The Parish Council were given the land by Chaters, the builders of the Rollestons Estate, and Writtle playing field was opened in May 1964 and soon after a group formed the Writtle Tennis Club.  Mrs Mary Bell who ran the village post office with her husband helped to finance the club in its early years.  Several people had tennis courts in their own gardens in the village including Motts and The Leete and they became the first members.

Initially there were four grass courts laid at right angles to the hard courts of today.  Only three were used and the fourth kept for use on Finals Day which was the highlight of the year.  Originally it was mainly social tennis with whole families coming down with the younger children playing rounders and cricket on the playing field while their parents played tennis.  In the summer months Writtle Tennis Club fielded teams for friendly matches around the area.  By 1966 membership was growing, and the first American Tournament was held in September 1967.

There was a wooden hut nearby for the Sports and Social Club which was used for small gatherings and this was later enlarged by its members.  During the 1970’s as membership of the Sports and Social Club increased an extension with a large hall was added to the side of the old building paid for by the Parish Council.

In the summer of 1970, a grant of £1,051 was obtained towards the construction of two hard courts and a sponsored walk took place to raise the additional money. They were laid where the top two courts are now.

One of the members managed to get an old site hut from his work and it was transported to the courts and assembled and converted by volunteers.  This is still in place today as are the fir trees around the courts acting as wind breaks. These were sponsored by members with the message ‘Plant a tree in 73 and plant one more in 74’. Money was also raised for improvements by holding dances in the S&S club and summer barbecues.

In December 1971 a Sunday Club morning was started but by 1972 it was apparent that ladies were not welcome, as it became used only for men’s team practice.  Madge Cole was determined to stop this and eventually the ladies were welcome to play on Sunday mornings again.

The first lights were erected in 1975 with members doing all the work including putting up the huge poles during a thunderstorm which proved rather hazardous. No health and safety rules then.

Two more hard courts were added in Sept 1979 beyond the first two where the old grass courts had been.

During the 1970’s more new members joined, and teams were being picked for League matches.  At that time the Essex Tennis League had 13 divisions and matches consisted of three long sets for each of three pairs. The same Writtle men’s team went up a division in three consecutive years.  The squad consisted of Richard Smith, Chris Hibbitt, Brian Lockhart, Barry Lummis, Barry Linger, Roger Edwards, Tony Sach and John Wickens.  The Ladies also entered the Essex League playing best of three sets the same as the men.  All matches were played at the weekend sometimes lasting five hours. and Ladies home matches always ended up in the pavilion with a well-earned salad tea provided by the ladies themselves.

In 1981 new lights had been put up and it was noted that club nights were well attended and Junior coaching had started, with senior members taking on the coaching roles, led by John Franklin and Barry Linger and later George Sabiniak.

In 1982 there is a record of the Club Tournament being run over three weeks.  The club tournament was the highlight of the year and the Chairman John Franklin pulled out the stops to make it a great day.  The matches started at 9.00am running up to lunch time which was a sit-down meal in the pavilion with a salad then fruit and ice cream and a welcome drink from behind the bar.  John and his wife Janet organised this and prepared all the food. The matches continued after lunch with many spectators in large family groups sitting to the side of the hut. Afternoon tea was served with homemade cakes during the afternoon and the day ended, often after 6.00pm just in time for everyone to go home and change for the evening Presentation Dinner which was held in a local pub or restaurant, often the Rose and Crown.

By 1983 all four courts were resurfaced and again teams had been entered in the Essex, Chelmsford, and Brentwood Leagues and the first team came top of the Chelmsford First Division.

John Franklin , Chairman for 20 years during the 70’s and 80’s, organised all the tennis social events and fundraising as well as being Chairman of the Sports and Social Club.  The meeting room in the pavilion was named the John Franklin Room for all his efforts for the organisation.

During the1980’s and 90’s more members joined, and by 1999 the club was thriving with 50 members.  League matches were a feature of the year, but people had fun with many social events arranged to support the club funds. Socials were held in the pavilion with discos a popular choice.

By 2002 adult membership had reached over 70 with many playing in the league matches and the club had some successes in the early 2000’s.  Better lights were needed and in 2010 these were switched on by founder member May Fulbeck 90, and the youngest club member Bradley Hibbitt aged 5.

Our club chairman, Evelyn Flint had a villa in the Algarve so for three years 2009-2011 some members spent a few days there in the spring playing tennis at a local club and enjoying the sunshine.  Later members went for several years to ‘The Manor’ in Devon which had indoor and outdoor tennis courts and several golf courses plus many other sports facilities.

Mark Crick came to the club as head coach around 2011 and started a coaching school for adults and children.  He won an Award for ‘Outstanding work in Development / Club Coaching presented by Essex LTA 

One of the youngsters he coached, Bradley Hibbitt, won the Essex Closed under 8’s in 2012.

Mark was followed by Andy Wilshaw who joined in 2016 and set up the Writtle Tennis Academy bringing many new members to the club nearly trebling the membership of adults and juniors. 

Andy Wilshaw, Writtle Tennis Club Head Coach, was nominated for the Development Coach of the Year 2020 for his outstanding work at Writtle Tennis Club and in the Chelmsford Community. Andy had already won LTA Essex Development Coach of the Year and then Regional Development Coach of the Year 2020 - Central and East in order to be nominated for the Nationals.  Finally it was announced in July that Andy was the National Runner Up in the prestigious LTA Tennis Awards 2020.

Improvements are being made to the clubhouse and surrounds all the time with toilets added in the last few years.  New courts have been laid in the summer of 2020 finished with a smart blue and green paint, and a new garden area will be planted to commemorate past members including Mary Ann Barber and Robert Boultwood who died recently.

 Writtle Tennis Club October 2020