Pre-History 

The reason the club is called Phennards is lost in the mists of time but the club was started in the city some time in the 1920's. The club  originally played on grass courts at the Garden House hotel and also at the Radnor Courts which were hard courts opposite Rock Road and owned by Ashbury Ltd (Ladies Hairdressers, 91 Cherry Hinton Road) where courts were booked - along with a trim maybe. (Thanks to Stafford May of CLTC for these details.) 

By 1931 subs were as much as 10/- (that's 50p to me and you!). We had 40 members and also ran a badminton club during the winter. There must also have been a table tennis club as one of the spicier entries in the accounts is a record of 6d being spent on ping-pong balls in 1932.

Phennards social events were also of a superior nature in those days with a whist drive and dance held in 1934 for which both a piano and a pianist were hired. The accounts show that waitresses, balloons and streamers were also part of the evening.

In 1936 the club was definitely playing on the hard and grass courts at Fenners cricket ground and there's mention too of the hire of the 'Radnor Courts'.

In 1937 a recruiting drive was started with an advertisement put in the Cambridge Daily News. Also that year the Coronation Cup and tournament are first mentioned. This has been hotly contested nearly every year since.

The recruiting drive must have paid off as the next year, in 1938, 65 tickets were sold for the whist drive and dance. Courts were also hired from the Garden House hotel.

Members carried on playing during the war at both the Garden House Hotel and at Fenners. There were still 40-50 members, but there are new entries in the accounts, which reflect the scarcities during that time. A company named Rogers and Son were paid £7.14s for re-covering and re-inflating 7 1/2 dozen tennis balls.... they were cleaned and re-covered again before the war was out.

The Edwards Family. The first mention of Mr Edwards is in 1938. We wonder if he's the father of Ian Edwards who one of cups is named after. Please contact us if you know the family's history. In the 1950 there's also a mention of Miss E Edwards; could she be a sister of Ian?

Mr Coote the groundsman at Fenners is first mentioned in 1940. Some of our veterans still remember him. If anyone has a photo of him, please contact us and we'll put it on the site.

The Baldry's. Mr Vic Baldry first won club silverware in 1950 and his wife was secretary for many years in the 50's and 60's.

The Identical twins. Phennards might be the only club in the county, which had identical twins playing at the same time (imagine facing them across the net in doubles). Derek and Donald Flory still both live in the city.

Phennards only moved away from Fenners in 1994 when the University Cricket Club extended the size of their pitch. The club then switched completely to the Fitzwilliam College grounds on Oxford Road. In 2003 a third venue change has been made and from Spring 2003 we've made Pembroke College Fields our home. We're determined to continue the tradition of good quality, sociable grass tennis so if you like the sound of it, get in touch and join up.

Phennards has a long history of club tournaments. The Coronation Cup has been awarded every year since 1937. The Ian Edwards cup was added later, and is keenly contested.