Second ServiceBook a courtCourt
A red clay tennis court from above, white lines, a single player's long shadow
0
shots · the morning's first rally

Clay, shade, ritual.

Six clay courts. Four under trees. One clubhouse.A tennis club that still waters the courts by hand, drags them before eight, and asks you to wear whites. The rest is up to you and whoever's across the net.

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01 · The morning

Water, drag, lines.

06:40
the court is ready at eight
06:40 · WaterThe hose goes on before the sun does. Clay that's watered late plays fast and breaks up by lunch.
A tennis net post and net over red clay, the shadow of a player behind it
02 · The club

Small, on purpose.

6

clay courts. No hard courts. If it rains, we wait.

4

of them under lime trees. Shade after eleven on the north side.

1

clubhouse, one bar, one board with the day's bookings in pencil.

1

rule about clothes. Whites. Not cream, not pale grey. Whites.

Tree shadows falling across a red clay court and its white line

Shade is a facility.

The trees were planted in 1931 for exactly this. Court four in August at three o'clock is the best-booked hour in the club, and it's because of the limes.

Membership

Three ways onto the clay.

The club is capped at 240 members so that a court is always bookable within two days. The list moves.

Annual · waiting listFullCourts, clubhouse, the ladder, the Sunday mix-in

Book seven days ahead. Two guests a month, signed in, in whites.

£720 a year
Annual · under 25JuniorSame courts, same rules, off-peak booking

Weekdays before five and all of Sunday afternoon. Coaching on Saturdays is included.

£260 a year
Pay and play · members' guestsCourtOne court, one hour, one member vouching

For people who want to see the clay before they join the list. Twice, then we ask.

£24 an hour
The club

The ritual, written down.

Most of it is about the clay. The rest is about the people on either side of the net.

The shadow of a player thrown across red clay beside a white line
06:40
WaterThe groundsman hoses every court before the sun's on it. Nobody's on court before eight.
07:20
DragThe mat goes round in the same pattern it has since the thirties. Outside in.
07:45
LinesBrushed clean by hand. If you can't see the baseline, the court isn't ready.
After
Sweep your courtWhoever played last drags it. Twenty minutes for the next pair. The mat's by the net post.
Always
WhitesBecause on clay, everything else looks dirty by the second game.
Courts

Book a court.

Members book by phone or at the board. Guests ask the member who's bringing them. If you're neither yet, write and we'll put you down for a Sunday mix-in, which is how most people start.

Book a court