2005
SP3165 : Real Tennis Club, Royal Leamington Spa
taken 19 years ago, near to Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England
Real Tennis Club, Royal Leamington Spa
This fairly inconspicuous building on Bedford Street is the home of one of the few Real Tennis Clubs in the country. "Real" (probably a corruption of Royal) Tennis can be traced back to medieval times and is a very ancient game bearing little resemblance to the modern game of Lawn Tennis. Although equipped with a central net, the court is asymmetric with irregular sides said to resemble the shape of the side of a castle alongside which it was originally played.
The Leamington Real Tennis Club was founded by the local nobility and opened on 29th December 1846. This was some 26 years before Major Harry Gem founded the first Lawn Tennis Club in the world at the Manor House Hotel within the same Grid Square!
The court is indoors with the only external signs being the high windows at the rear of the building to provide light for the court. This is still a private club however it has hosted a number of major events including the world tournament.
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