Mr. H. J. Armstrong, April 1955, mentions it:

"Court 3, was then a grass court big enough for croquet on which overdressed gentlemen in tight trousers and waistcoats, equally overdressed ladies in trailing skirts and large hats, battled their way through the hoops."

His mother, besides her prowess at tennis, was also Croquet Champion in 1910.

A former member, Mr. P. Cassidy, mentions that "Mr. Paul Hodgson, in his straw boater, was the unexpected Croquet Champion for many years."

1894 Pavilion and Court 4 (colourized)

Mrs. K. M. Tabor mentions in her letter "a very pretty little Club House where tea was provided." The same letter says that the site was chosen for the convenience of those who lived on the Peak, and that husbands on their way home from work (by sedan chair in those days before the Peak Tram) could join their wives for tea and tennis.

The teas at these tennis afternoons were of such excellence that they have been remembered much more by past members of those years than dates and personalities. "Of that period, what remains clearest in my mind were the free teas, with large homemade cakes supplied in turn by the Committee" is a typical reminiscence.

1906 Pavilion (colourized)





(c) Copyright Annelise Connell 2023 All rights reserved