Club to celebrate century

BY ABBY WALTER

Horsham Croquet Club members are celebrating a century of history and sport in a milestone year for the club.

The first meeting of the proposed Horsham Croquet Club was at Horsham Town Hall on April 24, 1923 where people discussed the formation of a club if a suitable green could be found.

In May of the same year, 15 people attended the club’s first general meeting and Mrs D. Anderson was elected the president.

An idea was developed to have the Horsham Croquet Club and Horsham Lawn Tennis Club work together to have lawn courts established near the Horsham Botanic Gardens.

The club raised 180 pounds to have the court built and work began in March 1924.

A clubhouse for both clubs was opened on October 18, 1924, in line with the tennis season.

Current croquet club president Donna Frost said it was a ‘huge honour’ for a small club to survive 100 years.

“Here we are today, going strong and looking forward to a wonderful celebration of this milestone,” she said.

“We have good membership and it’s expensive to run a club at the moment, so we think we’re doing pretty well.

“We have 45 members who are all pretty excited to be part of this moment.”

Ms Frost said the club raised money through bingo events to fund the current clubrooms, built in 1976.

“We still share the rooms with the tennis club and it works well,” she said.

“We have one end each, but it can be opened up when either club is hosting big tournaments.

Hospitality

Location: