Vesta Rowing Club is a rowing club based 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, London, England. It was founded in 1870. Vesta organises two

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 ...

s every year; the

Scullers Head The Scullers Head of the River Race is a sport rowing, rowing race held annually on the River Thames The Championship Course, Championship Course from Mortlake to Putney, open to single scullers only. The race is held in November or early Decemb ...

and the

Veterans Head The Vesta Veterans Head which often sees notable entries under the title the Vesta Veterans International Head of the River Race is a rowing race held annually on the River Thames over the Championship Course. Course The direction in which it is ...

History

Foundation

Vesta Rowing Club was founded in 1870. It is said that during the club's inaugural meeting, members decided that the club should be named after the first boat to pass under London Bridge. The first boat, a steam tug, to pass under the bridge was ''Vesta''. The club's first home was Salters Boathouse which was a part of Feathers Pub on the Wandle which flows into the Tideway just west of

Wandsworth Bridge Wandsworth Bridge crosses the River Thames in west London. It carries the A217 road between the area of Battersea, near Wandsworth Town Station, in the London Borough of Wandsworth on the south of the river, and the areas of Sands End and Par ...

. In 1875, the club moved to the Unity boathouse (now the

Ranelagh Sailing Club Ranelagh ( , ; ) is an affluent residential area and urban village on the Southside of Dublin, Ireland in the postal district of D06. History The district was originally a village known as Cullenswood just outside Dublin, surrounded by lande ...

) and from there to its present clubhouse next door in 1890. To begin with, the Vesta only raced in-house. The club's first known entry in an open race coming in 1876. The first open win came that year with J. Whaley winning the Junior Sculls at Windsor and Eton Regatta. The first sweep oared win did not come until 1888 and that was a Junior Senior IV at Walton Regatta. The blades are split crimson and black obliquely.

20th century

From that date onwards Vesta had increasing success on the water, not the least of which included

Harry Blackstaffe Henry Thomas "Harry" Blackstaffe (28 July 1868 – 22 August 1951) was a British rower who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. Blackstaffe was born in Islington, London, and became a butcher. He was a long-standing member of Vesta Rowing ...

’s double victory in the Diamond Sculls at

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 ...

, the

Wingfield Sculls The Wingfield Sculls is a rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, on the Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake. The race is between single scullers and is usually on the Saturday three to four weeks before the S ...

on the Thames in 1906 and Olympic Gold medal in the

1908 London Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

. The club practically ceased functioning during the Great War of 1914–18 only being kept alive through the activities of some of its older members and those on leave from the front who occasionally rowed. There were 214 paid-up members of Vesta in 1914. 78 joined up of whom 12 made the ultimate sacrifice, gave their lives in that struggle. In 1920 the club lost in the final of the Wyfold IVs at Henley Royal Regatta. It was the club’s first finals day appearance at that August regatta in a sweep-oared boat. In 1930 the club finally had success in this class of boat at the Regatta winning the Thames Challenge Cup for club VIIIs. In December 1936 a fire ripped through the clubhouse destroying many of its records and trophies, and damaging or destroying some thirty boats. That summer Eric Wingate and David Baddeley went on to win the Silver Goblets & Nickalls' Challenge Cup for the club at Henley Regatta. During the

Second World War 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 ...

the

London Fire Brigade The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the fire and rescue service for London, the capital of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865, under the leadership of superintendent Eyre Massey Shaw. It has 5,992staff, in ...

requisitioned Vesta’s clubhouse for the duration of the hostilities. Rowing however continued as Barclays Bank Rowing Club allowed Vesta to operate out of its premises further along the Embankment. Seven pre-war members of the club did not return from that conflict. In 1960 the club’s coxless IV won at Twickenham, Marlow, Kingston and as favourites, won through to the final at Henley Royal Regatta losing to St. Thomas’ Hospital. In 1976 the first VIII 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 cl ...

Marlow Regatta The Marlow Regatta is an international rowing regatta, that takes place annually at Dorney Lake, Buckinghamshire near Eton next to the River Thames in southern England. It attracts crews from schools, clubs and universities from around the Uni ...

. A coxless IV made up of rowers from this crew won a silver medal in that year's national championships. In 1981 the club returned to winning ways at Henley Regatta with the club's coxed IV winning the Britannia Cup. The club's highest ever finish in the Eights

Head of the River Race The Head of the River Race (HORR) is an against-the-clock ('processional') sport rowing, rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England between eights, other such races being the Schools' Head of the River Race, Women's Head of ...

was recorded in 1986 when the club's first VIII finished sixth overall, winning the Vernon Trophy as the fastest Tideway crew.

Senior Women

March 1994 was a notable year for the club when members voted to allow women join as full members. With time success followed. The club won Senior VIIIs and lightweight Sculls at

Henley Women's Regatta Henley Women's Regatta, often abbreviated to "HWR" or "Women's Henley", is a rowing regatta held at Henley-on-Thames, England. Chris Aistrop and Rosemary Mayglothling were jointly responsible for setting up the Regatta in June 1988 and Aistrop ...

in 2004. The women's senior squad repeated this victory in 2010 when they again won Senior VIIIs at that regatta and competed on Saturday at

. The squad continued with their domestic success winning the Intermediate Club VIIIs at Henley Women's Regatta in 2011 and again in 2012.

Events

Vesta has run many annual competitions down through the years. The club first started doing this in 1912. In 1923 the Vesta Dashes, which were a mid-summer short course competition run over three evenings, were instigated. As already stated in 1954 the club founded the Scullers’ Head of the River race. In 1981 Vesta organised the first Veterans’ Head of the River Race when then main VIIIs Head race stopped taking Veteran entries. This race is now one of the largest head races that takes place on the tidal Thames with competitors and crews coming from across the UK and abroad to participate.

Notable results

In 2009 the senior men's coxed IV reached the finals of the

Britannia Challenge Cup The Britannia Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxed fours at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from a single rowing club A rowing club is a club for people int ...

at Henley Royal Regatta. Unfortunately, the unseeded Vesta crew were defeated by just under a length in the final to

Agecroft Rowing Club Agecroft Rowing Club is a rowing club based at Salford Quays, Greater Manchester, England. It was formerly based close to the Agecroft Hall in Pendleton north. Its current location is its third within today's City of Salford on a site close to ...

. In 2014 Vesta won the Horton Cup for Senior coxless fours at the

Metropolitan Regatta The Metropolitan Regatta is an international rowing regatta. It takes place on Dorney Lake, Buckinghamshire near Eton next to the River Thames in southern England. It attracts crews from schools, clubs, and universities from around the United K ...

and raced through to Saturday of

. *1906 - Winner,

*1908 - Winner, Diamond Sculls,

*1930 - Winner, Thames Challenge Cup, Henley Royal Regatta *1936 - Winners,

Silver Goblets The Silver Goblets & Nickalls' Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless pairs 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 club A rowing club ...

: Eric Wingate and David Baddeley *1972 - Winner,

1972 British Rowing Championships The 1972 National Rowing Championships was the first edition of the National Championships, held from 22 to 23 July 1972 at the National Water Sports Centre in Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham. These inaugural Championships were held at the newly op ...

, Men's 2- composite *1976 - Silver, British National Rowing Championship, *1981 - Winners,

*1981 - Semi-finalists, Thames Challenge Cup, Henley Royal Regatta *1984 - Winner, 1984 British Rowing Championships, Whitbread Sprint *1985 - Winner, 1985 British Rowing Championships, Men's 2+ *2004 - Winner, Elite Lightweight Single Scull,

: Charlotte Easton *2004 - Winners, Senior VIIIs, Henley Women's Regatta *2005 - Winner, 2005 British Rowing Championships Open 2x *2009 - Finalists, Britannia Challenge Cup, Henley Royal Regatta *2010 - Winners, Senior VIIIs, Henley Women's Regatta *2010 - Semi-finalists Remenham Challenge Cup, Henley Royal Regatta *2011 - Winners, Intermediate VIIIs, Henley Women's Regatta *2012 - Winners, Intermediate VIIIs, Henley Women's Regatta *2013 - 3rd Place, WEHORR *2013 - Quarter-finalists, Remenham Challenge Cup, Henley Royal Regatta *2013 - Semi-finalists, Wyfold Challenge Cup, Henley Royal Regatta

References

External links

Vesta Rowing Club
{{United Kingdom rowing clubs Tideway Rowing clubs Remenham Club Founding Clubs Rowing clubs of the River Thames