History

In 1911, St Georges Hill was purchased by the visionary, Byfleet builder W G Tarrant and within 24 months the Hill’s first tennis and sports Club was completed. The newly built St Georges Hill Lawn Tennis Club boasted eight grass tennis courts, two hard courts, two croquet lawns and a bowling green. The lake was stocked with rainbow trout and was used for boating and bathing.

The Club was opened on Saturday, 7 June 1913 by His Serene Highness Prince Alexander of Teck, brother of the reigning Queen Mary. Prince Alexander of Teck was besotted by the beauty of the Club and was quoted as saying ‘One feels as though one stands in an enchanted land, when the outer world, so to speak, is entirely forgotten in the glories of a sylvan glade in all its summer garb.’ This statement echoes many that have been made over the years since and is one of the reasons we are now established as one of the finest sporting and social clubs in the country.

In March 1918, the thatched roof club house caught fire and was gutted. W G Tarrant rebuilt the Clubhouse and the Club was reopened in another grand ceremony on the 23rd of July 1921. The eminent personage on this occasion was Dame Margaret Lloyd George, the wife of the Prime Minister, David Lloyd George. She cut a blue tape across the terrace and hit the first ball over the net and inaugurated a tournament.

In his speech Mr Tarrant said that ‘… the provision of recreation was a part of the original scheme of the development of the estate and it was considered necessary that those who managed the big industries and businesses of the country needed recreation to keep them fit. Never was it so necessary to keep fit as at the present time and the great captains of industry should be enabled to get their recreation in quietness, convenience and agreeable surroundings (Surrey Herald Report)

This is a clear statement of his philosophy about the Club and its amenities which continues to ring true to the modern day.