HALLAM GRANGE LTC - A HISTORY

Edited by Rick Gilmour

As far as we can tell, Hallam Grange was initially formed in 1923 by a local employer by the name of Samuel Cadman Harrison. The tennis facilities were then located at the top of Slayleigh Lane as a leisure outlet for his Employees, Friends and Family. Harrison had a steeplejack business which explains in part why he chose the top of a hill to place his club. Presumably, he was at home scaling the heights, but his legacy has left many other members breathless by the effort taken in merely reaching the courts let alone playing on them! Harrison was obviously very fond of his club as he has been its longest serving President, holding office from 1926 to 1948.

Around 1932, the severity of the weather, allied with the shale court surfaces, made winter tennis hazardous in the extreme and players sought alternative exercise. Hallam Grange and Brentwood LTC formed the Sheffield Table Tennis League to provide the frustrated tennis players with something to do. The earliest recorded winners of this league were Rotherham YMCA in 1932.

Hallam Grange LTC Members Group shot from the mid 1930's

In 1956, Hallam Grange LTC Limited was formed and, at that time, the club boasted a very respectable membership of 123, at least we assume they were respectable. Anyway, the next change was not long in coming and in 1958 the current site was purchased for the very reasonable sum of £230.80.

With the assistance of a government grant and generous development bonds from members, the current site was developed and, on the 30/04/1966, the new Hallam Grange LTC was officially opened with 4 brand new red shale courts, a pavilion and the crown bowling green made its appearance.

In 1979, a fifth court was added and, this time, the club opted for an all weather surface. Whether or not this concession to modern demands proved a success is not stated anywhere, but in the early 1990's the club traded in its traditional shale for 4 more all weather courts.

The more recent upgrading of the Clubhouse and resurfacing of the all weather courts (2 of them floodlit) has left this friendly club with a first class facility that retains all of the character of a traditional members Tennis Club. If only we could turn the bowling green into grass courts!

The Club Champions

Fans of sport will often spend hours discussing the merits of their heroes and debate who was the best of all time. In tennis, it is Sampras, Emerson, McEnroe, Borg, Court, Navratilova, King and Graf. We have no idea regarding the best players from Hallam Grange's past but the first recorded Champions were K Watt-Smith (Mens 1928) and E Firth (Ladies 1927). In fact, Watt-Smith went on to win 4 mens titles between 1928-1931. In the fifties and early sixties, the mens title was the property of JR Gee and BM Garnett who won 5 titles each. Dominant champions is a feature of the mens game at Hallam Grange and this trend was carried on in the 70's by DC Senior (7 titles), 80's by JP May (5 titles) and the 90's by K Folger (7 titles). The late 90's saw the rise of the Jessop dynasty and W Jessop has now claimed 5 titles between 1999 and 2004. The ladies crown, by comparison, has been shared more generously between the combatants. After her initial title in 1927, E Firth went on to claim 3 more titles, in the 60's N Hawkes claimed 4 titles and in the 90's JC Wells/Harrison was pretty much unbeatable as she went on to take 6 titles. The most notable feat, however, is that of Christine Gee. Over the past 3 decades, she has contested no less than 18 ladies finals and claimed 9 titles. The 2005 Champions were Nicola Westley (Ladies) and Dom Jessop (Mens).

Members' memoirs

My first contact with Hallam Grange was in 1948 when playing a match there for Rustlings I managed to hit a ball over the fencing...and the wind blew it back.

In the mid sixties, David Senior and Don Davies formed a formidable pair in the first team and were rarely bettered...in my view the best first couple the club has had.

I remember that Hallam Grange provided probably the best match teas in the league..although as tea was taken after the second round, it made getting back on court a bit of a struggle. In those days, teams battled just as hard to provide the best teas!

My personal introduction to tennis at HG was a saturday morning session in torrential rain. The water was coming over our tennis shoes but still I was encouraged to continue by my partner whose attire that day resembled that of a merchant Navy man on a North Atlantic convoy, including the sou'wester. Down south, we would have been partaking of tea and cakes in the Clubhouse.

Alvine Brewer (nee Allen), who passed away recently, was a very keen member of the club and a very strong minded individual. At a time when codes for dress (late twenties/early thirties) were very strict, she successfully conducted a campaign for women to wear shorts when modest skirts were the approved attire (adapted from a letter from her niece JC Butler).

© 2006 Rick Gilmour - Hallam Grange Lawn Tennis Club