1850 – 1864 #

In October of 1850 six new members were elected, among them E.J. Routh. He was Senior Wrangler in 1854 and during his time as a Fellow the most successful mathematical coach of his day; a replica of the Herkomer portrait hangs in the Hall. Apart from some motions concerning dress the year passed without incident.

In the October term of 1851 the Club joined with Sidney to enter a crew in the ‘Varsity four oared race, which had been founded in 1849. This amalgamated four reached the final against Third Trinity. The race was marred by a dispute: our combined crew went down to its station first, and on the way the coxswain noticed a bank of weeds at Grassy which he told the men he would have to steer round in the race. Trinity followed down; their cox also saw the weed but, more practically, ordered it to be removed. But with lack of moral delicacy he omitted to tell his rival that the course was now cleared. Trinity therefore steered close while the combined crew went wide; since they were only a second and a half behind at the finish this incident was felt to be of material difference to the result. But the CUBC did not act upon the protest.

In the Lent term of 1852 P.G. Tait was admitted as an honorary member; his name is also carved with Gardiner’s and Smith’s. After a brilliant mathematical career he became professor of natural philosophy at Edinburgh. His son came up in 1880 and joined the PBC, and was a Rugby Blue. To the boat subscription for this term the Fellows contributed over £41; the Master, Dr Cookson, modestly called ‘a Friend’, gave £5, as did G. Druce, in whose honour the Hall’s oriel window was glazed. In the May term a pair from the Club lost by only a few strokes to a Sidney pair in the final of the Magdalene Silver Challenge oars, a race instituted in 1844. A deputy captain was appointed for the long vacation.

In the October term of 1852 the flag could not be found. It transpired that one Cory had borrowed it to wave at the Chairing of the Member for the borough. It was thereupon resolved that the flag, now after eight years in a sorry state, should not be waved at any political or other procession connected with the Town. (The flag was of course carried in the boat at the Procession, but for a time it was the custom to display it when rowing to one’s station before a bumping race.) Pewters were again offered by members for the usual scull and pair races. But this year it was proposed that since Midsummer Common was flooded the races be held neck and neck, rather than as bumps, over it. To Gardiner’s objection that it would be a bad precedent, a former Captain, Baker, sensibly replied ‘We cannot row on Midsummer Common if we cannot’, so the pairs raced over the Common from its East end to a point just above Logan’s boathouse (near the present Christ’s boathouse, long before the Victoria Bridge was built).

Little of note except for the presentation of a new flag in April 1853 occurred thereafter. An account of the last race in the Mays for 1854 is worth quoting. ‘Two of the crew having indulged in a champagne breakfast were declared to be in an unfit state to pull. It was then agreed to take the chances of a six oared boat and one having been procured at Cross’s the gallant crew started in famous spirits, thanks to the worthy coxswain who volunteered his services for the occasion. This gentleman, addicted to the sports of the field rather than those of the water, caused no little amusement by the application of military terms to those under his command, such as “Forward” for “Paddle on all” - “Double-quick” for “Lift her up” etc. etc. The Peterhouse six succeeded in pulling away from the Clare Hall eight which was by no means a despicable boat.’ Despite repeated efforts the Clare boat could not make their bump on us, and at the conclusion of the race that crew joined the ‘bankers’ in applauding Peterhouse’s ‘unprecedented exploit’.

To give a notion of what was deemed sufficient practice it is worth recording that in the Lent term of 1854 it was proposed that the crew be bound to go down to the river at least twice a week. But in Lent 1855 the Captain, Begbie, insisted that his men go down to the river daily; the races that term seem to have been cancelled. A new boat was thought to be necessary because in the last races six bricks had had to be carried for ballast. It was proposed to revise the rules and a copy of them is pasted down in the minute book; as headgear a black straw hat with blue band was adopted, and on the oars cross keys were painted.

Among the six new members elected in the October term of 1855 was A.W. Ward, who in time succeeded Dr Porter as Master. He became a distinguished literary historian and man of letters as the large library which he bequeathed to the College attests; he was President of the British Academy. As an undergraduate he rowed regularly and was, as already mentioned, treasurer. His notes as secretary in 1857 give full and amusing accounts of each day’s racing. In October of 1857 he was Captain. This term (1855) the boat supper was held with brilliant success, and forty-three men, some doubtless guests of members, attended.

In 1856 the CUBC determined that only the second division should race in the Lents, so that the best college oars could feel free to row for the University. This meant that good second division crews had fewer opportunities of getting into the first division. But in 1857 it was resolved that boats below those supplying men to the ‘Varsity crew would race in the Lents. Furthermore in the May races the first division was to race on more days than the second. In the May term the College canoe races, which were bumps, were held; the date of their institution is uncertain, and their vogue was brief.

In the October term of 1856 H.M. Birdwood, the first of his line in the College, proposed a new form of cap but failed to sway the Club. There is a full account of this year’s champagne supper to which members of the University Boat and Cricket Clubs were invited. The dinner was taken in Hall and a band was in attendance. ‘Excellent songs were sung by the gentlemen present’; songs are often mentioned as a condiment of these dinners and one regrets the self-consciousness, dating from the Great War, which keeps men from this amusement; T.R. Glover, for example, wrote a clever song for the LMBC in ‘mediaeval’ Latin. The festivities continued into the following morning, but the Master and Fellows expressed themselves as gratified by the right use made of their concession. In the May term of 1857 a new tub eight was built for £50, and a tub for coaching as well; over £100 was subscribed by the Master, Fellows and members.

The minutes hereafter become sketchy. In the Easter term of 1858 Charley was hired as a trainer for half-a-crown; in 1860 he was still with us, though by one member reckoned ‘no good’. In the October term of 1858 fifty men attended the dinner, but champagne was not served. The old boat was sold to Queens’ for £7, which shows the extent of depreciation. In the Lents of 1859 it seems that the crew first used round-handled oars. Another recent innovation (c.1857) had wide effects: keelless boats were coming into use. They cut down the time over the course by up to half a minute but imposed special practice requirements if they were to be balanced efficiently. As Rouse Ball says, the rowing of the best men became hereafter a more specialised amusement and the highest development of the art was confined to the wholly dedicated.

In March 1859 Blood, Clarke, W. Edwards and Melville presented to the PBC the Silver Challenge Sculls which Blood was the first to win. In the May term 7/6 was levied on each man who had rowed in the last races to support the University crew at Henley.

In the October term of 1859 eight new members were elected; only nine men had matriculated since the last elections and the number of resident junior members was only about thirty-five. The College was generally on the small side, though King’s, Sidney and Queens’ were smaller. In 1842 for example there were thirty-nine men in residence. No evidence has been forthcoming to substantiate the story which Walker, with plain diffidence, related on page 106 of his history of the College; there is a story of that same tendency applied to Sidney. The Club contributed to the CUBC’s appeal fund to buy a lifeboat for the National Lifeboat Society at the ‘trifling expense’ of £180. Floods stopped the May races on two nights and we were thirteenth in Procession.

In October 1860 among the new members was T.W. Dunn, whose name is not unknown to classical Petreans; there is a short life written of him. At the first meeting of the term it was proposed to increase the opportunities open to freshmen to row, but no plan was devised. Numbers must have had something to do with this. In the Lent term of 1861 a coach was again hired, Tom Grant. The crew were urged not to drink too much beer during the time of their coaching and to train ‘somewhat’: in the Captain’s eyes abstinence from puddings and smoking was desirable. In the May term a subscription for a new outrigger was opened and over £66 promised. This term the sculling races were held, ‘one man sustaining the habits of the College by upsetting at the start’.

In the October term of 1861 fifteen new members were elected, and the College entrance was nineteen. One was A.G. Payne who from 1862-5 played billiards against Oxford; in later life he is said to have edited Cassell’s ‘Dictionary of Cookery’ thanks to interests fostered at Peterhouse. His keenness for billiards was not applauded by the whole Club; the objections were not of course ethical, but rather that he gave no time to rowing. It was felt that the distinction between pulling and non-pulling members should be maintained, but that those who said they would pull must do so. Some men proposed to go in for the University scratch fours, and, when it was suggested that they train, the matter was left to individual discretion. In the Lent term of 1862, a third division having been formed that raced downstream, a second boat was got up which bumped on every night.

But in the October term of 1862 the Captain was complaining that other small colleges - Jesus, Pembroke and Queens’ - daily sent down two eights and that Peterhouse men must show more interest in rowing. Spirit was clearly low at the time; an index is the annual supper, abandoned for lack of support. And yet one member, Blake, was in the ‘Varsity Trial Eight; in the accounts of the next year’s races he is faulted for devoting his attention to the University; he was in fact ready to coach, but unwilling to row.

Trial eights, which First Trinity started in 1859, seem to be introduced in October 1863 - the minutes are sketchy. The boat supper, which had not been held for two years ‘owing to a growing love of tea’, was revived and guests from three University societies, the Boat Club, the Cricket Club, and the Volunteer Rifles, were invited. In the Lent term of 1864 the Captain informed the Club that they could get the blue and white stockings to be worn with knickerbockers at Warwick’s of Trinity Street, and he reassured the coxswain that knickerbockers would form no part of his uniform. An account of a race is worth reproducing from the minutes. It is the last day of the Mays of 1864 and the second boat are making one of their rare appearances; ‘The Peterhouse 2nd Boat determined to do something or die. Before them was Lady Margaret V, half full of Old Varsity Oars. Behind was Pembroke II, universally acknowledged to be the best boat in the division. But the undying energies of this immortal crew - notwithstanding the shouts and groans of bow that he could not possibly exist beyond the Plough, and the ghastly appearances of others of the crew, while being overlapped by Pembroke at Grassy, succeeded in running into LMV in the Gut to the imminent peril of Bow. The spurt which the plucky Stroke put on round Grassy was only equalled by the brilliant steering - each being prodigious in their professions.’ This amusing account however was written at a time when the internal disharmony of the Club had reached such a distressing level that the boat stayed tied up at the start of some race days and the CUBC requested that the crew not enter the Procession. The second boat, coached by the recalcitrant Blake, acquitted itself well.

In the October term of 1864 thirteen members joined, of whom T.G. Little later won an Athletics Blue. At this time the boat club, as the established society for sportsmen, gave shelter to a variety of interests, and probably looked upon athletics and other land sports as part of training. But gradually their attractions increased and rowing begins to lose some of its following. The great flowering of English sports is at hand, and rowing becomes simply one of many pastimes. Soon we shall begin to read of (and deplore) the rise of soccer, which interfered with outings even at Jesus. In a small college the result is predictable: a few men do not go very far and often one man dabbles in several sports. The traditional charm of rowing yielded place to more recent attractions and the CUBC and CUCC, as the founts of all patronage, were beset with demands that Blues be awarded for just about everything. In the May term of 1865 the crew was coached by an old member who was then a Fellow, Richmond.