Brighton Club as found in the newspapers of the time
Brighton Croquet Club from first beginnings - 1869
Unsurprisingly, we have no club records from the time of the club when founded in Brighton. However, Brighton supported more than a dozen local newspapers and croquet was a fashionable pastime and so featured in the national press and in magazines. From these sources we can learn a little of its activities.
1869: Founding of the club
Croquet was played on the East Lawn of Brighton Pavilion (the green space facing the main road). There seems to be room for about 5 courts. Probably the grass was not that great or well cut but nonetheless the club grew in membership.
The first Hon. Secretary, Henry Alexander Dowell (about 1842 - 1924) lived in Hove Villas. It is not known what occupation he may have had in Hove but was a retired Army captain. Greatly involved in local affairs, he was at various times, a member of the Hove School Board, Hon Sec. of the Volunteer Fire Brigade, as well as the Hove Toxophilite Society and the croquet club.
The Hove Toxophilite Society (archery to you and I) was another popular society sport at the time; its Archery Grounds were in the northern end of the block between St Aubyns and Seafield Road, now under housing.
The article clips below are fairly clear but you can click on each one to see a text version.)
(Map reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland)
The Club played on the East Lawn of the Pavilion until its closure in the 1980s. We do not have any archive material relating to that period but there are two photographs in the James Gray Collection of the Regency Society of Brighton and Hove which they have kindly given us permission to reproduce here.
The second picture shows a group of members of Brighton Croquet Club facing the east lawn of the Pavilion, circa 1875. It is tempting to imagine that some of the younger members shown would also have played later at Southwick.
The tournament must have been a success for another prize meeting followed in October.
Brighton Guardian 06 October 1869
Not all was plain sailing. Perhaps buoyed up by their success the Club tried to make alterations to the grounds of the Pavilion to improve the playing area. The Pavilion Committee was not supportive.