Amateur rowing on the South Coast developed alongside river rowing early in the nineteenth century. Four oared clinker boats, (called galleys), became available for hire from Newnhams and other longshore-men on Southsea beach. Gosport has a cup engraved "1839 Portsmouth Southsea-Gosport Regatta for Amateur Fours". Sometime prior to 1860 Dr. Fowle gathered together a group of friends to hire galleys from Newnham, and they became known as Fowles Rowing Club. In 1860 four of these amateurs. E. Doudney. R. Chambers, M. Paddon and W. Helby decided to put this on a more permanent basis and hired a small hut or boathouse from the War Department. This was on our present site and formed 'Southsea Rowing Club'. They acquired one galley and continued to hire other boats from Newnhams as required. Doudney was elected first captain and they held one race a year over a five mile course against Portsmouth Rowing Club, based at Point, against whom it took seven years to secure their first win.

The fleet was expanded to three galleys and the boathouse proper was built in 1872 by Dan West. By 1875 the fleet comprised four fours, two pairs and two skiffs, and in that year Jack Hill, E. Angell, Frank Fogwill and H. Symonds (Captain and stroke), won sixteen races on the South Coast and sank in the seventeenth while leading. H. Symonds was unbeaten in single sculls for nine years and he and Frank Fogwill were South Coast Amateur Champions in "Sculling Races for Pairs" from 1875 to 1880. The South Coast Rowing Association then covered regattas from Herne Bay to Weymouth. The regattas followed in quick succession with Excursion trains arranged to carry the boats along the coast, free of charge. The maximum length the trains would carry was thirty feet, which is believed to be the reason for the Coast rule that boats must not exceed thirty feet. The invention of the sliding seat in the 1870s was quickly adopted by the clubs with carvel racing boats being ordered from Claspers.

In 1888 The Club had 106 members, with Gen H.R.H. The Duke of Connaught KG. KT etc. and Admiral the Earl of Clanwilliam CB as its patrons. The subscription was £1.10. Bathing from the Club was not permitted between 9 am and 9 pm, and on Sundays boats had to be away from the Club by 9.30 am. not returning before 8 pm, (so as not to offend churchgoers who paraded along the Promenade before and after services). A new six oared galley was donated by Arthur Brickwood in 1893 and named 'Carrie' after his wife. The boathouse was extended five feet seawards to accommodate it. Main and mizzen masts could be stepped for cruising. In September 1895 the boat was rowed around the Isle of Wight including a 45 minute stop in Freshwater Bay for refreshments. In that year two practice galleys were sold to Jersey or Guernsey Rowing Club for £30 and two new boats were to be ordered for £30 each, but discussions over the type of boats continued for the next two AGM's.

Southsea Rowing Six 1895, As featured in 'Sporting Life'

After the railways started charging for transporting boats, the old South Coast Association split and the Coast ARA. including Southsea was founded in 1893, followed later by the Hants and Dorset ARA. The local regatta continued under the name of Portsmouth and Southsea, or simply Southsea, organised either by the council or the local business community with rowing, sailing and other events. The Portsmouth Grand Challenge Cup for Senior Fours cost £100 and was donated by Arthur Brickwood in 1875. For a few years it became a Royal regatta.

After the First World War the Club persuaded the council to revive the regattas. The rowing moved to the east of South Parade Pier, with sailing to the west, but it became increasingly difficult to fit both in the programme on the same day, and so sailing went its own way, and the council handed control of the regatta to the Club. When the railways did start to charge for transport, all the clubs on the Solent concentrated more on invitation fixed seat races, where the boats were provided by the host club, thus reducing traveling expenses. There were many clubs and trophies. Southsea's Emmanuel Cup was as prestigious as the Portsmouth Grand. Portsmouth police had the Brickwood Cup and the Cousens, (eighteen miles round Portsea Island). Ryde had the Harold Senior Cup and the Douglas Hall, and there were others at Ventnor, Bonchurch, Shanklin, Sandown (a separate club at that time), Wooton, Newport, Portsmouth Electricity (split after nationalisation into SESA and CEGB) and Portsmouth Transport ("The Trams"). The Club's main activity, however, was "day tripping" and camping, with regular camping at Whiteclifte Bay (later the Duver St. Helens) and even trips to Poole Harbour and Wareham over several days. Characters such as Spencer-Browning would go off for a fortnight in a pleasure scull down to Dorset or round the Island.

As motor transport became more practicable, in 1925 the Club decided to resume going away to Slide Regattas along the Coast and a new centre seated four, 'Blanche", was ordered for delivery in 1926. In the meantime a heavy Clasper built slide four built in 1905 and stored in a builders yard was obtained from the defunct Bonchurch Club, and was hastily fitted out to practice in, until delivery of the new boat. On its first outing it sank near North Corner in the harbour and the crew managed to get it on the Ayesha Pontoon and so it was called Ayesha. It proved to be a better sea boat than Blanche and continued in use until the 1960s. The bow is still above the bar.

1936 'A' Crew
R.Stafford (stroke), J. Hillyard, H. Bishop, J. Pestell (bow)
M. Oldrieve (cox)

A third bay was added to the club in 1931, which became the lounge, with a small bar and kitchen, but there was still only one urinal, and a primitive cold shower. After war was declared, the sea-front was closed to the public and the then Hon Sec H. H. Stride was given one day to move whatever he could from the boathouse. With only a small car he moved all of the oars, fittings and club records that he could and stored them in his office cellar which received a direct hit by the second bomb to hit Portsmouth, and so everything was lost. The boats remained in the clubhouse, which was used as an officers mess by some of the large Ack Ack Battery on the Common, who saved it from many fire bombs, one of which went right through Ayesha without exploding. Later Irish laborers used the Club when building D-Day equipment and they stripped most of the wood fittings for firewood, but fortunately they did little damage to the boats.

When the Club was de-requisitioned there was a hard battle to get compensation for the damage. A meeting was held at Grogan's Cafe, Broad Street, when it was resolved to revive the club. Robin Thomas, who had been shot down in a mosquito and taken prisoner of war offered to use his back-pay to help with the refurbishment, pending settlement of the Clubs claim. The first two new members to join were Cecil Claxon, a builder who carried out the structural repairs while members did the donkey work, and Pat Sherwin, whose family links with the club went back to 1870. One boat "Carrie", a racing four which had only just been delivered before the war, was made serviceable. and the blades and other equipment was lent by Ryde and the 'Lights' (Portsmouth Electricity).

The Club-house was officially reopened on 1st June 1946 by the Lord Mayor, and 1947 was the first racing season on both the Hants and Dorset and the Coast. The Hants and Dorset then only rowed fours and we took our one serviceable boat plus 11 oarsmen on Claxon's ex-army Chevrolet lorry to each regatta. These men made up a senior crew stroked by Mike Goodair, (Captain) with Pat Sherwin as cox, a junior crew with Pat Sherwin at bow and a novice crew with Pat Sherwin as stroke and Mike Goodair as cox. Novices could then win all season, and Westover, (who had managed to remain open during the war), won every race in each status, until the last regatta at Christchurch, when Pat Sherwin's novice crew, with a lightweight, borrowed cox, won the novice race.

Christchurch Regatta 23rd August 1947
Novice Crew Winning the Airspeed Challenge Cup
Pat Sherwin (stroke), Woodcock, Jeffreson, Berns (bow)

Thereafter the Club gradually restored the fleet and carried out a full racing programme as well as re-establishing day-tripping all around the Solent and a permanent camp-site at Duver St Helens. The fixed seat invitation races were resumed, including several new ones. A monthly newsletter, "The Bulletin" was circulated and The Ball, the first function in post war Portsmouth to stipulate evening dress, was a 400 people sell-out and became an annual event.

The Club failed in its attempt to persuade the other coastal clubs to extend the boats length to 32 feet, which would have enabled centre-seated fours to be built with adequate bow and stern buoyancy, but over the years they persuaded the Hants and Dorset to introduce pairs and sculling races, and ultimately Ladies racing, (all strenuously opposed by the die-hards). They were the first to buy a coach and fit roof-racks, and when traffic regulations made this expensive they also pioneered trailers on the Coast.

Links were formed with Portsmouth Grammar School, St John's College and Portsmouth Polytechnic and attempts were made with other schools which failed due to the negative attitude of the education authority. George Sims at Hammersmith and his brother Rowly Sims of Putney were almost the only two builders of Coast boats, which were difficult and expensive to build, with a ribbed frame covered with a thin cedar veneer, which cracked easily. Delivery took two or even three years. Jack Holt had successfully built small sailing dinghies on the cold-moulded basis and Arthur Stansfield started work on his first pair mould in January 1958 with the help of members. In June the first boat was completed and raced at Shoreham, it came third. The cost was £85 against £185 then charged by boatbuilders. The mould was borrowed by various clubs, and duplicated plans and instructions were also supplied to clubs wanting to build their own moulds. Work then started on a fours mould, which fortunately was not kept in the club for lack of working space.

The club had decided to try and rebuild with a two-storey building in 1960 to mark its centenary, and Robin Thomas prepared plans to build a brick building around and over the existing club, which could continue to be used and then knocked down, leaving a large shell into which a first storey floor could be laid when funds became available. Disaster struck on 30th June 1959 when the boathouse and all of the boats and equipment were destroyed by arson. The plans were hastily modified and work started on the present building in the autumn. The four nearing completion by Arthur was launched from the wrecked building on 5th July. Many Clubs and individuals again gave us help, including a temporary wooden boathouse erected on the Hover-Travel site. Cyclonic storms during the winter caused severe damage to both the new building and the wooden boathouse. A frantic boat building programme was embarked upon, so that on 17th September 1960 the new Club was opened by the Lord Mayor, and three fours and one pair were also launched.

1961 Novice 'A' Crew. Winners of the Bobinsky Trophy
P. Stafford (stroke), D. Holloway, L. Bishop, Bailey (cox)

Day tripping and camping at St Helens were still popular and two new galleys were ordered from George Feltham, then in his 80's, with only one young apprentice. Because spruce was only imported in twenty foot lengths, we had to order a tree specially from Canada and have it shipped over and cut into planks. These boats are now owned and used by Pat Sherwin.

With the benefit of the new club, membership at one stage increased to over 400, with many scratch crews going out for pleasure outings and there was a lively social programme with the bar open every evening and monthly dances. But as the Club built up its racing successes and introduced circuit-training and weights, the pleasure rowing and social side went into decline. This was further accelerated by the introduction of the breathalyser and parking meters.

Alec Rose regularly used the club when taking his dog for an evening walk and no one expected him to succeed in his Round the World sail. John Ridgeway and Chay Blythe gave a talk to the Club after their trans-Atlantic row and were elected honorary members in recognition of their achievement.

The club had been a male only bastion with ladies only officially allowed into the clubhouse on Sunday mornings or special occasions until the new building was opened and then ladies were unrestricted as Visitors. In 1972 they were finally admitted as Associate Members. A Nelsonian blind eye was turned to some of them starting rowing, but the 1976 AGM defeated a proposal that they be eligible for Full Membership. This was reversed in 1977. The re-introduction of a ladies race at our regatta lead to a rapid expansion of Ladies rowing in other clubs and Southsea again pioneered Ladies Pairs racing.

1977 South Coast Champions
Nick Kingsbury, Brian Barron, David Gallaway, Mike Broomfield

Although one or two coastal clubs claim to have been founded prior to 1860 it appears that they have not maintained continuous existence. The Club has therefore got a proud history to look back to, and all members should value their membership and aim to put back into the sport as much as they have benefited. by helping with coaching new members and taking part not only in the administration of the Club, but also the Hants and Dorset and Coast ARAs and the Wessex Regional Council.