THE ORIGINS OF LAWN TENNIS – WELSHPOOL
IT is one of Welsh sport’s great claims to fame, the story of how lawn tennis owes its origins not to Wimbledon, Paris, nor any of the homes of the four major Grand Slam events, but to a patch of land north of Welshpool.
In the early 1870s Major Walter Clopton Wingfield, owner of Rhysnant Hall near the village of Four Crosses, set about inventing a new outdoor game based on a combination of racquets and badminton, sports he had seen played during his army days in India. He called it Sphairistike after the Greek word for ball game. The name didn’t last, but the sport certainly did.
Something else that didn’t last was Rhysnant Hall, bulldozed in 1980 after falling into disrepair.
The tennis court where Wingfield pioneered the game duly became a sea of weeds and dandelions occupied only by sheep.
Now tennis bosses are uniting in an attempt to track down any surviving photographs or memorabilia relating to Rhysnant Hall and the adjoining tennis court before they are lost forever.
A thorough search through the records at the Wimbledon Museum and the Wimbledon Library, both located in the grounds of the famous All England Club and regarded as the foremost keepers of all things historical relating to lawn tennis, has revealed almost nothing in the way of artefacts dating back to Rhysnant Hall in its prime or even during the latter stages of its existence.
Conscious that many of those who were aware of its sporting significance have now either passed away or are approaching the twilight of their lives, both the museum and the library, together with Tennis Wales, are encouraging people – particularly in the Welshpool area – to search their garages and attics in an attempt to unearth any hidden gems relating to Rhysnant Hall.
“The only thing that we do have in our collection is a servant’s bell from the Hall,” says Wimbledon spokesman Robert McNicol. “There’s also a copy of the rules of Sphairistike which was written by the major, but that relates to the game itself rather than having anything to do with the actual hall.
“The major was a fascinating character, there’s no doubt about it, and his place as a founding father of the game is certainly assured. If there is anything else out there still in existence, then we’d like to hear about it.”
“Wales can rightly feel very proud that it was a piece of Welsh ingenuity and foresight that gave birth to what is now one of the biggest sports in the world,” says Peter Drew, chief executive of Tennis Wales. “Wales being the home of tennis definitely has a good ring to it. The only thing missing is that we have almost nothing to remember it by. It would be great if we could track down any surviving memorabilia and save it for future generations.”
Wingfield sold kits containing all the contents needed to play his new game in chocolate coloured boxes, one of which has survived and is currently on display at the Wimbledon Museum.
People bought them in their droves, yet the patent he secured was barely worth the paper it was written on, despite him eventually changing the name of the game to the more consumer friendly ‘Lawn Tennis’ on the advice of a friend. Wingfield died in London, far from wealthy, in 1912.
The hall subsequently passed through various different hands, the interior and the exterior deteriorating as the years went by. Today, only the stone gateposts at what used to be the entrance remain. However, the hollow where the tennis court was is still intact.
One of those for whom this appeal comes too late is George Williams, a local tenant farmer who worked the land surrounding Rhysnant Hall between 1943 and 1993. Prior to his death in 2007, Williams recalled his own vivid memories of the hall and the sport that was created there.
“I remember people playing (ten- nis) there, many years ago mind,” Williams said. “It hasn’t had a mower over it in a long time but you can still clearly see where the court used to be.
“It was very sad to see the hall as it was during its last days. I think it’s a shame they were ever allowed to pull it down. There was meant to have been a bit of dry rot but that could have been cured. It wasn’t large, as far as country houses go, but it was beautiful. And when it went everything around it, including the court, was just abandoned.”
If you have, or know the location of, anything relating to Rhysnant Hall, please contact either the Wimbledon Museum, the Wimbledon Library or Tennis Wales.