The History of Early Lawn Tennis

Join Robert Holland as he explores the early history of lawn tennis and its fascinating connection to Edgbaston.

Starting from the medieval game of real/royal tennis and following it’s evolution right up until the late 19th century, the talk will expand on the story of Harry Gem and Augurio Perera, the game they devised at Perera’s Edgbaston home in the late 1850s and their later club in Royal Leamington Spa – the first lawn tennis club in the world. For local Brummies this talk offers a fascinating slice of local history, uncovering the little-known story of Edgbaston’s connection to the lawn tennis competition at the first modern Olympics in Athens 1896.

About Robert Holland: 

Robert Holland is a former Honorary Secretary and Chairman, now a trustee, of Edgbaston Archery & Lawn Tennis Society and a former council member of the Warwickshire LTA. He is also the founding trustee of the Harry Gem Project which, among other activities, raised the funds and commissioned the restoration of Harry Gem’s grave in Warstone Lane Cemetery in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. In 2019 the Project arranged for blue plaques to be erected at the homes of lawn tennis pioneers Harry Gem and Augurio Perera in Royal Leamington Spa.

Recommended for ages 16+. The talk will take place in the Winterbourne Centre for Horticulture. For any queries about this talk, please email our Learning Officer, Ellie Hill.

All courses, workshops and events at Winterbourne House & Garden are non-refundable unless cancelled by Winterbourne.