150 members, of whom about 120 are full, active members the balance being social, gym and honorary life members.
Furnivall underwent a major refurbishment in 2009 creating the club's
ergometer facility, the John Robbins Room. A further set of works in 2019 and 20 modernised the building throughout. The club is one of four non-academic clubs along the Hammersmith bend and in the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham as a whole, excluding the very small, closed 'Nautilus Club' who are based at British Rowing Headquarters, Hammersmith and who use Great Britain-ressemblent blades. The clubs locally known as 'Furnivall', A.K. and 'Sons' form a cluster with a close rivalry and subtly different emphases on age, gender and abilities within their squads.
Furnivall
British Rowing
Honours
British champions
See also
*Rowing on the River Thames
The Thames is one of the main rowing rivers in Europe. Dorney Lake between Slough and Windsor, Berkshire is an international Cup, standard-distance rowing lake besides the Thames, and hosts the three main annual entry regattas for Henley: still n ...
*Frederick James Furnivall
Frederick James Furnivall (4 February 1825 – 2 July 1910) was an English philologist, best known as one of the co-creators of the ''New English Dictionary''. He founded a number of learned societies on early English literature and made pione ...
Notes and references
;Notes
;References
External links
Official website
{{United Kingdom rowing clubs
Tideway Rowing clubs
Sport in Hammersmith and Fulham
Rowing clubs of the River Thames