RECAP: Manchester’s 150th Anniversary Celebrations
Brendan Hegarty was kind enough to share an exhilarating recap of the Manchester Tennis and Racquet Club's anniversary celebrations that took place in May.
The first ball was struck on the original Manchester Racquet Courts on 22 May 1876. It was a wet and windy day. The roof leaked, the walls were still damp and the lines were drawn in chalk. Nonetheless, a series of excellent matches took place, dominated by the then world champion of Rackets, Henry (“Punch”) Fairs. Exactly 150 years later, on Friday 22 May 2026, the Club celebrated its Sesquicentennial with an exhibition match at Rackets doubles followed by a similar exhibition match on the Tennis court.
Those fortunate enough to be present were privileged to see a magnificent game of Rackets on the very court on which Peter Latham had secured his first world title in 1887. The current world doubles champion, Richard Owen, partnered by Oli Cooke, who had stepped in at very short notice in place of an injured Tom Billings, took on Will Hopton, the former World Doubles champion (and current holder of the US Open title), playing with Nick James, an old Manchester hand. The laurels eventually went to Will and Nick, who prevailed 15/7, 15/11, 15/9. On the Tennis court, a stellar cast of Rob Fahey, Robert Shenkman, Darren Long and Lewis Williams put on a spellbinding display of Tennis orchestrated by the former World Champion, who seems impervious to the passage of time.
These memorable displays of sporting excellence were followed by a variety of canapes hand-crafted by our chef, Gareth Lloyd, accompanied by copious quantities of the Club champagne served by his wife, Shelley, with her usual charm and aplomb. The Club President, Richard Kershaw, made a brief speech of welcome to a gathering on the Rackets court and was presented with a memento of the occasion by Lizzie Nette on behalf of the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club with which the Manchester Club has a long and warm relationship. It was a very happy and convivial occasion. Amongst the guests enjoying the Club’s hospitality were Councillor Heather Fletcher, the Ceremonial Mayor of Salford; Nick Orr, the new Chief Executive of the T&RA; David Mills, Chairman of the Dedanists’ Foundation; Richard Compton Burnett, Chairman of the T&RA; Howard Angus, former World Champion of both Rackets and Tennis, and his old adversary, our own Frank Willis.
The Exhibition Matches and Champagne Reception on the actual Anniversary were the highlight of the Celebrations, but they did not take place in isolation. A Handicap Tennis Doubles Competition ran throughout the week from Monday until Friday, featuring 25 pairs from various clubs, including, of course, Melbourne. The players were drawn in five groups of five who played each other on a round robin basis and from whom 16 emerged to contest the knock-out stages. The Competition culminated on Friday morning when Peter McDonald & Steph Buttery met Tony Lawton & Derrick Wells in the Final, in which the high handicappers just prevailed by 8 games to 6 in a very tight match in which Steph excelled.
A Welcome Party was held at the Club on the Tuesday evening. The President, Richard Kershaw, made the first of several speeches of welcome, to which the Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester, Mrs Diane Hawkins, briefly responded. On the following day, the Rackets court served a dual purpose. A small field contested the Handicap Rackets Competition, with John Mortimer, a fairly infrequent racketeer, triumphing over his more experienced opponents. The Court also hosted a Handicap Padel Competition which similarly attracted only a small field and was won by the experienced local pair of Andy Sprowell & Steve Cunniffe, who defeated Manny Tancer & Aaron Peden 6/4. Some convivial play took place on the skittles alley during the course of the day.
The week was not, however, devoted solely to sporting competition. Various other events had been organised. One was a tour of Holt’s Brewery hosted by our President, Richard Kershaw, who also happens to be the CEO of the company. Needless to say, the generous refreshments at the end of the tour were greatly appreciated. Another outside event was a visit to Chetham’s Library which was founded and endowed by Humphrey Chetham in the late 17th century and is reputed to be the oldest public library in the English-speaking world. It is associated with a specialist school of music; and the visiting party were able to see behind the scenes of the school’s splendid new Concert Hall.
A third extracurricular outing was a visit to the Manchester Art Gallery, where we were privileged to see some of the treasures which are not normally on public view, including several which were associated with the Club either by their date or by their subject-matter. This was followed by tea, cakes and Club champagne.
The Sesquicentennial Dinner was held on Saturday 23rd May in the Members’ Suite at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground, scene of so many titanic Test and County cricket matches. Over the years, members of MTRC have played their part on the cricket field, including two captains of England A.N. (“Monkey”) Hornby and Allan Steel. George Kemp (later Lord Rochdale), a long-standing member of the Racquet Club, scored a century for Lancashire against Yorkshire whilst still a teenager.
The dinner itself was well attended with a large number of guests including the Vice Lieutenant and the High Sheriff of Greater Manchester. John Prenn, the former World Champion of Rackets and a great supporter of the game, was also able to join us and renew his acquaintance with some of his old friends. The meal ended with the service of Fonseca 1977 harvested and vinified when the Club was only 101 years old! For better or for worse, speeches were largely inaudible and had to be curtailed owing to the inadequacy of the sound system. So, many diners were deprived of the opportunity to learn which member of the Club had thrown Charlie Chaplin into his own swimming pool after soundly beating him at table tennis using only a butter knife instead of a bat. The party went on until after midnight with dancing to the sounds of the Brothers of Harmony.
But that was not quite the end of the festivities. Sunday morning saw Fun & Games on the Tennis court, with contestants in fancy dress serving from the wrong end. Kim Kilgore and her daughter, India, made a great hit as the first Tennis-playing giraffes in captivity, whilst Tony Lawton made a creditable Emperor Nero and Jamie Bebb (aka 007) gave a master class in how to play Tennis whilst holding a glass of champagne without spilling a drop.
The week then ended with an excellent carvery lunch before the survivors reluctantly left to find their way home.
