The Tynedale Open Tournament[1] was a grass court tennis tournament founded in 1881 as the Hexham Tournament and first staged at Priors Flat Grounds, Hexham, Northumberland, England.
| Tynedale Open Tournament | |
|---|---|
| Defunct tennis tournament | |
| Founded | 1881 |
| Abolished | 1931 |
| Location | Hexham, Northumberland, England |
| Venue | Priors Flat Grounds |
| Surface | Grass |
History
editThe Hexham Tournament was a late 19th century tennis event first staged around August 1881 at Priors Flat Cricket Grounds, Hexham, Northumberland, England.[2] The first winner of the men's singles was England's Jasper Gibson.[3] The first tournament was staged until 1885. In 1888 the Tynedale Lawn Tennis Club,[4] and Tynedale Cricket Club were founded and staged events on the land leased by the Tyndale Athletic Association. In 1890 a second Hexham tournament was revived as the Tynedale Open Tournament (allowing women's competitions) that was organised by the Tynedale Lawn Tennis Club. that event ran until 1931 before it was discontinued.
Location and Venue
editHexham is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden nearby, and close to Hadrian's Wall. Hexham was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district.
Tennis first appeared in Hexham in the early 1880s as a cement court built in the Hexham Abbey grounds. Its success led to acquiring the leasehold of Prior's Flat with a contract to lay turf on the tennis courts.[5] Tynedale Lawn Tennis Club’ itself was founded in 1888 and moved to its present-day location on Prior's Flat in 1889.[5] Beginning in the 1940s through to the 1940s 3 hard (shale) tennis courts which were replaced by three tarmacadam courts in the late 1960s.[5] In 1977 a new Tynedale Sports Club was created; merging the hockey, cricket and tennis sections as one sports club. In 2021 The Tyndale lawn Tennis Club changed its name to the Hexham Lawn Tennis Club.[6]
Finals
editMen's Singles
edit(incomplete roll)
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hexham Tournament | |||
| 1881 |  Jasper Gibson |
 M. Liddell |
6-0, 6–0, 6–2.[7] |
| 1882 | Jasper Gibson |
John Arthur Jackson |
6-0, 6–0, 6–2.[7] |
| Tyndale Open Tournament | |||
| 1908 | Stanley Gate |
Frank Widdas |
1-6, 6–1, 6–4, 4–6, 6–2.[7] |
Women's Singles
edit(incomplete roll)
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyndale Open Tournament | |||
| 1890 | Jane Corder |
Helen Jackson |
8-6, 6-0 |
| 1894 | Helen Jackson |
 Lottie Paterson |
6-3, 6-2 |
| 1895 | Lucy Kendal |
B. Jackson |
w.o. |
| 1896 | Beatrice Wood Draffen |
Lucy Kendal |
6-4, 8-6 |
| 1897 | Lucy Kendal |
Miss Lister |
6-0, 6-3 |
| 1898 | Muriel Robb |
Mrs Lewis |
2-6, 6–4, 6-2 |
| 1907 | Helen Aitchison |
Mrs J.E. Day |
divided title |
| 1908 | Mrs J.E. Day |
P. Lee |
6-2, 6-1 |
| 1909 | Mabel Hurlbatt Dudgeon |
Annie Mack |
7-5. 6-4 |
| 1911 | Mabel Hurlbatt Dudgeon |
Mrs Wilkinson |
def |
| 1912 | M. Fergus |
Miss Walton-Brown |
6-0, 6-1 |
| 1914 | M.E. Morton |
Mrs Neilson |
6-4, 6-2 |
| 1915/1919 | Not held (due to world war one) | ||
| 1920 | Ruth Watson |
Mrs Spoor |
8-6, 6-4 |
| 1921 | M. Hart |
Mrs Helps |
3-6, 6–1, 9-7 |
| 1923 | Lesley Cadle |
Dorothy Alexander |
6-2, 2–6, 6-2 |
| 1924 | Lesley Cadle |
C.D. Shafto |
6-1, 7-5 |
| 1925 | Ruth Watson |
Kathleen Aitchison |
10-8. 8-6 |
| 1926 | Ruth Watson |
Lesley Cadle |
w.o. |
| 1927 | Ruth Watson |
Kathleen Aitchison |
6-4, 6-3 |
| 1928 | Ruth Watson |
V. March |
7-5, 6-1 |
| 1929 | E. Carrick |
V. March |
6-2, 6-1 |
| 1931 | Ruth Watson |
Dorothy Alexander |
6-4, 3–6, 6-0 |
References
edit- ^ Orcutt, William Dana (1897). Official Lawn Tennis Bulletin. Boston: The Horace Partridge Company. p. 77.
- ^ LAWN TENNIS HEXHAM. This tournament that was played yesterday on the Priors Flat Grounds, concluded in a victory for Jasper Gibson in the gentleman's singles, a mixed pairs event was won by Miss Cruddas and Mr. J. Gibson against Mr J. H. Nicholson and Miss. Kirsopp. The Field. British Newspaper Archive.31 August 1881. London, England. p.8
- ^ The Field
- ^ "History". www.hexhamtennisclub.co.uk. Hexham Tennis Club. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- ^ a b c Hexham Tennis Club
- ^ Tulip, Joseph (8 April 2021). "It's all in a name change for long-serving tennis club in Hexham". Hexham Courant. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- ^ a b c "Tournament – Hexham". www.tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives. Retrieved 23 February 2023.