Leamington Real Tennis Club

ROYAL LEAMINGTON SPA

SP3165NE BEDFORD STREET 1208-1/7/44 (West side) 25/03/70 No.50 Leamington Real Tennis Club

GV II*

Tennis and billiard club. Real tennis court of 1846 with club house of 1847 and alterations of 1854. Architect: John George Jackson of Newbold Lodge, Leamington. Pinkish-brown brick in English Garden Wall bond with painted stucco front facade, unpainted stucco to right extension and Welsh slate roof. PLAN: (original): off-centre hall with smoking room to right and reading room to left, billiard room to rear right and real tennis court to rear left. EXTERIOR: 2 storeys, 9 first-floor windows, those three to right are set back. Plinth to right. Extension to right of 2 storeys, 1 blind window and further single-storey extension. Entrance beneath 7th window a 6-panel door with rusticated surround and with Doric porch of paired engaged pilasters, frieze, metopes, dentil cornice. Six 6/6 sashes some with original etched glass, in plain reveals and with sills and tooled architraves with frieze and cornice. To right are two 3/6 sashes with sills, in tooled surrounds, continuous frieze and cornice. First floor: 1/1 sashes with sills, in tooled surrounds throughout, continuous sill band to three right windows. Frieze, cornice, moulded above 3 right windows and with blocking course. Ridge and end stacks. INTERIOR: dining room to rear, the former billiard room, has apse to end with marble fireplace, dado rail, moulded cornice, peep-holes to doors. Tennis court through two storeys has balustrade to front and left side with turned posts; large tripartite window has three 12-pane lights to first floor. 4-panel doors. Openwell staircase has cast-iron balustrade with paterae motif and wreathed handrail. Hall has Coalbrookdale tile floor. Reading rooms to front. Dr Jephson and Lord Brooke were among the committee members who promoted the Tennis Court. Approx. »2,000 was raised by shares. HISTORICAL NOTE: this is the oldest public gentleman's tennis club, the first game was played on 29 December 1847. Jackson was sent by the Committee to inspect the tennis court in the Haymarket, London, before proceeding. Bedford Street was laid out by 1810, first called Frost Street, its present name was adopted before 1834. (Noel EB and Clark JOM: A History of Tennis: London: 1924-;

Tennis Club Committee Minutes: 1844-1848).

Listing NGR: SP3169365829