Cambridge University Real Tennis Club and Professionals House

This is a real tennis club with attached professional's house built in 1866 by William Milner Fawcett, to which were added an attached clubhouse and second real tennis court in 1890 by William Cecil Marshall.

Materials and Construction

The complex is built in yellow brick with slate roofs throughout. The later 1890 additions are distinguished by contrasting red brick dressings and decorative diaper work.

Development of the Plan

The building developed piecemeal, beginning with the court and professional's house in 1866. This comprised a rectangular court with a two-storey, L-shaped house attached to its north-east corner. In 1890 a two-storey clubhouse was added to the west elevation of the 1866 court, with a canted north elevation. A rectangular court was built attached to the south of the clubhouse, running perpendicular to the 1866 court.

The 1866 Court

The earliest phase was erected in 1866, consisting of a tennis court and adjoining professional's house. The court is constructed of yellow brick laid in Flemish bond, with a dentilled platband and continuous sill course beneath a band of clerestorey windows. The roof is hipped with slate covering, and the building has uPVC rainwater goods throughout.

The north and south elevations each have a band of clerestorey windows consisting of 24 bays of top-hung four-over-six pane casement windows, with alternate windows fitted with external latches. A trace of a former Eton Fives court survives on the north elevation. An original entrance to the court remains at the west end of the north elevation, with a plain timber battened door set in a pointed arch.

A two-bay single-storey range extends from the east elevation of the 1866 court, with a slate lean-to roof. Its south elevation has a camber-headed arch containing a timber battened door beneath an infilled overlight, with a scrolled wrought-iron boot scrape to the left and a four-over-four pane sash window to the right. The east elevation displays a four-over-four pane sash window and a replacement eight-over-eight pane sash window.

A three-bay brick extension was added to the south elevation of the 1866 court around 1933. This mid-20th century court is architecturally modest and is excluded from the listing.

The 1866 Professional's House

The L-shaped house straddles the north-east corner of the 1866 court. It comprises a two-bay two-storey block with a single-storey range to the west. The house is constructed of yellow brick laid in Flemish bond, with a plinth course and a platband over the ground floor of the two-storey block. The walls are painted white up to the top of the platband.

The two-storey block has a pitched roof, gabled to the north and east elevations, with timber-slatted vents in each gable. The single-storey range to the west has a slate roof leaning from the north elevation of the 1866 court. There is a central chimneystack to the two-storey block and a shared chimneybreast and stack on the east elevation of the 1866 court.

The north elevation of the two-storey block has a square-headed door opening with a half-glazed door and three-paned overlight beneath a slated canopy supported on carved timber brackets and posts on a painted brick plinth. All windows are square-headed within camber-headed arches. The north elevation of the two-storey range has four bays of windows: four-over-four pane sash windows to the first and ground floors of the east bay, and two casement windows to the first floor of the west bay. The east elevation has a four-over-four pane sash window at first floor level over two replacement windows on the ground floor. The south elevation has a two-over-two pane sash window in a first-floor gabled dormer.

The north elevation of the single-storey range has a tripartite window to the east, comprising a four-over-four pane sash window flanked by two-over-two pane sash windows, and to the west a four-over-four pane sash window. The west elevation of the single-storey range has a four-over-four pane sash window filling a former carriage arch.

The 1890 Clubhouse

The clubhouse was also constructed in yellow brick with red brick quoins and surrounds, and a red brick platband over the ground floor. It has a hipped slate roof and shares a chimneystack with the 1890 court. The clubhouse has four canted bays, each with an eight-over-eight pane sash window except for the first floor of the north-east bay which has a pair of six-over-six pane sash windows. Each window has a camber-headed surround and stone sill. There is a camber-headed door surround on the north elevation containing a square-headed timber door and plain overlight.

The 1890 Court

The 1890 court is constructed of yellow brick with red diaper brickwork to its east and west elevations and red brick to the quoins, window surrounds, pilasters and parapet. The contrasting brickwork creates a very distinctive west elevation fronting Grange Road, enhanced by seven pilasters which divide the elevation into six gabled bays. Cast-iron rainwater goods serving each roof valley are braced on a pilaster. The north and south bays each contain a single eight-over-twelve casement window at first floor level, whilst the central four bays each have a pair of matching casements. At ground floor level a deep band of diamond-patterned diaper work breaks up the otherwise plain brickwork. Concentric diamonds also define the apex of each gable.

The east elevation is similar in design, with bays divided by seven pilasters, but has no windows at first floor level. Blind camber-arched openings at ground floor level may have originally contained windows but are now infilled with yellow brick.

Interior of the 1866 Court

The 1866 court retains its traditional real tennis court layout, with a grille penthouse to the west wall, service and side penthouses to the south wall spanning a walkway, and a dedans penthouse to the east wall over a gallery. Originally the court was entered from the west end of the north elevation (the door opening and boot scrape are still present), through a corridor beneath the grille penthouse to the west of the court, and beneath the service and side penthouses to the south. These west and south corridors retain their original flagstone floors.

To the east of the court, behind the gallery, there is a corridor with an interconnecting door to the professional's house. On the east side of the corridor, either side of a plain fire surround containing a plain grille, are doors to changing rooms and a meeting room. The changing room contains a reclaimed fireplace with a plain surround, installed in the late 20th century. The meeting room has original shutters and panelling to the east wall either side of the replacement eight-over-eight paned window. The north wall of the meeting room has a camber-headed blind arch with a plain timber door.

Interior of the 1866 Professional's House

Access to this part of the building was not possible at the time of the site visit in 2014.

Interior of the 1890 Clubhouse and Court

The clubhouse contains an office on the ground floor with a glazed screen overlooking a gallery, which in turn overlooks the 1890 court. On the first floor a meeting room also provides an elevated view of the court. Very few original features remain apart from two cast-iron columns in the ground floor gallery.

The 1890 court was converted into four squash courts in 1933 but was restored to a real tennis court in the late 20th century. It is laid out in the traditional real tennis format with a grille penthouse to the south wall, service and side penthouses to the east wall spanning a walkway, and a dedans penthouse to the north wall. The upper wall of this court retains an original or early hessian covering believed to have acted as a sound insulator. The court is overlooked by a gallery at ground and first floor level on the north wall from the clubhouse.

Subsidiary Features

A rectangular single-storey block is attached to the north elevation of the 1866 court and is shown on the 1888 first edition Ordnance Survey map. The block may have been used as a toilet block until the construction of the new clubhouse in the late 19th century. The former window opening on the west elevation has been infilled.