The Club began in 1950 by a break-a-way group of players from Basford B.C., who played at
Basford Tennis Club.
Beginning by playing at private houses and hiring rooms, we eventually found a permanent
home using a room within the local Conservative Club premises.
In 1976 we successfully negotiated with Newcastle Borough Council to rent a second floor of a
building fronting onto the main High street of the town.
This remained our stable venue until 1994 when, thanks to interest free member loans and a
large bank overdraft, we moved into our own ground floor premises. This building was
basically a shell and, to bring it up to viability, a dedicated group of members worked long
and hard.
The Club was officially opened by the Lady Mayor, Elsie Ashley, on Thursday 31st March
1994.
The financial position at April 1994 was that we owed £55,000 to members and £17,300 to the
bank. At the 50th AGM in June 1999 the last loan was repaid and we owned the building outright.
The completion of the repayments so quickly (it was scheduled to be 2002) was due to the
members supporting the Club and to one member in particular, Ivy Lettice, who had loaned a
considerable amount and who had very generously willed that at her death the debt would be
cancelled. |
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