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Blantyre Lawn Tennis Club

Digital Reporter

 

Blantyre Lawn Tennis Club – Between 1910 and 1915, this local sports club established  tennis courts and a pavilion at 81 Stonefield Road. The club arrangements were done through Mrs Catherine Weir of 16 Victoria Street. The club bought the land from the Trustees of John Clark Forrest.

At that time the adjacent Bowling club were still renting land from the trustees, but they owned their own clubhouse at the time, the back of which faced on to the courts. Separate changing rooms were located near the manse and the adjacent land of Pilot Acre. The yearly annual rent in 1915 for the tennis courts was £5 and 10 shillings, perhaps reflecting what a community past-time this provided.

The popular tennis courts were between Pilot Acre and the Blantyre Bowling Club, on the east side of Stonefield Road and were still there in 1963, as this picture shows.  No longer there today, the ground is now used as the car park for the Bowling Club, which was recently surfaced with tarmacadam in Winter 2016.

From “Blantyre Explained” by Paul Veverka (c) 2017

On social media:

Brian Weaver Remember it well. Played tennis there many summer days, come rain or shine.
Henry Hambley Yes. Great memories from early 60s of playing tennis. Never any good !
Brian Weaver I seem to remember that you regularly beat me, Henry!
Elizabeth Weaver Anne Brown and I used to play there – and in fact, I think we were there a lot in 1963, which was a lovely summer. There was a wee pavilion, too. Happy memories. (I was never any good, either, Henry!).
Brian Weaver Remember how the balls used to fall apart when they were wet?
Elizabeth Weaver Och, it never rained in the 60s Brian 😂
Margaret Nimmo Lehmann I used to play there too
Terry Hughes There was also a red ash tennis court was at the back gate of St Joseph`s school in the Dandy, just over the back wall from the Priests house.
Peter Kelly Remember that red ash pitch. Never knew it was a tennis court.
Terry Hughes It was a tennis court when my Mam was at St Joseph`s.
Henry Hambley Still maintain that I was a useless tennis player but I enjoyed the exeraise.
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