The 38th Boat Race, an annual 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 ...

along 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 ...

, took place on 8 April 1881. In a race umpired by Robert Lewis-Lloyd, Oxford won by a margin of three lengths in a time of 21 minutes 51 seconds taking the overall record to 20–17 in their favour.

Background

The Boat Race is an annual

rowing eight An eight is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing (crew). It is designed for eight rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars, and is steered by a coxswain, or "cox". Each of the eight rowers has one oar. The rowers, who sit in ...

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 ...

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 ...

. First held in 1829, the competition is a race along The Championship Course on the

in southwest London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities and followed throughout the United Kingdom and worldwide. Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having won the previous year's race by lengths, and held the overall lead, with 19 victories to Cambridge's 17 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). Cambridge were coached by Constantine William Benson (who rowed for Cambridge in the

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and 1875 races),

Charles Gurdon Charles Gurdon (3 December 1855 – 26 June 1931) was an English barrister, judge, rower and rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cambridge University and Richmond. Gurdon represented England fourteen times during the early developmen ...

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 ...

four times from 1876 to 1879), Thomas Edmund Hockin (also rowed four times from 1876 to 1879) and Edward Henry Prest (who represented Cambridge in the

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and 1880 races). Oxford's coaches were S. D. Darbishire (who rowed for Oxford in the

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and

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races), William Grenfell (who rowed in 1877 and 1879, and was non-rowing boat club president in 1879), H. B. Southwell (a Blue three times from 1878 to 1880) and W. B. Woodgate (who rowed twice, in the

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and 1863 races). The umpire for the race was Robert Lewis-Lloyd (who had rowed for Cambridge four times between 1856 and 1859) and the starter was Edward Searle.Burnell, p. 49 The night before the race, an anniversary dinner was held to belatedly commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the event.

Crews

The Oxford crew weighed an average of 11 st 11.75 lb (75.0 kg), more than their opponents. Cambridge's crew included two former Blues, with Humphrey Sandford making his third appearance in the event. Oxford saw five rowers with Boat Race experience return, including J. H. T. Wharton who was rowing for a third time.

Race

On the day of the race, Oxford's number six

David Edward Brown David Edward Brown (born 1858) was a British rower who won several events at Henley Royal Regatta in the 1880s. Brown was the son of David Brown of Llandaff Glamorgan. He matriculated at New College, Oxford in 1877 but migrated to Hertford Coll ...

was ill – author and rower George Drinkwater suggested that "it was necessary for West

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

] to nurse him as much as possible."Drinkwater, p. 76 Oxford won the coin flipping, toss and elected to start from the Middlesex station, handing the Surrey side of the river to Cambridge. In a cold north-easterly wind, the race commenced at 8.24 a.m. with the Dark Blues outrating Cambridge and taking an early lead. Taking advantage of the favourable bend in the river, Oxford were half-a-length ahead by the Crab Tree pub. Cambridge began to reduce the deficit as Oxford decreased their stroke rate, and by

Harrods Furniture Depository The Harrods Furniture Depository buildings flank the south bank of the River Thames near Hammersmith Bridge in Barnes, London, built on the site of an old soap factory in 1894 as a storage centre for the larger items that could not be taken into ...

the crews were nearly level. Although the bend of the river now was in favour of Cambridge, Oxford increased their rating once again and by Hammersmith Bridge held a three-quarter-length lead. They held off spurts from the Light Blues along Chiswick Reach and by

Chiswick Eyot Chiswick Eyot is a narrow, uninhabited ait (river island) of the Thames. It is a tree- and reed-covered rise on the Tideway by Chiswick, in London, England and is overlooked by Chiswick Mall and by some of the Barnes riverside on the far ban ...

were clear. A two-length lead at

Barnes Railway Bridge Barnes Railway Bridge is a Grade II listed railway bridge in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and the London Borough of Hounslow. It crosses the River Thames in London in a northwest to southeast direction at Barnes. It carries the S ...

was increased to three by the time Oxford passed the finishing post, winning in a time of 21 minutes 51 seconds.Drinkwater, p. 77Burnell, p. 62 It was Oxford's second consecutive victory and took the overall record to 20–17 in their favour.

References

Notes Bibliography * *

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boat Race 1881 The Boat Race 1881 in English sport April 1881 sports events