History
The history of our club
Elliswick Lawn Tennis Club was founded in 1924 by Ernest (or ’E.C.’) Jarvis, a name that remains very well known in Harpenden and has been behind the highly successful property development and construction company of the same name. Three lawn and three hard courts were created. Elliswick’s first clubhouse was built out of wood in the same year.
1939 A county champion – The club steadily grew and produced several county players, before the war, including Henry Hasseldine the county champion in 1939. In the 30’s members paid annual subscriptions of £3 each and the club had a fund for court improvement of £35!
The 2nd World War – Tennis was suspended and no club championships were played for 9 years. After the war membership began to grow and reached 100 as juniors were admitted for the first time.
1967 Property acquired – In 1956 Jarvis had offered to sell the ground to the club for £4000. Initially members believed this was simply beyond their reach but by 1967, thanks to a grant from the government, the club succeeded in buying the property from the Jarvis family.
1967 Flushing toilets! – The 1924 pavilion was extended by the addition of changing rooms, which included, for the first time, flushing toilets and mains drainage. This pavilion lasted until it was demolished to make way for the construction of the current clubhouse.
1980’s The end of lawn courts – In the 80’s the club was having major problems maintaining the three grass courts. Faced with considerable resistance, the brave decision was made to convert them to “Astroturf” which we are still playing on today. The decision has never been regretted.
1995 Mayor opens new clubhouse – While the courts were regularly being improved the old timber clubhouse began to deteriorate rapidly. In 1993 the members accepted the committee’s proposals to completely rebuild the clubhouse, which was officially opened by the Mayor of Harpenden in March 1995.
2012 Floodlights at long last – After an epic battle with the planning authorities spanning 20 years the big “switch on” finally took place for two courts on 29th September 2012.
2019 Clubhouse extension – In 2019 the clubhouse was extended to create a much-enlarged space for social gatherings and table tennis.
Today – Elliswick Lawn Tennis Club membership has steadily grown to its present level of around 850 of all ages including 350 juniors. We are proud of the high levels of performance achieved by our numerous teams whose results have been rewarded by more promotions to higher league divisions than ever before. We are also proud of the vibrant social scene at our club, with numerous weekly social tennis sessions as well as evening social events all year round. Various events have been organised for 2024 to celebrate the club’s centenary.