When the golfing pastime moved south to Seaford
THE origins of golf are unclear.
A quick search of the internet will show that several countries claim to have invented the game including the Chinese (who seem to have invented everything) and the Dutch.
Hitting a pebble at a target was probably a prehistoric game but the origins of the game that we know today are most certainly Scottish and, despite foreign claims, the first golf hole and first golf course were north of the border.
Some Scottish sources cite highland shepherds knocking pebbles into rabbit holes with their crooks as far back as the 11th century although the first written mention dates from a fifteenth century Act of Parliament, which bans 'gowf' as a distraction to the more important archery – a game that was necessary to ensure that all men could defend their homeland.
A hundred years later Mary Queen of Scots, a keen golfer was rebuked for playing golf only a few days after the death of her husband.
South of the border, Royal Blackheath Golf Club in south London claims to date from 1603 when James I took up residence at nearby Greenwich Palace when he moved down from Scotland. Although the club claims to be the oldest in the world, its records only date from 1745.
The club also holds a clue about the first golf played in Sussex as its archives have a poem dated 1826 that mentions the game being played at Brighton.
In the 1880s a few men in Seaford started to meet on the Downs above Seaford to knock a golf ball about. Their numbers grew and on August 6, 1887, a meeting was held and it was decided that a golf club should be formed.
Among these early players were Mr John Fletcher Farncombe of Bishopstone and Mr Arthur Jack who lived at the Crouch and who owned the land where Morrisons is now sited. Other members included Mr William Lambe, who was an Overseer of the Poor for East Blatchington and Mr Austin Leigh who, I believe, lived in Alfriston and who was a descendent of the author, Jane Austin.
Major Crook of Telsemaure, Dane Road was an early member as was Doctor Morgan who lived at Rostrevor, a house that formerly stood where Tesco is now situated and who practiced from Hurdis House in Broad Street. You may recall that he was the person who 'discovered' dyslexia.
These men must have worked hard in the next few weeks because they held their first General Meeting in Seaford on September 8, 1887.
The first president was a very distinguished person indeed, The Rt. Hon. Viscount Hampden GCB. The Viscount (Henry Bouverie William Brand) was the Lord Lieutenant of Sussex at the time of his appointment but had previously been an MP for Lewes and between 1872 and 1884 was the Speaker of the House of Commons. He lived at Glynde Place so presumably had a lot of space to practice his hobby at home.
The new club obviously had some money. Its early members represented the gentry of the town but it needed two more essentials, a club captain and somewhere to play.
The first Captain of the club was Major William Webb Turner who lived at Chyngton House and who had previously led the Seaford, Newhaven and Alfriston unit of the Sussex Artillery Volunteers.
One of the first members, Launcelot Harison, of Sutton Place agreed to lease some of his land on Seaford Head to his new club. The land ran from Chyngton Road to the cliff edge. The land was used by a Mr William Bannister, a farmer who used the downland to graze his sheep but the new club worked around this and the sheep were useful in keeping the vegetation down.
The club hired a Mr John Thompson of Felixstowe to design the new course which was to consist of twelve holes. A few years earlier Thompson had designed Aldeburgh Golf Course in Suffolk and it is interesting to note that his local course at Felixstowe has a link with Seaford in that both clubs have views over a Martello Tower.
After Brighton, Seaford was the second golf course to be laid down in Sussex and was one of the first in the whole country. There were probably only about thirty or forty other courses in England at this time.
Next week I will report on how the club progressed in its early years.
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Weather for Lewes
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -6 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
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Sunny
Temperature: -5 C to 1 C
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