Thorpe Bay Lawn Tennis
Thorpe Bay Gardens , Southend-on-Sea, SS1 3HLThorpe Bay Lawn Tennis Club was formed in 1912 for both lawn tennis and croquet. It is interesting to note that the annual subscription was then 10s 6p for ladies and One Guinea for men! Originally only four courts were made available, but by 1926 there were eleven grass courts and five hard courts (for winter play), the croquet lawn having been dispensed with.
The court surfaces have naturally changed over the years to the extent that the Club now enjoys the use of sixteen synthetic carpet courts allowing all year round play, four of which are floodlit involving a revolutionary system of telescopic columns.
The Club is a members club whose affairs are managed and run by elected members working on a voluntary basis through a controlled committee structure. The Club is affiliated to the Lawn Tennis Association and can justifiably claim to be one of the largest (with an overall membership of around 800) and most successful members clubs in the country.