Club Tournament Trophies
Over the hundred and something years of its life, the Sussex County Croquet Club has had an impressive collection of trophies for their competition programme. Many have long since been disposed of. The following is a fairly complete list of trophies and their history. Any information on winners has been taken from The History of Croquet, [Col.] D. M. C. Prichard, London: Cassell, 1981 (now out of print) or separate research by Ray Hall, whose input is gratefully acknowledged..
This is work in progress. If anyone has details to add please contact the Webmaster.
Photos by John Low or Ray Hall
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The Abbey Salvers |
Defunct since 1983 Presented by Capt JR Abbey. |
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The Bryan Challenge Cup |
Now the Moore Cup. Presented in 1904. |
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The Davies And Dives Prizes |
Defunct since 1939. Silver Inkstand presented in 1927 by Miss Dives & Silver Bowl presented by Miss Davies. |
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The Douglas Jones Cup |
Defunct since 2004 Presented in 1956 by Lady Douglas-Jones in memory of her husband. In 2008 was briefly used as a trophy (runner-up) in the Moore Cup competition. |
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The Fox Cup |
Defunct since 1938. Presented by Mrs WA Fox |
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The Hansard Challenge Trophy |
Defunct since 1939 |
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The King Challenge Cup |
Defunct since 2000 |
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The Longden Cup |
Defunct since 1983, Presented in 1920 by Miss Maud Longden |
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The Martletts Shield |
Defunct since 2000 |
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The Naylor Cup |
Defunct since 1975, Very short-lived cup, presented in 1973 by Mrs WA Naylor |
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The Ron Whetstone Cup |
Defunct since 1999 Presented in 1976 by Ron Whetstone.In 1984 an additional cup, a replica of the original cup, was bought for doubles. |
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The Ross Cup |
Defunct since 1947. Presented in 1935 by Mrs Ross' daughter, curiously the Club has retained the stand but not, it seems, the cup! |
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The Simeon Challenge Cup |
Was Bryan Challenge Cup; now Moore Cup |
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The Southwick Cup |
Defunct since 2000, Previously known as the Franc Cup, of which the Club has a second trophy by the same name. |
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The Sussex County Challenge Cup |
Defunct since 1938, one of the oldest club cups, being first contested in 1900. |
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The Sussex Salver |
Defunct since 2004 |
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The Sussex Vase |
Defunct from 2003 to 2016. Then awarded as the Challenge Cup for Golf Croquet in the May open tournament. Presented by W Howard Austin in 1977. |
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The Teasdale Salver |
Defunct since 1939, Another short-lived trophy it was presented in 1936 by Mrs RK Teasdale |
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The Williams Challenge Cup |
Defunct since 1939. Appears only to have been contested in 1939 |
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The Abbey Challenge Cup |
Open, AC class singles advanced play, Summer tournament, presented in 1927 by WH Abbey. |
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The Bush Cup |
Club competition, presented in 1988 by Mrs Mary Bush |
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The Castell Soda Syphons |
Open, AC alternate strokes doubles competition, donated in ?2008 by Paul Castell for this tournament. In 2017, as the open ASD tournament was no longer running, the trophies were used for a local ASD day open event. |
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The D'Esterre Rose Bowl |
Club competition, presented by Mrs CR D'Esterre in 1936 The D'Esterre Bowl, hallmarked London 1935 :Presented by Mrs C R D'Esterre 1936 Charles Robert D'Esterre was born in London about 1876 but initially known as Charles Roberts: he probably changed his name after an inheritance but this has not surfaced at present. He trained as an engineer and, in 1902, applied for two patents with Charles Rolls for engine improvements. However, his real interest was astronomy, particularly astronomical photography and he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1895. After his parents died he gave up engineering, and bought Tatsfield Cottage, Tatsfield, Surrey. He fitted up a major observatory about 1915 at which point he was on the Council of the Royal Astronomical Society. The War interrupted this work and he served with the Royal Army Service Corps, and later in Cologne with the army of occupation, but did not attain to high rank. When he returned to Surrey his sight had deteriorated and he dismantled the observatory and disposed of the equipment. In 1905 he married Katherine Cecilia Doyle, in Wandsworth. She was born in Hertfordshire in 1879, the only daughter of Capt B W Doyle, sometime British consul in Brazil. Initially they lived in Tatsfield Cottage, but after Charles had given up astronomy they moved to the Brighton & Hove area and are recorded there by 1929. Perhaps both joined SCCC (more research needed) since there seems no other reason for donating a hallmarked trophy. They did not appear in the 1939 census so may have been abroad at the time. Charles died in Devon in 1943 at Ottery St Mary after a short illness, at which point Katherine was noted as “of Montpelier Hotel, Budleigh Salterton”. Katherine died in Hove in 1967. It is notable that the trophy was competed throughout the 1939-46 period. (Thanks to Ray and Irene Hall for research) |
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The Daldy Cup (Internal Competition) |
Club competition. Originally presented in 1927 by Rev A F Whillan, it was won outright in 1936 by Miss M J Daldy and re-presented by her to the Club. |
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The Daldy Cup (Open Competition) |
Open, AC C class singles advanced play, Summer tournament. Originally for the CA All England Handicap, won by Miss Daldy in 1935 and presented to the Club in 1976 |
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The Franc Cup |
Now a ladies club competition, presented in 1927 by Mrs H Franc. Generally known as Mrs H Franc, Jessie Dobson Crouchley was born in 1876. After she married Henry Franc, in Altrincham in 1896, they lived in Didsbury, which had a sports club where she learned to play croquet. Henry, 12 years older, was a businessman and when he died in Sidmouth in 1925 his will shared a large sum between his widow and his business affairs. Mrs Franc competed in tournaments, notably winning the Ladies Field Cup, an invitation event, in 1922 and 1923 . She was selected for the antipodean tour team of 1927 but was not well enough to travel. She had moved from Manchester and though reported to have been a formidable and dashing player down to the outbreak of war, her health limited her tournament appearances. She was staying in Worthing on the night of the 1939 census so we don't know when she moved to Kings Gardens, Hove, though she presumably joined SCCC at that time. This may have been as early as 1920 when she presented the Southwick Cup to the Club, to be awarded for a Ladies event. When it was part of the Autumn tournament in 1949 it was won by Miss Elphinstone-Stone, who repeated the feat in 1952 winning the final against Mrs Franc herself. What we now know as the Franc Cup was presented in 1927 and has been used for a variety of competitions as evidenced by the list of winners on our web-site. During the 1950s Mrs Franc was the Club’s most generous benefactor: she provided funds for the sliding windows for the pavilion in 1955, canteen redecoration and a new bar counter in 1956 and the ladies’ dressing room decoration in 1957. She was a Trustee of the Club until her death in July 1958 when a legacy of £250 provided the most elegant of enclosed shelters near court 5 giving views all around the ground. Sadly the 1987 storm demolished it and also the unique weathervane on its roof which depicted Maurice Reckitt in action. Sources: genealogy sites; Croquet 1958; Bryan Teague History on Club website |
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The Freddy Reynold One Ball Cup |
Club competition presented in 1995 by past Club Chairman Mr F Reynold QC |
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The Fryer Challenge Cup |
Club competition, presented in 1937 by Mrs Jar Fryer |
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The Golf Croquet Cup |
Club competition, presented in 1996 by Mrs Enid Ross |
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The Golf Croquet Diana Brothers Drawn Pairs Cup |
Club competition |
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The Golf Croquet Doubles |
Club competition |
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The Golf Croquet Improvers Trophy |
Club competition |
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The Hamilton Memorial Trophy |
For Sussex Open Golf Croquet Championship, presented in 2009 by Mark Hamilton in memory of his mother. |
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The Harvey's Trophy |
Defunct since 2004, Presented by Harvey's and donated to the Club by Fernando de Anserena |
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The Hazel Parker Salver |
This silver trophy is hallmarked 1929, inscribed on the reverse as given to H C Davey in 1936; it was given to the club in 1988 by Miss Hazel Parker; winners names are inscribed on the obverse. Henry Charles Davey was the dapper figure in the trademark trilby hat, with feather, depicted in the Crowther-Smith caricature which hangs in canteen. He was born in Dalston, London in 1876, and followed his father into stockbroking. There is no immediate record of a military career. He started croquet in 1903 and became club secretary successively of Epsom, Lewes and finally SCCC. Davey started managing tournaments and developed a detailed knowledge of the laws which he deployed on the CA council from 1922 to 1948. After illness and surgery he became our Vice-President and resumed playing with some success. There is more in Bryan Teague's history of the club: see the history section of the website. He probably took up residence in Hove on moving to SCCC in 1930 at that time. When he died in 1959 in his flat on Third Avenue Hove, his executors were Coutts Bank and Hazel Doreen Parker, who were required to consult his lawyers, Adams of Lewes and Gray's Inn London. Five legacies totalled £2250 plus £6,000 direct to Hazel Parker with all his personal chattels, and the whole of the substantial remainder went to protective trusts for the benefit of Hazel Parker during her life. Hazel Doreen Parker was born in 1898 in Cuckfield and by 1939 was living in Hove, and until 1959 occupied a variety of addresses in Hove. She is recorded as playing for Southwick against Compton and, in match reports at Southwick, with a handicap of 5½, and won the D'Esterre cup in 1961. Her solicitor was Adams of Lewes; when her will was drawn in 1986 she was living at 54 St Julian's Lane, Kingston, close to the Club. She left small legacies to two nieces and her residuary legatee was a niece in Seaford. She died in February 1989 in a nursing home in Seaford and may have been contemplating disposal of chattels when she donated the salver in 1988. (Research and text: Ray Hall) |
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The High Bisque Salver |
Open, AC beginners competition, presented by Miss Patricia Shine |
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The Howard Austin Cups |
Open, AC handicap doubles, presented by W Howard Austin |
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The Jellicorse Challenge Cup |
Defunct from 2002 to 2016. Presented in 1926 by Major H Jellicorse. Now awarded for the Golf Croquet level play Summer Tournament. |
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The John Solomon Cup |
Open, AC advanced A class |
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The Maurice Reckitt Bowl |
Open, AC advanced B class, presented by MB Reckitt in 1934 |
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The Millenium Shield |
Club competition |
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The Monteith Challenge Bowl |
Open, AC handicap, presented in 1931 by Mr & Mrs GC Braithwaite |
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The Moore Cup |
Club competition Previously This was the Bryan Challenge Cup (1904) and, as was the custom at the time, was won outright in 1927 by Mis EDB Simeon who then re-presented it as the Simeon Challenge Cup. It was again won outright in 1975 by W E Moore and re-presented by him to the Club. |
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The Moore Cup Runner Up |
Now defunct, was for most of its life the Douglas Jones Cup. |
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The New Challenge Cup |
Club competition, presented in 1987 by Mrs Hyacinth Coombs |
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The Patricia Shine Salvers |
Club competition |
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The Quaich |
Club competition Presented to the Club in 2001 by Bill Arliss for golf croquet singles competition. |
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The Southwick Open Salver |
Purchased in 1982, partly with funds raised by selling Mrs Dives' inkstand (see above) |
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The Sussex Gold Challenge Cup |
Club competition, presented by ER Harrison in 1922. The Club's most valuable trophy |
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The W.G.B. Scott Memorial Cup |
Open, AC advanced B/C class, presented in 1975 by Isobel Scott |
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