Public Places
“Hosting four Croquet World Cups, and having past and present World Champions Nigel Aspinall and Reg Bamford as members, has firmly placed Roehampton as one of the top international croquet venues in the world”
where the focus switched to other sports, for which it is now renowned. Throughout its rich history,
Roehampton has been at the heart of London society. Influential clientele, including Lord Hugh Salisbury, Admiral of the Fleet (later Earl) Beatty, and Winston Churchill were all prominent polo playing members. The royal and aristocratic connections were strengthened by the Duke and Duchess of Kent and the Aga Khan who were all made Honorary members for life in 1935, followed by the Duchess of Gloucester, and King Edward VIII granting his patronage in June 1936. One of the BBC’s earliest outside
broadcasts was carried out from Roehampton over three days in July 1938, featuring a variety of sporting events including tennis, archery, diving, riding, polo, croquet and golf. Roehampton Club’s unique sporting heritage has carried on to the present day. Tennis legends Angela Mortimer, Christine Truman, Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong all won Open Hard Court titles here, and Andy Murray started winning grass court titles from the age of fifteen in the Club Med Championships. Hosting four Croquet World Cups, and having past and present World Champions Nigel Aspinall and Reg Bamford as members, has firmly placed Roehampton as one of the top international croquet venues in the world.
Golf, tennis, croquet and squash are the four core sports. Two swimming pools, a state of the art gym, five squash courts and a fitness studio complete the
facilities. Members are extremely proud of their
impressive golf course, grass tennis courts, croquet lawns and gardens, which are immaculately presented by John Lockyer and his grounds team. John has been in the post of Course and Grounds Manager for two and half years. Prior to that he was employed by the STRI for six years where he specialised in golf course management, advising at a number of the top golf clubs across the south of England, Wales and Europe. He also managed a large number of consultancy projects for various clients including the ECB, FA, LTA, UEFA and FIFA. He also worked at Cannington College as a lecturer in sports turf and, before that, gained hands on experience working at several golf clubs. After spending many years travelling the world, John was keen to settle down. Taking the job at Roehampton Club was a perfect opportunity to do this, whilst still being able to deliver playing surfaces of the highest quality. His role sees him sitting on the senior management team which is responsible for the strategic development of the Club. He is in charge of the day-to-day management of all external facilities across the site. These include the 18-hole golf course, twenty-eight tennis courts (both natural grass and synthetic), four croquet lawns, a rugby pitch (which is currently home to 1st division Rosslyn Park RFC), formal gardens and all infrastructures. The club is in a strong position with 5,200 members and 800 on a waiting list
As well as monitoring the annual cost
of the course and grounds maintenance budget, John’s remit is to significantly raise quality standards in all areas, whilst developing and managing a team of nineteen full-time staff - nine greenkeepers, five groundsmen, an equipment manager, two gardeners and two seasonal staff. In addition, he is project managing the building of a brand new, £1.6 million building to accommodate the groundstaff and their array of equipment.
I first encountered John at Cranfield University, some ten years, when we were both taking a masters degree in Sports Surface Management. On my arrival at Roehampton, John
introduced me to his assistant Head Groundsman, Chris Hughes, one of the longest serving members of his staff with twenty-four years under his belt. With John having to attend a progress meeting for an hour, he left me in the capable hands of Chris who was keen to show me around the grounds and introduce me to John Entwistle, the Head Greenkeeper.
The 18-hole parkland course provides a wonderful wildlife corridor between Richmond Park and Barnes Common. Renowned for its excellent presentation and playability, it was remodelled in 2010 by golf course architect Ken Moodie, in partnership with former Ryder Cup player and now BBC commentator and analyst, Ken Brown. The meticulously managed course
features back to back par 5s - the 9th and 10th - and par 3s on the13th and 14th holes. The final three holes offer probably the most challenging finish of
Amongst its polo playing patrons was a young Winston Churchill ...
... and the King of Spain
Lady Louis Mounbatten presents the Whitney Cup in 1920
DECEMBER/JANUARY 2014 PC 77
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156