The Southdean Covered Court Championships was an indoor tennis tournament established in 1934 at the Southdean Sports Club, Middleton-on-Sea, West Sussex, England. The championships ran until 1952 when they were discontinued.
History In 1922 Sir Walter Aston Blount, 10th Baronet created a New City holiday resort in the former seaplane factory south of the church. One of the hangars accommodated a dance hall and another indoor tennis courts; there were also outdoor tennis courts, a putting green.A P Baggs and H M Warne. "Middleton-on-Sea," in A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 5 Part 1, Arundel Rape: South-Western Part, Including Arundel, ed. T P Hudson (London: Victoria County History, 1997), 190-204. British History Online, accessed January 17, 2023, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/sussex/vol5/pt1/pp190-204.
The New City had its own hotel accommodation, dairy, farm, ice generating plant, and mineral water factory, besides a laundry, hairdressing rooms, and lending library.British History Online By 1934 the New City had become the Southdean hotel and sports club, which in 1937 was open to nonresidents, and which by then could offer squash courts and a sea-water swimming pool.British History Online In 1934 the Southdean Covered Court Championships was established at the Southdean Sports Club. The championships were staged through till 1952 before being discontinued.
Venue The Southdean Sports Club was founded in 1934.Bognor Regis Observer (1939) In 1953 the club's facilities included two covered courts and two badminton courts for indoor use plus six grass courts, and four hard clay courts for outdoor tennis. In 1997 Southdean Sports Club was renamed to the Middleton Sports Club.
Finals Men's singles (Incomplete roll): YearWinnerFinalistScore1936 Frank Wilde Henry Billington8-6, 6-0.1937 Frank Wilde (2) Murray Deloford6-3, 6-8, 6-3.1938 Choy Wai-Chuen Henry Billington5-7, 6-3, 6-4.1940/1945Not held (due to World War Ii)1949 Paddy Roberts Howard Walton6-4, 1-6, 6-4. 1950 Gerry Oakley Derrick Leyland8-6, 6-3. 1951 Gerry Oakley (2) George Godsell10-12, 8-6, ret.. 1952 Ignacy Tłoczyński Gerry Oakley9-7, 6-4.
Women's singles (Incomplete roll) YearWinnerFinalistScore 1936 Audrey Wright Mary Whitmarsh 6-3, 0-6, 10-8 1937 Valerie Scott Audrey Wright 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 1938 Gladys Southwell Rosemary Thomas 7-5, 6-4 1939 Freda James Hammersley Thelma Jarvis 7-5, 6-31940/1945Not held (due to World War II) 1949 Kay Stammers Menzies Jean Walker-Smith 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 1950 Betty Smith Coutts Gladys Lines 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 1951 Angela Mortimer Gay Moorhouse Chandler 6-2, 6-4 1952 Angela Mortimer (2) Mary Harris 6-1, 6-1
References