The 14th Boat Race took place on 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 4 April 1857. Held annually,

The 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 ...

is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Oxford rowed in a keel-less carvel-built boat, the first time in the history of the race that such a construction method was used for one of the vessels. Umpired by

Joseph William Chitty Sir Joseph William Chitty (28 May 1828 – 15 February 1899) was an English cricketer, rower, judge and Liberal politician. Early life Chitty was born in London, the second son of Thomas Chitty (himself son and brother of well-known lawye ...

, the race was won by Oxford who triumphed over Cambridge by 11 lengths.

Background

is a side-by-side rowing competition between the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

(sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues") and 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 ...

(sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues"). The race was first held in 1829, and since 1845 has taken place on the

Championship Course The Championship Course is a stretch of the River Thames between Mortlake and Putney in London, England. It is a well-established course for rowing races, particularly the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. The course is on the tidal reaches of th ...

on the

in southwest London. Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having defeated Oxford by half-a-length in the previous year's race. They led overall with eight wins to Oxford's five. It was the first race to feature a keel-less carvel-built boat. Purchased personally by Oxford boat club president

Arthur Heywood-Lonsdale Arthur Pemberton Heywood-Lonsdale (9 January 1835 – 24 February 1897) was an English rower and landowner who was High Sheriff of two counties and a substantial investor in North Vancouver. Lonsdale was the son of Rev. Henry Gylby Lonsdale and ...

from Newcastle boat builder Matthew Taylor, the Oxford crew rowed a practice time of 19 minutes 50 seconds in it, considered "remarkable" in a boat with fixed seats. Lonsdale engaged Taylor to instruct Oxford how to "send his boat along as quickly as possible", avoiding connotations of professional coaching which was banned in the Boat Race. Cambridge rowed in a boat built by Salter of Wandsworth. It was also the first race in which both crews rowed with round loom oars.MacMichael, p. 233 Oxford "soon showed signs of good pace" in practice and set the course record with 19 minutes 50 seconds, a time which would remain unbeaten until the 1873 race. Cambridge began their practice rows "very late".Drinkwater, p. 43 The race was umpired by

who had rowed for Oxford twice in 1849 (in the

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...

and December races) and the 1852 race.Drinkwater, p. 54

Crews

Oxford saw four crew members return from the 1856 race in Gurdon, Lonsdale, Thorley and the

cox Cox may refer to: * Cox (surname), including people with the name Companies * Cox Enterprises, a media and communications company ** Cox Communications, cable provider ** Cox Media Group, a company that owns television and radio stations ** ...

, Elers, while Cambridge welcomed back just two former

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

in Lloyd and Snow. Oxford were marginally the heavier crew at an average of just over 11 st 9 lb (73.8 kg) per rower, about more on average than Cambridge. The Oxford president, Heywood-Lonsdale, rowed at number seven while his counterpart, R. Lloyd, rowed at six for the Light Blues.

Race

Oxford won the toss and elected to start from the Middlesex station, leaving Cambridge with the Surrey station.MacMichael, p. 232 Starting soon after 11 a.m., Oxford made a good start and at Searle's boathouse (originally home to the

Leander Club Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and the oldest non-academic club. It is based in Remenham in Berkshire, England and adjoins Henley-on-Thames. Only three other surviving clubs were founded prior to ...

) were clear of Cambridge.MacMichael, pp. 232–233 They increased their lead to a length by the time they had reached "The Crab Tree" pub. Despite Cambridge making a number of pushes to try to recover the deficit, Oxford continued to pull away and completed the course 32 seconds ahead of Cambridge, and eleven lengths clear. The winning time was 22 minutes 5 seconds. It was Oxford's fourth victory in the previous five races and represented the largest winning margin since the 1841 race. It was described in the Oxford Books' account as "without doubt ... about the most hollow beating ever given to Cambridge by Oxford."MacMichael, p. 226

References

Notes Bibliography * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boat Race 1857) 1857 in English sport The Boat Race 1857 in sports April 1857 events