The First and Third Trinity Boat Club is the

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 of

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

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 ...

. The club formally came into existence in 1946 when the First Trinity Boat Club and the Third Trinity Boat Club merged, although the two clubs had been rowing together for several years before that date. The first boat club associated with Trinity was formed in 1825 and came to be known as First Trinity in 1833 when the Third Trinity Boat Club was formed (a Second Trinity Boat Club was formed in 1831 but did not have a continuous existence until 1840). Membership of Third Trinity was originally confined to

Old Etonians Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and Old Westminsters. Members of Third Trinity were allowed also to be members of First or Second Trinity and often were. The boat club also gives its name to Trinity College's May Ball, which is the oldest such event in Cambridge and originates from the club's celebrations after the victories in the

May Bumps The May Bumps (also May Races, Mays) are a set of rowing races, held annually on the River Cam in Cambridge, England. They began in 1887 after separating from the Lent Bumps, the equivalent bumping races held at the end of February or start of M ...

History and legend

In the nineteenth century the various Trinity boat clubs were very strong, often won events in Cambridge and at various regattas around the country, notably the

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

, and regularly contributed rowers to the Cambridge boat for the

Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. There are separate men's a ...

. In the 1849 Boat Race, all members of the crew were from Trinity, seven from Third Trinity and two, the cox included, from First Trinity. Boats from the three clubs could often be found at, or near, the top of the

Bumps race A bumps race is a form of rowing race in which a number of boats chase each other in single file, each crew attempting to catch and ‘bump’ the boat in front without being caught by the boat behind. The form is mainly used in intercollegiat ...

and they sometimes combined their resources in races against the rest of the University. In 1876 Second Trinity was disbanded due to having insufficient members. A legend claims that during the Bumps in that year, the rowers of Trinity's arch-rivals, St John's College, attached a sword to the bow of one of their boats, so that if they successfully bumped the boat in front (which turned out to be one of Second Trinity's), it would be holed and sink. The plan supposedly worked in that the Trinity boat did sink, but in the process the sword also hit and killed Second Trinity's cox, which of course was not intended. The legend claims that this is the reason why Second Trinity Boat Club was dissolved, and why St John's College is no longer allowed a boat club under its own name. There is no traced record of a crew from St John's attaching a sword to their bow and, while a St John's College Boat Club was disbanded in 1876, the original boat club at St John's was

Lady Margaret Boat Club The Lady Margaret Boat Club (abbreviated to "LMBC" and known as "Maggie") is the rowing club for members of St John's College, Cambridge, England. The club is named after Lady Margaret Beaufort, founder of the College. History LMBC was found ...

. A somewhat similar incident occurred in the 1888

Lent Bumps The Lent Bumps (also Lent Races, Lents) are a set of rowing races held annually on the River Cam in Cambridge. They began in 1887, after separating from the May Bumps, which are bumping races held in mid-June. Prior to the separation there had be ...

, 12 years after the dissolution of Second Trinity, after which

bow ball In competitive rowing, the following specialized terms are important in the corresponding aspects of the sport: Boat classes In competitive rowing events, abbreviations are used for different boat classes. ;Weight: *L, LWT or Lt: Lightweight ...

s became mandatory. In hi
''History of the First Trinity Boat Club''
Walter Rouse Ball observes: "The third day was the occasion of a sad tragedy.

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

bumped Queens', and drew into the bank by Grassy. Behind these boats was the Trinity Hall third boat. This, instead of rounding First Post Corner, ran, by some mishap, across the river, and the nose of the boat struck number 4 in the Clare boat just over his heart, killing him on the spot. The further races were at once stopped. Since this dreadful incident small india-rubber knobs have been fixed on the bows of all the racing boats". The more prosaic explanation for 2nd Trinity's demise is that membership was restricted to Theology scholars, who over time proved to be an unreliable source of oarsmen. In the twentieth century the clubs remained competitive and continued to achieve success in various events. The Second World War forced the two clubs to combine resources, and after the war they formally merged in order to remain competitive with the now larger boat clubs of other colleges. In the same year First and Third won the

Visitors' Challenge Cup The Visitors Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless fours 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 clubs and has similar qualifying rules t ...

at the Henley Royal Regatta, and the following year they won the

Ladies' Challenge Plate The Ladies' Challenge Plate is one of the events at Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. Crews of men's eight-oared boats below the standard of the Grand Challenge Cup can enter, although international standard ...

. They won the Ladies Plate again in 1954 and in 1967, which was the last year that a college crew from either Cambridge or

Oxford 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 ...

has won the event. The difference in the standard of rowing between

Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most famous universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to de ...

colleges and non-University clubs changed greatly over the twentieth century, possibly due to standards at college clubs falling or to the quality of rowing in other clubs improving, but probably a combination of the two. For example, First and Third, like all other Oxbridge college crews, now have difficulty achieving a standard of rowing to qualify for events at the Henley Royal Regatta, let alone to win these events. In spite of this, rowing within Cambridge remains popular and the Bumps, the main inter-college event, see well over 1000 students competing, typically around 100 from Trinity.

First Trinity Boat Club

The Trinity Boat Club, the original

club of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, dates from 1825 and was usually called ''First Trinity Boat Club'' after 1833. It was open to all members of the College. In 1946, the club amalgamated with the other remaining boat club of the College,

Third Trinity Boat Club The First and Third Trinity Boat Club is the rowing club of Trinity College in Cambridge, England. The club formally came into existence in 1946 when the First Trinity Boat Club and the Third Trinity Boat Club merged, although the two clubs had ...

, to form First and Third Trinity Boat Club, and in this form continues to compete today. The Club was very successful throughout its history, but especially in the 19th century. Its early history is well covered by Walter Rouse Ball's 1908 book
''A History of The First Trinity Boat Club''
which is available online in its entirety. In 1839 First Trinity won the Grand Challenge Cup in the first

(but not made "Royal" till 1851). The crew rowed in a boat named the Black Prince, the bow section of which is still owned by the First and Third Trinity Boat Club but which is on loan to the

River and Rowing Museum The River & Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, is located on a site at Mill Meadows by the River Thames. It has three main themes represented by major permanent galleries, the non-tidal River Thames, the international s ...

in Henley. They defeated the other three entries, who were

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

and the Oxford Etonian Club. First and Third Trinity Boat Club still names its higher quality men's eight-oared boats 'Black Prince'. As new boats are purchased, older boats are demoted to lower boat use and are referred to as 'Black Prince II', 'Black Prince III' and so on. 1st Trinity has won Olympic gold on two occasions. The

coxless four A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on th ...

of Charles Eley, James MacNabb, Robert Morrison and Terence Sanders won gold for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

gaining silver, and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

the bronze. In the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, 1st Trinity successfully defended the coxless fours title (

Richard Beesly Richard Beesly (27 July 1907 – 28 March 1965) was a British rower who won an Olympic gold medal at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Beesly was born at Bromsgrove, the son of Gerald Beesly and his wife Helen (née Chamberlain) who was a cousin o ...

, Edward Bevan, John Lander, Michael Warriner), with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

getting silver and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

receiving bronze. First Trinity was also very successful on its home water, the

River Cam The River Cam () is the main river flowing through Cambridge in eastern England. After leaving Cambridge, it flows north and east before joining the River Great Ouse to the south of Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distance from Cambridge to ...

. Between 1827 and 1908 First Trinity was "Head" crew in the

University of Cambridge , 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 ...

s 38 times, more than any other Club.

Second Trinity Boat Club

The Second Trinity Boat Club was a short-lived rowing club at Trinity College. Little is known about the club, as very few records survive from 2nd Trinity. The club was reserved for members of the clergy and theology students who were studying at Trinity, and, by 1876 the club folded due to a lack of members. 2nd Trinity competed in the early bumps races in Cambridge from 1829 until its demise in 1876, going Head of the River in 1835 and 1849. The club was originally known as the ''Nautilus Club'', changing its name to ''Second Trinity, Queen Bess'' to reflect the name of its boat, a common practice at the time. The name of the club continued as Queen Bess until 1838, when it ceased competing. The club reformed in 1840 as the ''2nd Trinity Boat Club'', but was often described as ''Reading Trinity'' and nicknamed the ''Hallelujahs'', in reflection of its membership. By the mid-1860s, the club was in decline, and despite efforts by the First Trinity Boat Club in 1866 to limit their membership in order to boost that of 2nd Trinity, this failed to help, and the decline continued. 1st Trinity voted to remove their membership limit once again. By 1870, the club had abandoned its original entry requirements, and allowed new students who did not have a connection to theology courses, and this allowed the club to continue for a few years, even rising back up to 7th in the bumps races in 1873. Thereafter, numbers dwindled once again, and by the Easter term 1876, the club had dropped to last but one in the first division. At a meeting of all three Trinity clubs, the 2nd Trinity Boat Club was formally dissolved, with its members given an invitation to join First Trinity. In 1894, a group of students had claimed to have re-founded 2nd Trinity, and raced in the bumps, but the new 2nd Trinity was not recognised by the

Cambridge University Boat Club The Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC) is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England. The club was founded in 1828 and has been located at the Goldie Boathouse on the River Cam, Cambridge since 1882. Nowadays, training primarily ...

and did not race again. One of 2nd Trinity's trophies, the ''Baines Cup'', is used today as the main prize of the ''Second Trinity Challenge Sculls'', a sculling race run by the current 1st and 3rd Trinity members. An account of its history can be found at First and Third Trinity Boat Club. Cambridge University BC crew 1931

Third Trinity Boat Club

The Third Trinity Boat Club was a

club which was only open to certain members of

. Members of Third Trinity had to have been to school at either

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

. Due to a lack of members around the time of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Third Trinity combined with the First Trinity Boat Club, to make up the current First and Third Trinity Boat Club which survives to this day. Third Trinity rowed with black blades.

Results

Third Trinity competed in the early bumps races at Cambridge University and also in the

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

and

when they became separate events in 1887. Third Trinity nearly always did better in the May Bumps than the Lent Bumps, achieving the headship of the May Bumps on nine occasions including holding it for six consecutive years between 1901 and 1906. When the club began rowing with First Trinity, the 1st VIII were in 9th position. Third Trinity never went head of the Lent Bumps, but managed second place in 1902 and 1922 before plummeting into the mid 2nd division just before the merger. Third Trinity still hold the record for the most wins in the ''Visitors' Challenge Cup'' at the

, standing at 14, even though they have not entered since the merger over 70 years ago.

Merger with First Trinity

Third Trinity merged with First Trinity officially in 1946, but the two clubs had been rowing together in the bumps throughout the war period. In 1946, the newly formed First and Third Trinity Boat Club entered the

and won the ''Visitors' Challenge Cup'' with ease; they won the ''

'' the following year. Following the merger, the new club took the bumps positions of First Trinity's crews, since they were placed higher than those of Third Trinity, but the new club used Third Trinity's black blades for a number of years, before switching to the current blade colours of blue and gold.

Cultural references

The First Trinity Boat Club and Third Trinity Boat Club are mentioned in ''The Fall of Prince Florestan of Monaco by Himself'', a fictitious work by Sir

Charles Wentworth Dilke Charles Wentworth Dilke (1789–1864) was an English liberal critic and writer on literature. Professional life He served for many years in the Navy Pay-Office, on retiring from which in 1830 he devoted himself to literary pursuits. Lit ...

Honours

Henley Royal Regatta

References

* CUCBC (various years) - Lent and May Bumps programmes.
First and Third Trinity Boat Club website

''A History of the First Trinity Boat Club''
{{DEFAULTSORT:First And Third Trinity Boat Club

Trinity College, Cambridge Sports clubs established in 1946 Sports organizations established in 1825 Sports clubs established in the 1820s Rowing clubs in Cambridgeshire Rowing clubs in England Rowing clubs of the River Cam