The Roehampton Club is a private members’ sports club in

Roehampton Roehampton is an area in southwest London, in the Putney SW15 postal district, and takes up a far western strip running north to south of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large council house estates and is home to the U ...

in southwest

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

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 ...

. It is set in of parkland, close to

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, C ...

. Originally established in 1901 as an officers’ polo club, the Roehampton Club has sporting and leisure facilities including an 18-hole golf course, 28 tennis courts, 6 squash courts (one for doubles), 4 croquet lawns, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a gym, a fitness studio, a health and beauty clinic and a bridge room.The Roehampton Club Official Website
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Early history

At the turn of the 19th century there was a tremendous strain on the

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

clubs of London to provide for the growing interest in the sport. Clubs existed in the vicinity of the capital but were considered to be too far to travel. It was the initiative of the Miller brothers that began the formation of the Roehampton club to alleviate this problem. Edward Miller had left the 17th Lancers in 1893 to start Rugby Polo Club at his home in Warwickshire. His brothers Ted,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

(an Olympic polo player) and George had developed one of the largest polo pony supply businesses in Europe. Together they met with the other interested parties and formed a Limited Liability company to create the club. Lord Shrewsbury was appointed as the chairman and Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge was made president. Charles Darley Miller set out to find the land which needed to be close to the

Hurlingham Club The Hurlingham Club is an exclusive private social and athletic club located in the Fulham area of London, England. Founded in 1869, it has a Georgian-style clubhouse set in of grounds. It is a member of the Association of London Clubs. His ...

and

Ranelagh Club The Ranelagh Club was a polo club located at Barn Elms in south west London, England. It was founded in 1878 as a split-off from the Hurlingham Club and by 1894 was the largest polo club in the world. The club had approximately 3000 members in 1 ...

for ease of transportation of polo ponies. The original facilities included three

grounds, a racecourse, a horse show ground, an area where women could practice

driving Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a vehicle, including cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses, and bicycles. Permission to drive on public highways is granted based on a set of conditions being met and drivers are required to fol ...

, tilting and

jumping Jumping or leaping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jumping can be distinguished from running, galloping and o ...

and stabling for the members horses. in 1904 a golf course was built with nine holes, this was later expanded to 18. The Roehampton club opened in April 1902 under the management of Charles Darley Miller. The

Roehampton Trophy The Roehampton trophy is the oldest polo trophy in the United Kingdom. The trophy was first played for at the Roehampton Club in 1902 and was won by Buccaneers. Today it is played for at the Ham Polo Club, the tournament is played for at an 6-goal ...

, donated by Mrs Alison Cunninghame of Craigends, was first played for in this year. The Trophy is now the oldest polo trophy played for in England and the tournament is held at

Ham Polo Club Ham Polo Club is a Hurlingham Polo Association polo club situated in Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is one of the oldest polo clubs in the United Kingdom and the last surviving club in Lond ...

Richmond, London Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commiss ...

. There were also Junior competitions and a tournament where all the players and teams were selected by ladies. The cups were presented to the ladies who picked the winning team. In 1913

Olive Hockin Olive Hockin (married name Olive Leared) (1881–1936) was a British suffragette, arsonist, author and artist. Life Between 1904 and 1911 she studied at the Slade. Her work was shown at the Royal Academy, by the Society of Women Artists and ...

started a fire at the club in support of the

suffragette movement A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for women's suffrage, the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in part ...

. Hockin was arrested as she was also suspected of an arson attack on a house at

Walton Heath Walton Heath Golf Club is a golf club in England, near Walton-on-the-Hill in Surrey, southwest of London. Founded in 1903, the club comprises two 18-hole golf courses, both of which are well known for having heather covering many of the areas ...

belonging to

Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for lea ...

. Hockin was given a four-month sentence in Holloway Prison. The first 400 members paid no entrance fee and though the club was considered to be a poor relation to the Hurlingham and Ranelagh clubs this was not the case. Members and regular polo players included Admiral Lord David Beatty,

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

, the Marques de Villavieja, Lord Hugh Salisbury, the Grand Duke Mikhail Mikhailovich, and the

Duke of Westminster Duke of Westminster is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. It is the most recent dukedom conferred on someone not related to the ...

King Alfonso XIII of Spain Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alfo ...

was so fond of playing at the club he paid for a grandstand to be built on top of the clubhouse for his entourage to use.

Inter-war years

Polo and equestrianism at Roehampton recovered quickly after the First World War. The club was now being managed by

Clement Charles Lister Clement or Clément may refer to: People * Clement (name), a given name and surname * Saint Clement (disambiguation)#People Places * Clément, French Guiana, a town * Clement, Missouri, U.S. * Clement Township, Michigan, U.S. Other uses * A ...

who with the assistance of

John Arthur Edward Traill John Arthur Edward Traill (1882–1958) was the first Irish–Argentine 10-goal polo player. He was born in 1882. He married Henrietta Margaret, from Scotland, and they had children John and James. Traill owned a ranch in Argentina and impor ...

and the Miller brothers took a keen interest in the development of newcomers to the sport of polo. There were a number of key polo players at the club during this time including

10-goal A polo handicap is a system created by Henry Lloyd Herbert, the first president of the United States Polo Association, at the founding of the USPA in 1890 so teams could be more evenly matched when using players with varying abilities. The players ...

Charles Thomas Irvine Roark Captain Charles Thomas Irvine "Pat" Roark (1895–1939) was an English polo player. He held a ten goal handicap at the peak of his career. Biography Early life He was born in Ireland on 2 May 1895. His father was Thomas Irvine Roark of Wexford. ...

, 9-goal

Eric Horace Tyrrell-Martin Eric Horace Tyrrell-Martin (30 April 1905 – 21 April 1953) was an English international polo player. At the height of his career, he held a nine goal handicap. Biography Tyrrel-Martin played for England in the 1936 and 1939 International Polo ...

and

Membership

Applicants must be proposed and seconded by their personal friends for membership of Roehampton Club. Candidates are invited to attend a meeting with a Director of the Club who may endorse their application before submitting it to the Board for approval. A week prior to each Board Meeting, a list of prospective members is displayed in the Clubhouse for all Members to see. The waiting list is operated in date order and there is one in-take of new Members each January. The number of resignations received by the end of each year determines the vacancies available the following year.

References

External links

Official website
{{Gentlemen's clubs in London Gentlemen's clubs in London Golf clubs and courses in London Tennis venues in London Roehampton Sports clubs established in 1901 1901 establishments in England Squash venues Squash in the United Kingdom Croquet clubs Polo clubs in the United Kingdom Sports venues completed in 1901 Croquet in England

Early history

Inter-war years

Membership

See also

References

External links