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Bristol and Clifton Open

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Bristol and Clifton Open
Defunct tennis tournament
TourILTF Circuit
Founded1882; 142 years ago (1882)
Abolished1897; 127 years ago (1897)
Editions15
LocationClifton, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England
VenueClifton Lawn Tennis Club
SurfaceGrass

The Bristol and Clifton Open[1] was a late 19th century men's and women's tennis tournament first established in 1882 as the Clifton Lawn Tennis Tournament.[2] It was played on outdoor grass courts at the Clifton Lawn Tennis Club, Clifton, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. The tournament ran annually until 1897.

History

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In 1882 the Clifton Lawn Tennis Club was founded,[3] with Bristol player Mr. Charles Lacy Sweet being appointed honorary club secretary. He became instrumental in the initial success of the Clifton Lawn Tennis tournament.[2] In 1886 the tournament's name was changed to the Clifton Open.[2] In 1895 the tournament had by this time grown in both size and importance it became part of the Western tour circuit, it was then rebranded as the Bristol and Clifton Open.[2]

That year the event featured some of the biggest names in British tennis including; Charles Gladstone Allen, Edward Roy Allen, Herbert Baddeley, Wilfred Baddeley (Wimbledon Champion), Frank Riseley, Sydney Howard Smith, and Frank Riseley. The men's singles title that year was won by Wilberforce Eaves.[2] There was no women's singles, but did include and mixed doubles featuring players such as Charlotte Cooper (Wimbledon Champion), Ruth Dyas, Lottie Paterson (the Scottish Champion), and Alice Pickering.[2]

In 1897 the Gloucestershire Lawn Tennis Association was formed, it had originally staged an unofficial county level event in 1882 in Cheltenham. This year the association decided to officially create the Gloucestershire Championships and decided to move the tournament to Clifton as a replacement for the Bristol and Clifton Open, at which point this tournament was discontinued as a distinct event.[4]

Finals

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Men's singles

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(Incomplete roll)

Year Winner Runner-up Score
Clifton Lawn Tennis Club Tournament
1882[2] United Kingdom Charles Lacy Sweet United Kingdom Teddy Williams 6–3, 6–3
1883[2] United Kingdom George Butterworth United Kingdom Donald Charles Stewart 6–3, 4–6, 6–2
1884[2] United Kingdom Charles Lacy Sweet (2) United Kingdom Charles Walder Grinstead 6–3, 4–6, 6–2
Clifton Open
1886[2] United Kingdom Charles Lacy Sweet (3) United Kingdom Mark Anthony Hartnell w.o.
1890[2] United Kingdom Wilfred Baddeley United Kingdom Charles Gladstone Allen 6–2,6–2
1891[2] United Kingdom Sydney Howard Smith United Kingdom Charles Lacy Sweet 6–3, 5–7, 7–5
1894[2] United Kingdom Roy Allen United Kingdom Horace Chapman 6–4, 6–1
Bristol and Clifton Open
1895[2] United Kingdom Wilberforce Vaughan Eaves Ireland George Ball-Greene 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 ret.

Women's singles

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(Incomplete roll)

Year Winner Runner-up Score
Clifton Open
1886[5] Ireland Beatrice Langrishe United Kingdom Nora Pope 6–2, 7–5

Mixed doubles

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(Incomplete roll)

Year Winner Runner-up Score
Clifton Open
1890[2] United Kingdom Wilfred Baddeley
Ireland May Langrishe
United Kingdom Ernest Wool Lewis
United Kingdom Violet Pinckney
6–3, 6–1
Bristol and Clifton Open
1895[2] United Kingdom Edward Roy Allen
United Kingdom Alice Pickering
Ireland George Ball-Greene
United Kingdom Charlotte Cooper
divided prizes

Venue

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Clifton Lawn Tennis Club was established in 1882,[6] the club's facilities at this time consisted of four grass courts, the club added three hard asphalt courts by 1886. The Clifton tournament had outgrown the facilities of the venue by 1895 when it had hire the county cricket ground at Ashley Down, Bristol, for the use of the cricket ground during the week that had ten tennis courts.

References

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  1. ^ "BRISTOL AND CLIFTON LAWN TENNIS. THE OPENING DAY. Favoured with ideal day, the Bristol Clifton Lawn Tennis week opened yesterday featuring singles events in the Bristol and Gloucester Open". Western Daily Press. Bristol, England: British Newspaper Archive. 25 June 1895. p. 3. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Tournaments: Clifton". The Tennis Base. Madrid: Tennismem SL. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Club History". cliftonlawntennisclub.co.uk/. Clifton Lawn Tennis Club. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  4. ^ "GLOUCESTERHIRE LAWN TENNIS TOURNAMENT. When the Bristol and Clifton Open Lawn Tennis Tournament fell through for the present season owing to the inability of the promoters to arrange dates suitable at once to the County Ground Company, County Association has arranged to stage a new tournament to replace the former tournament". Stroud News and Gloucestershire Advertiser. Gloucestershire, England: British Newspaper Archive. 4 June 1897. p. 6. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  5. ^ "CLIFTON LAWN TENNIS TOURNAMENT". Western Daily Press. Bristol, England: British Newspaper Archive. 28 June 1886. p. 3. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  6. ^ Clifton Lawn Tennis Club