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Person code |
DS/UK/25133 |
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Corporate name |
St Andrew Boat Club, Edinburgh |
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Activity |
The St Andrew Boat Club, the oldest amateur rowing club in Scotland, was founded in Edinburgh in 1846. Permission was obtained to have boats on the Union Canal, the first members were admitted at fixed subscriptions, laws drawn up and a club room secured at Fountainbridge. Initially Oxford and Cambridge graduates who wished to continue rowing made up the majority of the membership. By 1848 races were being held against such opposition as the Grange Cricket Club and the army. The members also held an annual regatta on the Union Canal at Hermiston. Military bands were engaged and the occasion provided popular summer entertainment. In 1851 a boat house and dressing room were built and 3 new boats acquired. In 1853 Port Hermiston club house was obtained to provide additional premises some distance from the city. After an unsuccessful attempt to feu ground on the banks of the canal at Viewforth, the Club eventually moved to its present site at Craiglockhart. The records also reflect the club's social activities, including the annual St Andrew's Day dinner, first held in 1850, and the brilliant and fashionable fancy dress balls first held in 1853 and staged triennially from 1861. These activities continued through to 1939, interrupted only by the First World War.
The Club remianed in existence after 1939, but only restarted rowing in 1955. The current 'shed' was erected at Meggetland in 1984. The club has provided rowers for the Scottish team at various Empire and Commonwealth Games and Regattas. |
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Dates |
1846- |
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Associated records |
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| GD418 | Records of the St Andrew Boat Club, Edinburgh. | 1846-1989 |
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