Irwell Tennis Club …… come out of the Chorlton shadows

I know it should be easy to locate the story of the Irwell Tennis Club, but so far it has been a tad more difficult than I thought.

1954

They have a Facebook Page which tells me that they were formed in 1911, reformed in December 1931 and are affiliated to Ellesemere Tennis.

Alas I do not think they are part of the Ellesmere Sports Club which is based in Worsley. If they had been I think my search would have been so much easier.

Added to which on closer inspection, Ellesemere Tennis may be based on the other side of the world.

At present all I know is that in 1954 the Irwell Tennis Club was on Egerton Road South, and perhaps in 1959 the land was sold to a Frank M Paterson, who may or may not have built a series of houses sometime between 1959 and 1963.

I can't find a reference to them in the Manchester Guardian but may be lucky with Manchester's Evening newspapers.

And that is it.  Someone will know of this long-lost club, may have played for them and still have memorabilia.

I suspect they will have been one of those “new” sports and social clubs which took root in south Manchester as the area was developed, and moved form open fields to rows of houses, whose inhabitants wanted to play a variety of sports as well as forming drama, debating and other “cultural” societies.

In doing so they provided a new chapter in the history of Chorlton, Whalley Range and beyond.

We shall see.

Location; Egerton Road South

Picture; extract from the 1954 street directory showing part of Egerton Road South, courtesy of Tony Petrie

It’s the little bits of history that can be fun ……… the Chorlton mystery

In the great sweep of titanic history, the Vicars Road field won’t count as a big mystery, but it does fascinate me.

Chorlton Nursery, 2022

For those who like plants or supporting a local business Chorlton Nursery is one of those places you go to for flowers, and shrubs, as well as herbs, and those crawly plants.*

I have been going there over the years and occasionally wondered about its history.

It  is situated on that plot of land off Vicars Road, down a small path which could be the route to any one of a hundred different adventures.

The Tennis Courts, 1933-4

The 1933/34 OS map shows it as a tennis court, with what looks like a club house.  

Twenty years later the building is still there but there is no reference to  tennis, which  according to Chorlton Nursery  "became a market garden during the Second World War when private tennis courts were dug up for the Dig for Victory campaign. It has remained a working nursery ever since".

But I bet there is still some history to find.

Given that it is surrounded by houses the tennis court may date from when the houses were built, either as an after thought to fill in an odd pocket of land or was the deliberate intention of the developers.  

There was a similar set of courts were laid out when Chorltonville was built and were about developing a community spirit.

The name of the club may  may lie in the street directories from the 1920s, and of course from the memories of people who played on the courts or lived in the surrounding houses.

I suppose I could ask the owners of Chorlton Nursery who might know more, but where would the fun be in that?

No …… I shall await further research and in the meantime hope someone comes up with a memory of playing there and perhaps even a set of pictures.

And perhaps even a set of the club's minutes, rules and competition results, which really would be fun..

Location; Vicars Road

Pictures; the entrance to Chorlton Nursery, and detail of Vicars Road from the 1933/34 OS map of Manchester & Salford

*Chorlton Nursery, www.chorltonnursery.com