Club History 1930 to date
A pavilion, built just after the first World War, was constructed alongside the courts, of a pitched pine wood of a toughness and quality unobtainable nowadays.
Membership at that time was confined entirely to those of professional and retired services with a smattering of doctors lawyers, bank managers etc.
Club sessions were on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Sets were arranged by the Secretary from 2pm until tea and then members were permitted to organise their own sets. Courts even then were allocated to players by the Secretary.
Originally, a white painted wooden stable stood by the entrance to the Club to house the horse that pulled the mower to cut the grass courts in the days before petrol engines.
After the war the leather and wooden shoes, worn by the horse to prevent damaging he courts, were still lying on the floor. Sadly, all that history has disappeared.
The Club closed down during the war and almost all the members left, many going to Tunbridge Wells. The hedges were all cut down in case they might provide cover for invading German troops. The Club restarted in 1947 under the Chairmanship of Lt Col Ivor Jones. Again, the membership was made up of ‘nobility and gentry’ with a strong retired Army Officer contingent,
During the 1950’s this changed and the Club welcomed more of the townsfolk into its membership. The Newman family was strongly represented and Reg Newman was responsible for the Club’s Championship boards which are still in situ today. He later became President of the Club and remained so until 1977.
After the War the marking of the courts was done by a caretaker, Messrs Briggs of East Street Hythe. It is interesting to note that fine hot summers were more prevalent then and no mowing was in fact done from late June and through July with the groundsman Alex Schwab, also clipping the hedges regularly and with help from members the grounds were kept in excellent condition.
Two of the grass courts were abandoned in the late 1950’s due to the very low membership and when they became needed again sometime later it was Alex Schwab who made them playable. For this great service to the Club he was made the first Honorary member.
The membership grew in the late 1960’s with the closing of the Folkestone Tennis Club and many of the better and enthusiastic players date from this time.
With an ever increasing junior membership the club went from strength to strength and at that time it was noted that its future looked to be secure.
CLUB DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE
| 1889 | Hythe Lawn Tennis Club separated from Hythe Cricket Club. At this time the club was situated on the site of Hythe Bowls Club just beyond the Cricket Club |
| 1931 | Hythe Lawn Tennis Club moved on to its current site with 8 grass courts and a lease from Hythe Town Council |
| 1978 | Jim Rousell finished his tenure as Chairman of the Club It is not known how long he had been Chairman. Records show that the Club had 90 seniors and 30 juniors in this year |
| 1979 | New Chairman Gordon Gavin elected |
| 1980 | New Chairman Neville Bradbury elected At this time the Club still had 8 grass courts and no floodlights |
| 1982 | Courts 1 and 2 were laid to macadum after half the committee resigned in protest at the cost of £19k |
| 1986 | New Chairman David Butler elected |
| 1987 | New Chairman Moira Gaines elected Membership was still around 100. Floodlights were installed to courts 1 and 2 |
| 2000 | It was proposed and carried at the AGM that no Chairman would serve more than a maximum of 5 years’ tenure New Chairman Betty Hales elected |
| 2005 | New Chairman Peter Saul elected Membership now was around 250 |
| 2007 | Courts 3 and 4 were converted to macadum and floodlights were installed. At this time the Club still had around 250 members and £27k as total funds |
| 2008 | An extension was constructed to the Northern end of the car park doubling our capacity. The cost was £12k and this was donated in full by a Club member |
| 2009 | The old pavilion was demolished and the new one constructed. The cost was £98k and was funded entirely by the club. We were £10k short so members were invited to take out a ‘Life Membership’ at £1,000 limited to 10 people. All internal equipment, tables, chairs and kitchen equipment were donated by members Despite 2 appeals we were not permitted to extend the footprint unfortunately |
| 2010 | New Chair Hilary Casey elected Online membership introduced and Social Media presence established |
| 2012 | Courts 5 to 8 were converted from grass to macadum at a cost of £145k and floodlights at £47k, which helped increase overall membership to 370 |
| 2013 | Online court booking system introduced |
| 2015 | New Chair Ted Weller elected |
| 2019 | New Chair Gareth Coombes-Olney elected Converted the floodlights on all 8 courts to LED. Kitchen and flooring updated in the pavilion |
| 2021 | A large extension was made to the Southern end of the car park after an agreement with the Cricket Club, permitting us to take some of their ground CCTV system upgraded, new practice fence installed on court 8, improved perimeter fencing and landscaping using native plants |
| 2024 | Courts 5 to 8 were converted to Advantage Pro (artificial grass) by TigerTurf at a cost of £77k, funded by the club New Chair Peter Ingelbrecht elected Digital Club Magazine 'Match Point' introduced |
| 2025
| Pickleball introduced to Hythe LTC |