The Essex Championships[1] also known as the Essex County Lawn Tennis Championships or Essex Grass Court Championships was a combined men's and women's grass court tennis tournament established in 1881 at Brentwood, Essex. In 1946 it was moved to the Frinton Lawn Tennis Club, Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, Great Britain until 1983 when it was discontinued.
History
The Essex Championships were established in 1881 at Brentwood Essex, England [2] and continued to be staged there until 1884. In 1887 the event was then staged Leyton. It changed location again in 1888 and was held in Chingford till 1889. It switched back to Leyton, Essex for one year only in 1890. From 1891 it moved to the Cambridge Grounds, Colchester[3] where it remained until 1918. Staged briefly at Frinton-on-Sea in 1919 it then moved to Southend-on-Sea until 1922.[4] In 1923 the championships were held at Westcliff-on-Sea[2] till 1946. The championships returned to Frinton-on-Sea and stayed there till the tournament was abolished after eighty five editions in 1983. The event featured both men's and women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles competitions.[5]
Finals
Notes: Challenge round: The final round of a tournament, in which the winner of a single-elimination phase faces the previous year's champion, who plays only that one match. The challenge round was used in the early history of tennis (from 1877 through 1921) [6] in some tournaments not all.
Men's singles
Herbert Roper Barrett won 13 men's singles titles.
^ abDoubleday, Herbert Arthur (1923). The Victoria History of the County of Essex. London, England: A. Constable, Limited. p. 95.
^Sport and Athletics in 1908: An Annual Register Including the Results of the Year 1908 (to November) of All the Important Events in Athletics, Games, and Every Form of Sport in the United Kingdom, Together with the Winners, Records, and Notable Achievements of Past Years ; Also a Full List of Results in the Olympic Games. London, England: Chapman & Hall. 1908. pp. 311–312.
^Salmon, Edward; Worsfold, James (1923). The British Dominions Year Book. Cheltenham, England: Eagle, Star and British Dominions Insurance Company. p. 318.
^"Abolition of Challenge Rounds". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. EVENING POST, VOLUME CIII, ISSUE 65, 20 MARCH 1922. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
^ abcMorris, James; Hegedus, Tomas (2013). "1877 to 2012 Finals Results". www.stevegtennis.com. stevegtennis. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
^ abOrcutt, William Dana (1897). Official Lawn Tennis Bulletin Volume 4. White Plains, New York, USA: United States Lawn Tennis Association. pp. 247–248.
Orcutt, William Dana (1897). Official Lawn Tennis Bulletin Volume 4. White Plains, New York, USA: United States Lawn Tennis Association.
Sport and Athletics in 1908: An Annual Register Including the Results of the Year 1908 (to November) of All the Important Events in Athletics, Games, and Every Form of Sport in the United Kingdom, Together with the Winners, Records, and Notable Achievements of Past Years ; Also a Full List of Results in the Olympic Games. London, England: Chapman & Hall. 1908.
Tennis Events". The Illustrated London News Volume 263. London, England: Illustrated London News & Sketch Limited. 1975.
Warwick Daily News (Qld. : 1919 -1954). 19 July 1949.
Further reading
Ayre's Lawn Tennis Almanack And Tournament Guide, 1908 to 1938, A. Wallis Myers.
British Lawn Tennis and Squash Magazine, 1948 to 1967, British Lawn Tennis Ltd, UK.
Dunlop Lawn Tennis Almanack And Tournament Guide, G.P. Hughes, 1939 to 1958, Dunlop Sports Co. Ltd, UK
Lawn tennis and Badminton Magazine, 1906 to 1973, UK.
Lowe's Lawn Tennis Annuals and Compendia, Lowe, Sir F. Gordon, Eyre & Spottiswoode
Spalding's Lawn Tennis Annuals from 1885 to 1922, American Sports Pub. Co, USA.
The World of Tennis Annuals , Barrett John, 1970 to 2001.