Leamington will host annual tennis match for Bowen Bowl against Warwick Boat Club

Twelve mixed pairs from each club will take part in the contest which starts at 9.30 am at Guy’s Cliffe, Leamington.

The first game of tennis was played on a court next door to the old Manor Hotel in Avenue Road in 1874 when Major Harry Gem, a local solicitor, and his friend Augurio Perera, played two doctors from the Warneford Hospital. The Renshaw brothers, who lived in Leamington, dominated the All-England Championships throughout the 1880s, and played in the Jephson Garden tournament for the “Open Challenge Cup,” which was contested until the late 1920s.

The Bowen Bowl, a rose bowl “Seasons” manufactured by Elkingtons of Birmingham in 1888, is similar in all respects to the Venus Rosewater with its silver inlay presented to the winner of the ladies’ singles title played at Wimbledon each year, differing in that it is gold plated in its entirety. Elkington made a limited number of rose bowls, but few survive. There are examples in the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Louvre, and Cutler’s Hall, and of course Wimbledon.

The annual match promotes tennis, its association with Warwick district, bringing the two rival clubs together in sporting competition and social harmony.

The prize money for the eagerly awaited contest, sponsored by Boat Club member Jon Isaacs, of chartered financial advisers Isaacs Wealth & Benefits, has been gifted by both clubs to the charities Helping Hands and Age UK Coventry and Warwickshire. The Bowen family has been associated with both clubs for many years and the bowl has been in its possession since 1924.