A BRIEF HISTORY OF BIKDALE LAWN TENNIS CLUB (1878 -)

In May 1878 The Birkdale Archery & Tennis Club opened. They hired 3 courts for its first season, in the grounds of the Palace Hotel at the end of Weld Road. There was a membership of 43 people and an annual subscription of 7/6d (37.5p) for men and 5/- (25p) for Ladies.

By 1923 the Club rented 7 grass courts and had an active membership of 120. There was a shortage of Gentlemen players, so in 1931, the Subscription for Men was reduced to the same as the Ladies at £2.7.6d. Even so the entrance fee for Men was again dropped in a bid to attract more male members - as the Ladies continued to pay £2.2.0.

The Hotel was requisitioned by H.M. Office of Works during World War II. From 1942-45, the hotel was used by the American Red Cross for use as a rest home for US Army airmen. Only 25 members remained by the end of the war and the club faced financial difficulties.

1948 saw the rebirth of the club, and within a year the active membership was full - with a waiting list!

In 1950 loans were obtained from the members to lay 2 Hard Courts, costing £1,050. The active membership was then 145.

In 1968, the hotel's owners went into liquidation. The Club was informed that the land had been sold for building purposes, and the club was given 6 months to quit. The only suitable alternative at the time was to take a licence of certain courts, then used by the public on Victoria Park. The Club moved there at the beginning of 1970.

1976 Birkdale Tennis Club entered its first team into the Southport & District Tennis League, starting in the 6th Division.

The tennis courts at Victoria Park were grass and low-lying near the sea. The water table caused a lot of problems with flooding in wet weather.  As a result the tennis season was particularly short. The Club decided it needed to look for a better venue to extend its season!

At the end of 1987 the Club decided it would approach Southport & Birkdale Cricket Club to see if they could possibly accommodate Birkdale Tennis Club with all weather courts. They agreed, but then it became necessary to raise the considerable amount of money to make the move possible.

From the end of 1987 to the end of 1988, the magnificent sum of £20,000 was raised as a result of many generous donations from past and present members of the club, many raffles, supper parties at members houses, two dances etc, etc.  As well as this a  grant from the Sports Council was obtained. There was enough money to lay four all-weather courts, which were officially opened at our current home at Southport & Birkdale Sports Club in October 1989.

80 members moved to Trafalgar Road. However there was still only one team in the Southport and District Tennis League in 1990, playing down in the 5th Division.

A few years after the move we merged fully with Southport and Birkdale Sports Club and now have a successful partnership with all the other sports sections within the Club.

We won the 1st Division title of the Southport and District Tennis League for nine successive years and we also won the Prince Interclub in 2005.

We were the Southport and District Tennis League Champions in 2010 and 2013 and we also won the Christiana Harley Cup in 2016.

Since 2015 we are one of few clubs to have 5 teams playing in the League.

Our most recent success was our 3rd team winning the Joseph Lord Cup in 2021 at Argyle LTC and our 2nd team winning the Trininty Shield in 2022.

By the end of 2022, we had all 4 courts resurfaced in a two tone green artificial grass, thus giving our members access to some of the best tennis facilities in the area. We also continue to invest in our beloved tennis pavilion with recent work including a new roof with spot lights, kitchen and adjacent garden.

As they say... The rest is now history!