Claire Saul looks into the fascinating tales behind historic images of women in sport
FEATURE WRITER: CLAIRE SAUL
Croquet’s Rise And Fall
Croquet is thought to have been introduced to England in the mid-19th century. The invention of the lawnmower around 1830 and its subsequent design improvements helped to keep lawns suitably neat for the game, allowing it to flourish amongst the higher levels of society.
Croquet was perfect for garden parties and didn’t require too much exertion, with its popularity also driven by the fact that it could be played by both sexes and by all ages. These young children are enjoying a game on the lawn at Hatchlands Park in Surrey in 1911. Find out more at
nationaltrust.org.uk/hatchlands-park.
At the height of its popularity, the All England Croquet Club was established in Wimbledon in July 1868 as the first national headquarters for the sport.
The location subsequently became the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. As tennis soared in popularity around the country, croquet began to decline as lawns were repurposed for it.
The inaugural Lawn Tennis Championship was played on Wimbledon’s lawns on July 9, 1877. At the tender age of 19, vicar’s daughter Maud Watson became the first female winner of the tournament 140 years ago in 1884, defeating her older sister Lilian in the process.
It had been a close call – the All England Club had only decided a fortnight before the start of the tournament that a ladies’ event would be included in the tournament that year.
Emerging victorious, Maud received a silver flower basket worth 20 guineas. Her championship title would be repeated the following year in 1885, but she soon found herself competing against the young newcomer Lottie Dod, who went on to dominate the game for several years. Maud retired from the game in 1889.
A very different sort of accolade would follow during the First World War, when Maud’s nursing work in an auxiliary hospital would be rewarded with an MBE.
It would be 118 years before sisters would meet again in the Wimbledon singles final; in 2002 Serena Williams faced her older sibling, Venus, over the net.
Life At Full Throttle
Henry Petre was an ent
