Robert Chambers (14 June 1831 – 4 June 1868) was a famous

Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as publishe ...

professional oarsman. He became the Tyne, Thames, English and World Sculling Champion. He was one of three great Tyneside oarsmen, the other two being

Harry Clasper Harry Clasper (5 July 1812 – 12 July 1870) was a professional rower and boat builder from Tyneside in England. He was an innovative boat designer who pioneered the development of the racing shell and the use of outriggers. He is said to hav ...

and James Renforth.

Early history

Robert Chambers was born at St Anthony's, a riverside area, east of

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. His father worked as an iron moulder at the

Losh, Wilson and Bell Losh, Wilson and Bell, later Bells, Goodman, then Bells, Lightfoot and finally Bell Brothers, was a leading Northeast England manufacturing company, founded in 1809 by the partners William Losh, Thomas Wilson, and Thomas Bell. The firm was ...

ironworks in nearby

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People * Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) * Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California ...

and young Bob also began work there as an

iron puddler An iron puddler (often merely puddler) was a worker in iron manufacturing who specialized in puddling, an improved process to convert pig iron into wrought iron with the use of a reverberatory furnace. Working as a two-man crew, a puddler and he ...

, a job that involves stirring molten pig iron with a ladle to release the impurities. Although the work was hot and dirty, it developed his arm and chest muscles. Chambers first appeared in a rowing contest at the age of 21, when he was beaten in a sculling race by a competitor named Hicks. However his performances improved until he was drawn against the veteran oarsman

in the second heat of the Tyne sculling championship, in 1855. Clasper, who at that time was 43, won the race, but he recognised that Chambers had great potential. He therefore invited him to join his Derwenthaugh crew. The new crew consisted of Harry Clasper (at stroke), his brother Robert, his eldest son John Hawks and Robert Chambers. The crew took part in the

Durham Regatta Durham Regatta is a rowing regatta held annually on the second weekend in June on the River Wear in Durham, North East of England; It is known as the Henley of the North, but began several years before the more prestigious Henley Royal Regatta. ...

of 1856 and won the main prize, the Patron's Plate. Chambers took part in the sculling competition and lost in the final to teammate John Hawkes Clasper.

Early rowing career

Chambers continued to be coached by Clasper, who was a very astute rowing coach, and his rowing improved immensely. In the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

Regatta of 1856, Clasper and Chambers formed a crew with two Thames watermen and won the fours race. The following year, in the sculling competition, Chambers won the championship, beating the best of the Thames scullers. The Thames watermen were sensitive about outsiders winning races on their river. They therefore looked for a local sculler who could restore local pride by beating the Tyneside man. Tom White of

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was chosen. A race between the two men took place on the Tyne on 19 April 1859 from the High Level Bridge to the

Scotswood Benwell and Scotswood is an electoral ward of Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England. The ward encompasses the Benwell and Scotswood housing areas, as well as the Newcastle Business Park, which is located on the banks of the River Tyne and h ...

Suspension Bridge for a stake of £200 a-side. Chambers won the race in amazing fashion. After 400 yards he collided with a moored boat and found himself 100 yards behind White, a seemingly impossible deficit to make up. However, he refused to give up and by the finish he had turned a 100 yards deficit into a 60 yards lead. His perseverance in this and other races earned him the nickname "Honest Bob", showing how people admired a competitor who gave a brave, whole-hearted performance.

Championship of the Thames and World Champion

Chambers continued to win sculling races until he was considered an eligible challenger for the Championship of the Thames. The champion at that time was Harry Kelley and a race was arranged for 29 September 1859 from

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 ...

Mortlake Mortlake is a suburban district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes. For many cen ...

. The stake was £200 a-side. The race was close for the first mile, but then Chambers began to pull away from Kelley and finally won by 200 yards. He was the first oarsman from the provinces to win this prestigious title and his backers rewarded him with a purse of 100 gold sovereigns. Chambers was now undisputed champion of the Tyne and Thames. Before 1876, the English Sculling Championship was considered to be the premier event in professional sculling. In 1876, the English Title gained the World status and earlier winners were retrospectively given the title of World Champion. "Honest Bob's" success against the Thames scullers was recorded for posterity in verse by Geordie Ridley, the music hall poet:

:O, ye Cockneys all, :Ye mun think't very funny, :For Bob he gans and licks ye all, :An collars all yer money

Another match was arranged with Tom White, this time on White's home water, the Thames. This took place in September 1860 for a stake of £200 a side. Chambers won an easy victory. In April 1863 Chambers sculled against another challenger from the Thames, named George Everson, and won by 100 yards. In 1863 the Australian sculling champion, Richard A. W. Green, travelled to England for a match with Chambers, to be rowed on the Thames, from Putney to Mortlake i.e. the Championship Course. The race was the first overseas challenge for the English Championship Title and the stake was £400. Chambers won easily. Chambers subsequently lost the Championship to Harry Kelley, the Thames sculler, in 1865, in a race held on the Thames. Kelley retired but Chambers then won the title back in an open race with Joseph Sadler in 1866. Chambers was defeated by Harry Kelley, (who had come out of retirement) in 1868, in a race held on the Tyne. For further details of the seven World Title races that Chambers was involved in see

World Sculling Championship The World Sculling Championship (1863–1957), evolved from the Championship of the Thames for professional scullers. Only the sport of boxing claims an older Championship of the World. It is notable that Jack Broughton, the "Father of Boxing", t ...

Ill health

By this time his health was in serious decline. In his youth he had worked in an iron foundry, in hot, dirty conditions that may have damaged his lungs. In any case, he had developed tuberculosis. At the time, he was the landlord of the King's Head pub, St Anthony's in Newcastle and, in an attempt to improve his health, he briefly moved to Croft Spa near Darlington. However this was to no avail and he moved back to St Anthony's, where he died on 4 June 1868, at the age of 37. He was buried in

Churchyard and a magnificent memorial was erected over his grave, showing him in repose, with sculling oar lying alongside him. The memorial, somewhat vandalised, can be seen there today. At his funeral, one of the mourners was a young sculler called James Renforth. He would soon take over where Robert Chambers had left off and become equally famous.

Bibliography

* Whitehead, Ian. ''The Sporting Tyne, A History of Professional Rowing'', Portcullis, 2002. .

References

# Hill J & Williams J, "Sport and Identity in the North of England", 1996, p. 143

External links

*http://www.nerowing.com/rowhist/chambers.html for a timeline of the life of Chambers {{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, Robert 1831 births 1868 deaths 19th-century English people 19th-century sportsmen Burials in Tyne and Wear English male rowers Ironworkers Sportspeople from Newcastle upon Tyne Professional rowers