The Edgbaston Open Tournament^[1] was an early Victorian era men's and women's grass court tennis tournament first staged in June 1881,^[2] at the Edgbaston Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club, Edgbaston, Warwickshire, England. This distinct tournament ran until 1908.

History

Edgbaston Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club founded in 1878 and continued to stage both events the Edgbaston Open Tournament until 1908 and the Midland Counties until November 1964.^[3] Priory Lawn Tennis Club founded in 1865 and in May 1963 the Priory Club was destroyed by a fire,^[4] talks about merger took place of the coming months with the Edgbaston C.L.T.C.^[5] In December 1964 the new club was formed the Edgbaston Priory Club,^[6] which continued to host the Midland Counties event until 1977.

The Edgbaston Open Tournament was established on 21 July 1881,^[7] and first staged at the ground of Edgbaston Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club, in Hall Hill Road, Edgbaston.

A description of the event that concluded on 23 July 1881:

On July 20th, 21st and 22nd, the Edgbaston Open Tournament was held with four competitions. Ladies' Singles went to Miss. M. Watson; Doubles, Miss. Watson and Miss. M. Watson. Gentleman's singles was won by W.W. Chamberlain; Doubles, by J.G. and W.W. Chamberlain, beating F. Goodacre and F.W. Rawlinson.

— Lawn Tennis in 1881, Routledge's Sporting Annual (1882). p. 69.

On 5 September 1882 the second edition of the Edgbaston Open Lawn Tennis Tournament was held, on the same dates and venue a dual tournament was staged called the Midland Counties Lawn Tennis Tournament (1882-1977),^[8] the men's singles was won by Mr. R.W. Smith, and the Edgbaston Open Tournament was won by George Reston Brewerton. This tournament continued to be held separately to that of the counties championship until 1908.

Edgbaston Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club was in the early decades of the two clubs the more socially prestigious and nationally high-profile, and better resourced. The focus of the Priory Club was more local but its growth was similarly impressive. The Priory Club’s tournaments and prizes were more restrained than Edgbaston’s. Priory Club tournament was played on six courts rather than Edgbaston’s twelve.

— The History of Edgbaston Priory Club (2013) by Dr. Matt Cole: Historian Edgbaston Priory Club. Page 2.^[9]

Finals

Incomplete Roll

Mens Singles

Year	Winner	Runner-up	Score
1881	Walter William Chamberlain	F.S. Goodwin	6-3, 6-1, 6-4
1882	George Reston Brewerton	John Redfern Deykin	6-8, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2
1883	Charles Walder Grinstead	Teddy Williams	6-3, 6-3
1884	Teddy Williams	Walter William Chamberlain	8-6, 6-2, 6-3
1885	Alfred Henry Betham	Walter William Chamberlain	6-1, 6-3, 8-6
1886	John Redfern Deykin	C.H. Rossbent	shared title
1887	Percy Bateman Brown	G.E. Lowe	6-3, 7-5, 6-2
1888	James Baldwin	Charles Hoadley Ashe Ross	7-9, 6-0, 6-2, 6-4
1889	James Baldwin (2)	John Redfern Deykin	6-4, 6-4, 6-4
1890	James Baldwin (3)	Alfred Ernest Crawley	6-3, 6-3, 6-0
1891	R.A. Bennett	John Redfern Deykin	?
1892	Henry Guy Nadin	G.F. Goodman	6-2, 6-2, 6-2
1893	George Ball-Greene	Henry Lawrence Fleming	6-8, 6-1, 6-0, 6-3
1894	Wilfred Baddeley	Harry Sibthorpe Barlow	6-2, 4-6, 0-6, 6-4, 6-4
1895	Sydney Howard Smith	Roy Allen	5-7, 6-3, 9-7
1897	George Hillyard	Sydney Howard Smith	divided title
1906	E.V. Jones	Ernest George Bisseker	6-0, 6-1, 6-2
1908	E.V. Jones (2)	Frederick A. L'Estrange Burgess	6-2, 6-1, 6-1

References

Sources

• Birmingham Daily Post. Thursday 23 August 1883. Birmingham, Warwickshire. England.
• Cole, Dr. Matt (2013). "History" (PDF). edgbastonpriory.com. Edgbaston Priory Club, Edgbaston, Birmingham, England.
• Heritage, (2021). edgbastonpriory.com. Edgbaston, Birmingham, England.