From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ranelagh Club
Full name
| The Ranelagh Club
|
---|
Location
| Barn Elms
,
England
|
---|
Founded
| 1878
(
1878
)
|
---|
Closed
| 1939
|
---|
Size
| 130 acres
|
---|
Activities
| Polo
,
Golf
|
---|
The
Ranelagh Club
was a
polo
club located at
Barn Elms
in south west
London
,
England
. It was founded in 1878
[1]
as a split-off from the
Hurlingham Club
and by 1894 was the largest polo club in the world. The club had approximately 3000 members in 1913, including many prominent military figures and members of different royal families.
On 18 July 1878, the club became the first to host a sports match under
floodlights
when it played the Hurlingham Club.
[2]
At its height the Ranelagh Club consisted of a large clubhouse (the inherited manor house of
Barn Elms
), four polo grounds, ten
croquet
lawns, two
tennis
courts and an 18-hole
golf
course.
[3]
From the mid-1890s the club hosted an annual ladies' open golf meeting. From 1901 to 1936 the meeting included the
International Cup
, contested by the
Home Nations
. There were also two lakes for
rowing
.
As the 20th century continued, the club's patronage diminished and funds dwindled. It closed shortly before
World War II
, and the polo grounds were used for allotments under the
Dig for Victory
scheme. The clubhouse burnt down in 1954. The lake was then drained, and the site converted into playing fields. Trees now cover the area which was previously occupied by the clubhouse and its gardens, and an
athletics track
resides on top of the drained land, reclaimed from the old lake.
The entire site now constitutes the
Barn Elms
open space, consisting of two separately-operated sports facilities. There is very little left to be seen of the Ranelagh Club except an
ice house
and a 300m long driveway entrance off the Lower Richmond Road, which now leads to the
council housing
of the Ranelagh estate.
References
[
edit
]
Sources
[
edit
]
- Henry, Pat (self-published, 1999).
The Putney Velodrome and the Putney Velodrome Estate
,
ISBN
0953578208
- Ranelagh Club: Rules and bye-laws, committees and list of members
, London (1913)
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Railway stations
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River Thames bridges, islands
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Events
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- The Bull's Head, Barnes
- The Crown, Twickenham
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- The George, Twickenham
- Hare and Hounds, East Sheen
- Jolly Coopers, Hampton
- Old Ship, Richmond
- Park Hotel, Teddington
- Richmond Brewery Stores
- Sun Inn, Barnes
- Twickenham Fine Ales
- Watney Combe & Reid
- White Cross, Richmond
- The White Swan, Twickenham
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Other topics
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51°28′26″N
0°13′55″W
/
51.474°N 0.232°W
/
51.474; -0.232