In 1948 at a Church meeting there was some discussion whether it was appropriate to use funds to purchase an allotment by Victory Path and convert it to grass tennis courts. The motion was passed and Leigh Road Baptist Church Tennis Club was formed. It became one of the founder members of the Leigh and Westcliff Tennis Association in 1950 and we still have teams represented in their leagues today.

The grass courts were changed to hard courts and in 1970 a pre-fab building was bought in and converted to a clubhouse which hasn’t altered much over the last 50 years. Reg West,The Minister of the Church at the time, Den Batt, and Reg Lewis were all instrumental in this project. Luxton Lodge was named after Fred and Florrie Luxton who were a mainstay of the club during this time. They were the main organisers of the annual Tennis Club garden party which was always well supported by Church members. The traditional Saturday afternoon tea was a highlight for many. In the 1970s notable players included Brian Wood and Paul Andrews.

The Lewis family have always been keen supporters of the club and Reg Lewis finally stopped playing in his 90s. His son, Paul who still plays to a high standard today, held many positions on the committee and was chairman for many years during the 1980s and 1990s. He was largely responsible for raising the finances and obtaining loans from members to pay for our third hard court that was laid in 1995. His contribution to the club was recognised a few years ago when he became a Life Member.

In 1983 and 1984 two LRBCTC members, Steve Wynn and Tim Willcock contested the Leigh and Westcliff Men’s final and playing together, they won the men’s doubles.

It was during the late 1980s that members of Westcliff Baptist Church joined and in particular Reg and Marian Ramm and Carol Spurling have all loyally served on the committee. Closer links were formed with Crowstone LTC and the Crowbap tournament was established. In the 2000s the Minister of the Church at the time, Steven Hembury, was an active member.

Nigel Milner, another long serving member of the club, worked hard as chairman to obtain a grant for repairing and respraying of the courts in 2015.

This year with the outbreak of Covid 19 the club was closed during lockdown. However, opportunities have arisen and our membership is at an all-time high and currently over 20 children are being coached on our courts on a Saturday morning. A recent tennis/fitness ‘camp’ was run with 40 children attending for two hours each morning.
Next month courts 1 and 2 will be resurfaced thanks primarily to a legacy from a member who played with distinction at the club for over 40 years.

It is over 70 years since the Club was formed and the present members are grateful to the Church for having the foresight and initiative to purchase the land all those years ago.

SIMON JOYCE, CHAIRMAN OF LRBCTC
AUGUST 2020