SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN 



months of its creation it had 1 50 members 69 

 and in the year after its foundation it won 

 the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley with a 

 crew composed of Ireland (bow), Potter, 

 Schlosel, Nottidge, Paine, Farrar, Casamajor, 

 and H. H. Playford (stroke). 70 It has been 

 prominently associated with every advance in 

 rowing except the keelless eight, and was the 

 first to introduce the sliding seat in 1872 at 

 Henley. 71 It has won the Grand Challenge Cup 

 at Henley twelve times, the Stewards fifteen 

 times and the Goblets eleven times. Among 

 its most celebrated members may be named 

 F. and H. H. Playford, J. Nottidge, J. Paine, 

 A. A. Casamajor, W. Stout, and F. S. 

 Gulston, the last named of whom won the 

 Grand Challenge for London five times, the 

 Stewards Fours ten times, and the Pairs five 

 times. 72 The captain for 1907 is Mr. R. B. 

 Freeman. 



The Thames Rowing Club, started under 

 the name of the City of London Boat 

 Club, was instituted as 'a pleasure-boat club 

 in 1 86 1, but soon became a serious rival to the 

 London. 73 Since its first appearance at Henley 

 in 1870 it has won the Grand Challenge four 

 times, the Stewards six times, and the Goblets 

 three times, and has comprised among its 

 noted oars, A. J. Lowe, R. H. Foster, J. A. M. 

 Rolleston, W. L. Slater, VV. H. Eyre, J. A. 

 Drake Smith, B. W. Looker, D. Brown, and 

 J.Hastie. 7 * 



In 1879 the Thames and London Row- 

 ing Clubs co-operated in establishing the 

 Metropolitan, now the Amateur Rowing 

 Association, which has combined the various 

 Metropolitan Clubs under one flag for promot- 

 ing the interests of amateur oarsmanship. 76 



Among the remaining Middlesex clubs, the 

 Twickenham Rowing Club was founded in 

 1860, the same year as the Thames, and thus 

 shares with it the honour of being the third 

 oldest club on the river. It won its first 

 regatta prize four years later by securing the 

 Junior Fours at the Walton-on-Thames re- 

 gatta but did not make its first appearance at 

 Henley till 1879 when a crew, coached by the 

 late J. H. D. Goldie, won the Thames Cup 

 which it also secured in 1881 and 1884. In 

 1883, when the club was strengthened by the 

 accession of D.E. Brown, J. Lowndes, E. Buck 

 and G. E. Roberts from Hertford College, 

 Oxford, and later by that of L. Frere, it rowed 

 in the final for the Grand Challenge Cup, but 



69 Rowing (Badminton Library), 185. 



70 Twelve Famous Clubs. 



71 Rowing (Badminton Library), 198. 

 " Ibid. 199, 20 1. 



"Ibid. 1 8 8. "Ibid. zo3- 4 . 



"Ibid. 189. 



was beaten by London. It also succeeded in 

 getting into the final for the same event during 

 the two following years, but was defeated by 

 London in 1884, and by Jesus College, Cam- 

 bridge, in 1885. During recent years it has 

 won the Junior Eights at Molesey Regatta 

 in 1904, the Walton Eights, and the Junior 

 Eights at Staines Regatta in 1905, and the 

 Walton Eights and Walton Junior Eights at 

 Walton, and the Coronation Cup at Kingston 

 Regatta in 1906. The Diamond Sculls were 

 won for the club five times in succession by 

 J. Lowndes, from 1878 to 1883. The cap- 

 tain of the club is Mr. T. S. Grant. 76 



In addition to the above there are five 

 other Middlesex rowing clubs : The Ken- 

 sington, founded 1873, the North London 

 about the same date ; and the Auriol, founded 

 1887, at Hammersmith; the Anglian, founded 

 1887, at Strand on the Green ; and the 

 Staines Rowing Club, established in 1894. 

 St. Paul's School has also had a boat on the river 

 since 1882, and has fixtures with the Mer- 

 chant Taylors', Cheltenham, and Winchester 

 Schools, and in 1903 the school won the 

 Junior Eights at Molesey Regatta. 77 



There are annual regattas at Hammersmith, 

 Twickenham, and Staines; but the most im- 

 portant on the tideway is the Metropolitan 

 Regatta, established in i866,on the initiative of 

 Herbert H. Playford, captain of the London 

 Rowing Club, which is under the sole man- 

 agement of that club. 78 The Wingfield 

 Challenge Sculls the annual race for the 

 amateur championship of the Thames was 

 instituted in 1830, and derives its name from 

 the donor of the prize. The course from 

 1830 to 1848 was from Westminster to 

 Putney, and from 1849 to 1860 from Putney 

 toKew. Since 1861 the race has been rowed 

 over the championship course from Putney to 

 Mortlake. 79 Since 1897 the race has been 

 won five times in 1897, 1901, 1905, 

 1906, and 1908 by T. Blackstaffe of the 

 Vesta Rowing Club, 80 who was also winner 

 of the Diamond Challenge Sculls at Henley; 

 and twice by B. H. Howel for Cambridge in 



1898, and for the Thames Rowing Club in 



1899. In 1900 it was won by C. V. Fox 

 of the Brigade of Guards Rowing Club in the 



76 The writer is indebted to Mr. T. S. Grant 

 for these particulars. Cf. Rowing (Badminton 

 Library), 189-90, and Twelve Famous Clubs. 



r Rowing (Badminton Library), 190, and cf. 

 Twelve Famous Clubs. 



79 Rowing (Badminton Library), 191-2. 

 78 Ibid. 131, and App. 331. 



80 The head quarters of the club, which was 

 founded in 1871, are at the ' Feathers,' Wands- 

 worth. 



289 



37 



