History of Five Courts
Fives courts are first mentioned in the minutes of the meeting of the Governing Body held on 12th July 1883. The extract is as follows:
‘The Rev’d the Head Master attended the Meeting and submitted a proposal for the erection of Fives Courts in the rear of Ashburnham House which was considered; the Meeting was of opinion that having regard to the position of the School and the possible calls upon its funds, it was undesirable to come to any present decision on the subject. The Reverend the Head Master then offered to bear the expense of the construction of the Courts; but the Meeting came to the conclusion, that whilst fully recognising the liberality of his offer, their decision should be adhered to.’
The Head Master at the time was the Reverend Dr Charles Scott, who was educated at Eton.
There are references to four sets of more recent fives courts.
The first, built in 1886, was in the north-west corner on the site of part of no. 18 Dean’s Yard, near the entrance to Little Dean’s Yard.
The first courts however came to be demolished in 1939 , in preparation for 17 Deans yard to be used as a School Building.
You can see a picture of the demolition in the School Magazine; The Elizabethan (1939) click here to download this
The second was built in 1912, outside College, and can be seen in the picture on the left in the centre background, it is thought that a Testimonial fund in memory of Head Master H. G. Rutherford was used to build this court. However, this too was also demolished in 1935.
Find out more about the demolition in The Elizabethan (1935) click here to download the article
The third of the five courts, could be found at Sutcliff’s, this was a classroom block on Great College Street.
On the left here, you can see the original builders plan for the site.
In the top right corner, the plan originally marks the five court as racquet courts.
These courts were demolished to make room for more science laboratories, which you can find in The Elizabethan (1959) click here to read the article.
The fourth and only remaining five courts was constructed in the late 1950s which is located in the School’s own courts, housed in the unique courtyard setting of Ashburnham Garden next to a carpenter's workshop.
Notable Players
The most recent notable player at Westminster school is Giles Coren Award winning writer and columnist.
Historical Westminster School Photos of the Fives Pairs
On the left here photographed is :
E.D. Strain and G.L. Oliver-Watts (1920s)
On the left here photographed is :
T.G. Lund and G.L. Oliver-Watts (1924)