Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest

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 ...

clubs in the world, and the oldest non-academic club. It is based in

Remenham Remenham is a village and civil parish on the Berkshire bank of the River Thames opposite Henley-on-Thames in southern England. It is particularly well known for the steep approach, known as Remenham Hill or White Hill (due to the chalky nature ...

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 adjoins Henley-on-Thames. Only three other surviving clubs were founded prior to Leander: Brasenose College Boat Club and Jesus College Boat Club (the two competing in a

Head race A head race is a time-trial competition in the sport of rowing. Head races are typically held in the fall, winter and spring seasons. These events draw many athletes as well as observers. In this form of racing, rowers race against the clock wh ...

in 1815) and

Westminster School Boat Club Westminster School Boat Club is a rowing club based on the River Thames at the Embankment, Putney, London. History The club is reputedly the oldest rowing club in the world. Anecdotal evidence exists for rowing at Westminster in the 18th century ...

, founded in 1813.

History

Leander was founded 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 1818 or 1819 by members of the old "Star" and "Arrow" Clubs and membership was at first limited to sixteen.''Sport, ancient and modern: Pastimes'', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 2: General pp. 283–292. Date accessed: 8 October 2008
/ref> "The Star" and "the Arrow" clubs died out sometime in the 1820s and Leander itself was in full swing by 1825. By 1830 it was looked upon as a well-known and long-established boat club. In its early days, Leander was as much a social association as a competitive club and it was steered by a waterman. It was the first club to support young watermen and instituted a coat and badge for scullers. In 1831, Leander defeated

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in a race rowed from

Hambleden Lock Hambleden Lock is a lock with a long weir situated on the River Thames in England, about 2 miles downstream of Henley Bridge. The lock is on the Berkshire bank between Aston and Remenham. Built by the Thames Navigation Commission in 1773, ...

Henley Bridge Henley Bridge is a road bridge built in 1786 at Henley-on-Thames over the River Thames, between Oxfordshire and Berkshire. The bridge has five elliptical stone arches, and links Hart Street in Henley with White Hill (designated the A4130) l ...

, but when it lost the match with Cambridge six years later,

Lord Esher Viscount Esher, of Esher in the County of Surrey, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 11 November 1897 for the prominent lawyer and judge William Brett, 1st Baron Esher, upon his retirement as Master of the Rolls ...

noted at a dinner that Leander was: However, Lord Esher also noted that they were "verging on being middle-aged men." Until 1856, the number of members was limited to twenty-five men. After this date membership was increased to thirty-five and the limit finally abolished in 1862. In 1858 Leander began to recruit members from both

and

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. Its first home is assumed to have been Searle's yard, Stangate – on the south bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

(on land currently occupied by

St Thomas's Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large National Health Service, NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy' ...

). In 1860 the membership moved the club to

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

where a small piece of land was rented on which a tent was erected for housing boats. This land was bought by

London Rowing Club London Rowing Club (LRC, or colloquially, 'London') is the second-oldest of the non-academic active rowing clubs on the Thames in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1856 by members of the long-disbanded Argonauts Club wishing to compete at ...

in 1864 and is the site of LRC's current clubhouse. Leander was able to lease a piece of land adjoining and in 1866 started to construct a boathouse. Thirty years later, in 1897, the club purchased land in Henley-on-Thames and built its current clubhouse. The club's centre of gravity moved rapidly to Henley, although the Putney boathouse was retained until 1961. Leander entered a crew at Henley Royal Regatta for the first time in 1840, the year following the regatta's foundation. Their crew which won the

Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing competition for men's eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing ...

included Thomas Lowther Jenkins in the 5 seat. Jenkins' winner's medal was discovered in a Belfast junk shop more than 130 years later by a member who donated it to the club, where it sits in one of the trophy cabinets. For the first 179 years of its existence, Leander was a male-only club but has accepted women members since 1998. On 1 January 2013

Debbie Flood Deborah Kirsty Bruwer (née Flood; born 27 February 1980) is an English rower, noteworthy for winning silver medals in the quadruple sculls at both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. Biography Flood was born in Harrogate, Yorkshire, and was a Gr ...

was elected as the club's first female captain, and was re-elected the following year. Leander was one of five clubs which retained the right until 2012 to appoint representatives to the Council of

British Rowing British Rowing, formerly the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA), is the national governing body for the sport of rowing (both indoor and on-water rowing). It is responsible for the training and selection of individual rowers and crews representi ...

. The others were

Thames Rowing Club The Thames Rowing Club (TRC) is a rowing club based on the tidal Thames as it flows through the western suburbs of London. The TRC clubhouse stands on Putney Embankment. The club was founded in 1860. As at July 2022, Thames had won events at H ...

Oxford University Boat Club Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) is the rowing club for male, heavyweight oarsman of the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in the early 19th century. The Boat Race The club races agai ...

and Cambridge University Boat Club. Leander members contributed 23 of the 45 British rowers selected for the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

Notable members

Notable members include: * Jack Beaumont *

Karen Bennett Karen Bennett (born 5 February 1989) is a British rower who competed both the 2016 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Olympics. Rowing career Bennett's hometown is Edinburgh in Scotland. and she rows for the Leander Club. She was a member of the ...

* Robin Bourne-Taylor * Chloe Brew * Sholto Carnegie * John Collins *

Ed Coode Edward Coode, MBE (born 19 June 1975) is a British rower, twice World Champion and Olympic Gold medalist. Early life Born in Cornwall in 1975, Coode boarded at Papplewick School and Eton College. He studied marine biology at University of N ...

James Cracknell James Edward Cracknell, (born 5 May 1972) is a British athlete, rowing champion and double Olympic gold medalist. Cracknell was appointed OBE for "services to sport" in the 2005 New Year Honours List. Biography Cracknell began rowing whilst ...

* Jacob Dawson * Katherine Douglas * Rebecca Edwards * Charles Elwes * Henry Fieldman *

* Emily Ford * Thomas Ford *

Tim Foster Timothy James Carrington Foster, MBE (born 19 January 1970) is an English rower who won a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Career He began rowing at Bedford Modern School and competed in the World Rowing Junior Ch ...

Fiona Gammond Fiona Gammond (born 19 October 1992) is a British rower. In the 2016 World Rowing Championships, she won a gold medal in the women's coxless four event with Donna Etiebet, Holly Nixon and Holly Norton. References External links * Fiona Gammo ...

* Thomas George * Harcourt Gilbey Gold *

Jürgen Gröbler Jürgen Heinz Lothar Gröbler OBE (born 31 July 1946, Magdeburg) is a German rowing coach, formerly the Olympic team coach of East Germany and later of Great Britain. He coached crews to medals at every Olympics from 1972 to 2016, with the except ...

* Angus Groom * Mark Hunter *

Frederick Septimus Kelly Frederick Septimus Kelly (29 May 1881 – 13 November 1916) was an Australian and British musician and composer and a rower who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. After surviving the Gallipoli campaign He was killed in action in the Battle ...

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two men acted together in ...

* Ran Laurie *

Harry Leask Harry Leask (born 16 October 1995) is a British rower. Rowing career In 2021, he won a European bronze medal in the double sculls in Glasgow. He has been selected for the British team to compete in the Rowing at the 2020 Summer Olympics, rowin ...

* Alexander McCulloch * Rowan McKellar * Gully Nickalls *

Guy Nickalls Guy Nickalls (13 November 1866 – 8 July 1935) was a British rower who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics as a member of the British eight that won gold, won 22 events at Henley Royal Regatta and won the Wingfield Sculls three times. Ear ...

Alex Partridge Alexander Matthew Partridge (born 25 January 1981 in San Francisco) is a British rower, and an Olympic silver and bronze medallist. Education Partridge started rowing at Monkton Combe School, Bath, and attended Oxford Brookes University to s ...

Matthew Pinsent Sir Matthew Clive Pinsent, (; born 10 October 1970) is an English rower and broadcaster. During his rowing career, he won 10 world championship gold medals and four consecutive Olympic gold medals. Since retiring, he has worked as a sports br ...

* Steve Redgrave *

Pete Reed Peter K. Reed OBE (born 27 July 1981) is a retired British Olympic rower. Reed is a three-times Olympic gold medallist – earning gold in the Men's coxless four at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, and then a gold medal in the Men's eight at the 2 ...

Rebecca Romero Rebecca Jayne Romero, MBE (born 24 January 1980) is an English sportswoman, a former World Champion and Olympic Games silver medallist at rowing, and a former World champion and an Olympic champion track cyclist. Early life and education Romero ...

Matthew Rossiter Matthew Rossiter (born 25 September 1989) is a British international rower. He is an Olympian and has won medals at World Rowing Championships. Profile Rossiter was educated at Abingdon School and gained colours for the Abingdon School Boat Cl ...

* Will Satch * Hannah Scott * Colin Smith * Tom Stallard * Polly Swann *

Victoria Thornley Victoria Thornley (born 30 November 1987) is a Welsh rower. She won a silver medal for Great Britain with Katherine Grainger in the women's double sculls at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She was also a member of the Great Britain team that finishe ...

* Anna Watkins *

Josh West A. Joshua West (born 25 March 1977) is a dual citizen British-American Olympic rower and Earth Sciences professor. He is a two-time World Championship silver medalist, a World Championship bronze medalist, and a four-time Cambridge Blue, and r ...

* Steve Williams * Oliver Wynne-Griffith

In fiction

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

's novel ''

Brideshead Revisited ''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles ...

'', the character Cousin Jasper (who "had come within appreciable distance of getting his rowing

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

") wears a Leander Club tie when he first calls upon the protagonist Charles Ryder to offer advice on being a student at Oxford.^:24,25 In the 1981 television adaptation, Cousin Jasper (played by Stephen Moore) is depicted wearing the Leander's "city" tie (dark blue with small pink hippopotamus motifs). In the novel ''Growing Up'' by Angela Thirkell, the Rev. Tommy Needham "thought how well his college and Leander oars, never to be used again, would look upon the wall...."Thirkell, "Growing Up," at p. 253 (Chapter 11) (Wakefield, RI: Moyer Bell, 1996). The Leander Club figures heavily in Deborah Crombie's detective novel, ''No Mark Upon Her''.

Honours

Recent British champions

Key * J (junior), 2, 4, 8 (crew size), 18, 16, 15, 14 (age group), x (sculls), - (coxless), + (coxed)

Henley Royal Regatta

+ composite

References

External links

Leander Club official website
{{United Kingdom rowing clubs 1818 establishments in England Sports clubs established in the 1810s Rowing clubs of the River Thames Henley-on-Thames Boathouses in the United Kingdom Henley Royal Regatta Sports clubs in Berkshire Rowing in Berkshire History of rowing Remenham