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The Club was formed in 1837
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The Club was formed in Southampton, where its magnificent Club house dating from 1846 still stands opposite the Royal Pier.
The Club’s archives record the annual regattas, the parlous state of its finances through most of the nineteenth century, and the issues of the time. These include a request in 1914 from the Captain of the then Royal yacht to fly the Club’s burgee, which permission the Committee imperiously conceded, but only when His Majesty was actually on board !
However, long before then the pattern of yachting was changing from a small number of very large yachts to many more, smaller yachts and day boats.
The Club's records show that it gave the first races for the new Metre boat Classes in 1909 and for the XODs in 1924, both Classes that we continue to support now.
As Southampton grew as a port, so yachting became cut off from its sailing waters until the Club, after over 100 years, took the bold step in 1947 of selling its Southampton base and moving to Hamble. The cottages, originally leased, are now part of the Club's extensive Club house facilities which have been added to significantly over the last ten years.
The Club has organised an Annual Regatta at Cowes since 1927 and is one of the organising Clubs of Cowes Week. It has been at the forefront of many innovations including the Solent Points series in 1970, the ‘Lionheart' challenge for the America's Cup in 1980 and many championships since.
The annals of the Club in Victorian times provide a fascinating view of what was then a very traditional gentlemen's club that managed to hold against providing any facilities at all for ladies until 1926!
Those days are long gone and now the Royal Southern is open equally to men and women who share our interest in sailing.
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The Story Begins . .
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When the club came into existence in 1837 it was called the Royal Southampton Yacht Club.
In the main, yachts were very large.
Over 200 tons Thames Measurement was not uncommon, professional skippers and crews were customary; they were employed only during the summer and in the winter worked as fishermen or served in home trade vessels.
The Club had Queen Victoria as its patron, and of course retains to this day a highly-prized association with royalty.
In 1840 it was granted the privilege of wearing the White Ensign defaced with the Coat of Arms of Southampton.
Its entrance fee was one guinea and the annual subscription two guineas.
It is in 1844 that, having no funds in hand and wishing to stage an enlarged regatta, the Club decided to increase the entrance fee and alter the name to the "Royal Southern Yacht Club".
Less than two years after its new name and embarking upon a policy of expansion came the great day when on 8th August, 1846 the "Royal Southern Yacht Club House" was opened.
It was, and is, a truly splendid building on Town Quay, exactly opposite the entrance to the Royal Pier, in Southampton; it has been described as the most beautiful Victorian building in the City.
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Mr Robert Wright |
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The building did not belong to the Club and, indeed, there was no formal tenancy agreement nor had the rent been settled.
It had been built by Robert Wright, a Vice-Commodore of the Club, whose portrait hangs to this day in the Club House.
The rent was subsequently agreed at £350 p.a.
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Lord Cardigan elected Commodore
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The following year, Lord Cardigan (of Balaclava fame) was elected Commodore, an office which he held for no less than 20 years.
His Lordship's influence in high places was undeniable, and soon after taking office he obtained for the Club the privilege which of course it still retains of flying an un-defaced Blue Ensign.
A few years later, during which Lord Cardigan had given his attention to his military duties in the Crimea, the Club invited him to dine with the Members "in order to evince the gratification of the Members at his safe return from the Crimea and the high sense they entertain of his noble and gallant conduct". Later again Lord Cardigan was informed that the Committee was considering moving to cheaper premises or, indeed, winding up.
This crisis seems to have been brought about by the resignation of 24 members. We do not know the size of the membership in those days, but for some years the average attendance at General Meetings had been six, so it may well be that the membership, though no doubt well to do, was modest in number.
These were sad times indeed. A levy of £2 10s per head, the second in just a few years was imposed, and then what must have seemed the cruellest blow of all, the closing of the Clubhouse.
Poignant must have been the passing at a General Meeting of a formal resolution that "…the Royal Southern Yacht Club still exists, notwithstanding the present House being closed".
After a few months in which it was homeless, the Club rented part of the Pier Hotel, furnished, for a term of three years. If the Committee heaved a sigh of relief at thus finding a safe harbour they were swiftly disillusioned, for in less than six months the Club was expelled form its quarters consequent on the seizure of all the furniture belonging to their landlord under a Bill of Sale.
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Lord Cardigan (from official photograph) |
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Once more on the street, this time the Club took refuge in a room over "Forbes and Bennett's Shop", and once again a farming-out arrangement was made. This tenancy lasted less than a year, and was followed by brief occupancy of a room whose address is unknown.
In 1865, however, the Club moved into a large room in the Dolphin Hotel, a venerable building still very much in existence just below the Bargate in Southampton.
It is not clear how long this occupation lasted but in 1877 the Club's Secretary rented a house "in the best part of the High Street" and ran it as the Clubhouse. We do not know where this house was, but we do know that there were to be "no games on Sundays, Good Friday and Christmas Day". Billiards and Whist were among the most important activities of the better yacht clubs in those days.
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Lady Cardigan
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The death of Lord Cardigan in 1868 must have represented a milestone in the Club's history, and even if recollections of his long term of office were fading, in 1874 they must have been revived when, the office of Commodore having once again become vacant, a General Meeting considered a letter from Lady Cardigan "asking the Club to take into consideration her application to be elected Commodore of the Club".
It goes without saying that not only did the Club have no lady members at this time, but that no less than 50 years later a proposal to provide "ladies toilet accommodation" was withdrawn from a General Meeting.
Be that as it may, the reply, which was sent to Her Ladyship, can hardly fail to arouse one's admiration for the draughtsman and deserves to be quoted verbatim. "….the Club will always retain a lively feeling of gratitude and respect for their former Commodore, the Earl of Cardigan and that the members are fully sensible of the compliment paid the club by her Ladyship's suggestion that she be elected to the office now again vacant.
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But the members present at this meeting are unanimously of the opinion that the election of a Lady to the office of Commodore would be so inconsistent with all precedent and so obviously inconvenient in practice that they regret extremely their inability to give effect to her Ladyship's flattering proposal."
It could not, however, be suggested that her ladyship did not qualify as a yacht owner since she appears in Lloyd's Register of Yachts as the owner of "Screw/Schooner "Sea Horse" 306 tons, 143 ft. x 21 ft. x 10 ft. Iron Built in Glasgow in 1867" powered (remarkably) by a 60 H.P. inverted 2 cylinder engine, 30 in. diameter by 22 in. stroke.
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Ladies "Permitted to view the Regatta Cups"
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It seems that the Club remained in the High Street house until 1886, when the wheel turned full circle and it negotiated a lease of "Bugle Hall" - "the house originally built for it" - at a rental of £100 p.a. for 7, 14, 21, years, with an option to buy the freehold at £2,700 during that term. What a commentary on the stability of sterling at that time!
It is not difficult therefore to imagine the exquisite delicacy of the situation which arose, when it seemed likely that members of the Royal Family - and it must be remembered that Queen Victoria was a Patron of the Club - might be landing at the Royal Pier, immediately opposite the Clubhouse, and visit the Club.
Can it have been without some gritting of teeth that the Committee resolved "in the event of any members of the Royal Family landing at the Royal Pier, ladies be admitted to the Club on that day".
Those who saw this as the thin edge of an uncommonly sinister wedge were no doubt fortified in their pessimism when, barely six months later, the Committee decided to permit ladies to enter the Club "on Thursday the tenth to view the Regatta Cups."
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The Club continued for nearly 20 years to occupy the Clubhouse under its lease, but in 1904 there came the great day when "having authorised the raising of £2,500 by an issue of debentures, the Committee bought the freehold for £2,000.
This was indeed a milestone in its history, achieved some 60 years after it had first set foot in the building and an intervening period which had seen it housed in so many temporary quarters.
Secure at long last in ownership of this splendid Clubhouse, the Club was able to enjoy for a few years a period of relative peace and development.
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Introduction of Lady Members
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But what some must have seen as a sinister movement inside the body politic became manifest when the Committee resolved that "members are permitted to introduce ladies personally known to them and accompanied by them to the coffee room and adjoining veranda between the hours of 12 noon and 7 p.m.
From 1st June to 30th September, their names and addresses with the name of the introducer to be entered in a book and kept for that purpose".
In 1910 King George V honoured the Club by consenting to become its Patron in succession to the late King Edward VII.
His yacht Britannia was, of course, a prominent feature of the Solent racing scene.
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When Britannia's captain wrote, with what was no doubt regarded as proper deference, to enquire whether it would be in order for His Majesty to fly the Royal Southern Yacht Club Burgee on the yacht, the Committee displayed the firmness of purpose already mentioned when it replied "Yes, His Majesty the King will be in order in flying the burgee of the Royal Southern Yacht Club if he or a member of his family is on board. Otherwise the burgee of the Royal Southern Yacht Club should not be used on Britannia".
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First World War
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With the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, surprisingly, the Clubhouse continued to be much used; it was evidently much in demand by officers of the Services and it is significant that the figures show substantial increase in revenue for "Drink" and "Beds", coupled with a fall in subscription and billiard room takings.
But after the Armistice and the production of accounts for the war years it became painfully evident that there were alarming arrears of maintenance and "part of the building was absolutely dangerous". The financing of the essential repairs caused considerable concern and was not accomplished without great difficulty.
Another topic of concern was a formal proposal at a General Meeting not only to establish both a Ladies Room and Ladies toilet accommodation, but also to permit members to introduce ladies as guests "during such hours and to such portions of the premises as the Committee might decide".
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This alarming proposal was swept under the rug on the footing that it, "……would be dealt with in connection with the revision of the Rules". Indeed, the very next year, the Annual General Meeting's Agenda included a proposal to provide a Writing Room for lady visitors.
That the rearguard was still full of fight is shown by its success in carrying a resolution "…..that the Committee consider the question of a Lady Visitors Room, but not to interfere with the present billiard rooms".
What is more, they held the pass, for the next year's Annual General Meeting was told that in response to "overwhelming" opposition, the proposed admission of ladies was dropped.
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A Second Club House in Hamble
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In 1925 comes the first hint of change, when the Committee considered favourably a suggestion to have a second clubhouse at Hamble for the convenience of yachting members.
It was about this time that the development of the Port of Southampton caused some concern, at any rate among the Committee, to contemplate the possibility that the Club would be constrained either to establish an annexe elsewhere or even leave the City altogether.
The next few years were to see this - to many, a painful possibility - becoming increasingly urgent.
In 1930 two interesting and conflicting indications of the Club's situation are afforded by the publication of an alarmingly weak Balance Sheet simultaneously with the announcement that at the Regatta at Cowes that year, a cup given by H.M. King George V had been won by a member of the Club, Lord Camrose, in his "Cambria".
Two years later many members had resigned as a result of the economic depression and a year later membership had fallen to 164.
A Special General Meeting was called to consider admitting Lady members and Junior Sailing Members. This momentous step was approved, as was another sign of the changing times, a proposal to establish a 14ft Dinghy Class based on a design by Charles Nicholson and Uffa Fox.
Next year yet another operating loss was revealed but the membership had increased.
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View of the period cottages - still in use
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Believed to be the Cambria
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Proposed Sale of Southampton Club House
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Changing times, indeed! In 1934 another Special General Meeting was called to authorise the sale of the (Southampton) Clubhouse and the purchase of the one at Hamble, a revolutionary proposal on which, in the event a decision was postponed until next year's Annual General Meeting.
When that meeting arrived, the Flag Officers' recommendation was made, but no decision on the issue is recorded in the Minutes.
Seemingly out of a clear sky, Members are told that their Committee has taken a lease of premises at Hamble, the rent being guaranteed by some of the Members personally "as the Club could not afford to do this on available funds".
It is clear that the Hamble premises which consisted of two cottages named "Quai" and "Magnolia" were to constitute no more than an addition to the Southampton Clubhouse and various changes in the Rules were made to take account of the "Hamble Annex" as it was then called.
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At the Annual General Meeting in April 1938 gloom understandably predominated. "Local members for whom the Club was mainly run were not making use of the (Southampton) Clubhouse".
It was said frankly that it would be honest to wind up the Club while it was still (just about) solvent.
On the strength of guarantees by two members, the meeting agreed to take a third cottage at Hamble. No more than two months later a Special General Meeting, made what must have been the extremely painful decision to close the Southampton Clubhouse within three months and offer it for sale.
The root cause of the Club's troubles was succinctly identified as "The Development of the Port of Southampton which has destroyed it as a yachting centre".
But amidst all this gloom and trauma the ladies were slowly, very slowly, inching their way forward. In 1938 an alteration in the in the rules allowed them - "….provided they are accompanied by their husbands" - to occupy Club bedrooms.
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The Second World War
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Early in the following year the merits of the courageous decision to leave Southampton began to manifest themselves; membership was steadily increasing and had reached 361 in April. But, of course, the outbreak of the Second World War was not far away, and soon the Club found itself struggling to survive in a country on a war footing. But two factors brought some relief.
The vacant Southampton Clubhouse had been requisitioned by the Admiralty at a rent which would pay the interest on the Club's overdraft and effect a modest annual reduction in it; further, the Hamble Clubhouse was being used extensively by the fighting services.
Despite the war, membership in 1942 stood at 253.
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With the end of the War the Committee was authorised to sell the Southampton premises, and, after what must have been many anxieties, the old Clubhouse fetched sufficient not only to clear all the Club's debts but also to leave the Club with a few thousand pounds in hand.
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Expansion in The Hamble
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Its ambition to own the freehold of its premises, coupled with unpromising negotiations with its Hamble landlords, led to examination of the merits of several other premises, both in Hamble and Bursledon. At long last, however, and with less than five years of its lease yet to run, they succeeded in 1960 in negotiating the purchase of the freehold.
It was financed in the first instance by a bank overdraft repayable within six months, guaranteed by an anonymous member, the advance to be repaid by an issue of debentures.
This coupled with rising membership figures, which indeed had to be firmly constrained, marked the point at which the Club can be seen to embark on a period of sustained improvement and consolidation.
Notably, it saw the building of the River Room and the balcony above it, together with a major refurbishing of its kitchens, and a bold step forward by the purchase of the land adjoining the Clubhouse.
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It was during these years that it became the challenging Club in entering "Lionheart" in a bid to win the America's Cup and played a substantial part in the organisation of a regatta based on Brighton Marina for 12 metre yachts.
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Hamble Today
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The "bold step forward" by the purchase of the land to the north of the Clubhouse was to prove a landmark in the Club's history and face the management with a formidable task in the years ahead.
A gratifying product of the new land was the opportunity for young members to learn to sail.
This took the form of "Splash Club" with a fleet of over thirty Optimist dinghies. This venture went from strength to strength and happily reflected "The encouragement of yacht sailing" which had long formed part of the Club's constitution.
What might be termed a sizeable office block was erected on the new land and formally opened in 1995 by the Club's Admiral, HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
As might be expected, the considerable area of land remaining presented the Club's management with a daunting array of options and problems.
Of the outcome, perhaps it would be sufficient to record that there was a warm welcome by the membership for the greatly enlarged Clubhouse, opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1998 and designed to provide improved facilities for all members, particularly ladies and young people; to complement the new building were new dry sailing, boat and car parking arrangements.
It is hardly necessary to emphasize that these pages do not pretend to do more than give some glimpses of the Club's long, sometimes stormy and hazardous passage since its birth in 1837. Much has been omitted.
Perhaps the most serious omission is the absence of any attempt to record the debt which the Club owes to all those who, from that day to this, have given their time, skill, and imagination to all the planning, working and worrying which has succeeded in building the Club which we are able to enjoy today.
To them, perhaps, we might just apply Christopher Wren's famous epitaph.
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HRH Prince Phillip |
"If you require a monument, look around you"
Researched and written by RSrnYC Member Mr David Dunn 2005 |
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