Hertford College Boat Club
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Hertford College Boat Club
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| Established | 1875 | |||||
| Men's Headship | 1881 | |||||
| Location | Isis | |||||
| President | Phillip Davies | |||||
| Hertford College Boat Club | ||||||
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Hertford College Boat Club (commonly abbreviated to HCBC ) is a rowing club for members of both Hertford College, Oxford and Templeton College, with which it is affiliated. It is based in the Longbridges boathouse on the Isis, which is owned by the college and shared with St Hilda's, St Catz, St Benet's and Mansfield.
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[edit] History
[edit] The Early Days of the Boat Club
The years after the re-foundation of the College were among the golden years of the college boat club. The following extract is taken from the Introduction written by E. Buckin in the second Secretary's book and details the early history of the club.
Having to begin a new Secretary's Book, at a time when we have reached the highest possible point of success I have thought it best to begin from the foundation of the Club - rewriting the facts from the Old Book - and giving a short history of the College Boat Club.
'Hertford College was in 1874 re-founded as the new embodiment of Magdalen Hall, which was absorbed by it - (all its members being incorporated, and its buildings occupied by Hertford College). The 'Blue-Black' of the Hall had, as far as O.U.B.C. races are concerned, disappeared from the river in 1873 when their Eight was bumped over two places by Worcester College. The new Boat Club was really properly started in October 1875, when the first Captain (A. F. Thornhill) was elected - and the new colours (crimson and white) of the College made their appearance on the River in the following term when the first Torpid was put on. The debut gave some promise but was not very successful as having to change a man in the middle of the races the boat lost the two places it had gained - and here one may remark that one is at loss to account for the want of success which has always attended our Torpids, only one of them ever having risen, while the Eight has gone steadily from 20th to Head of the River in 1881. In this last Eight there were first hands recruited from the Torpid. The first Eight made its appearance in May 1876, and rose four places. After this we have only to chronicle success. The Eight starting nineteenth in 1878, rose in that year six places to thirteenth - in 1879 five places to eighth - in 1880 three places to fifth - and in 1881 with five new hands when everything looked worst we rose the remaining four places 'Head of the River'...
'Through the energy of the Principal (Dr. Boyd) the College in November, 1878, became possessors of a Barge, which no doubt has been very conductive to our success. As to financial matters one cannot speak with so much pleasure and satisfaction for up till quite a recent date the College has not really been large enough to support its success which has entailed a somewhat heavy expenditure. But as the College has grown considerably and as efforts have been and are being made to clear off the debt that remains, it is hoped that we shall soon be able to speak of the Club as a financial success.
'What has been done in the past is certainly due in a great measure to the hearty and practical interest which has been taken in the welfare of the College and its Boat Club. We shall hope to see this interest and enthusiasm increase with the success it has created, and if it does we are satisfied that the College will maintain a high position in the University.'
One consequence of being Head of the River in 1881 was that Hertford burnt its boats. The following letter was sent to T. G. Jackson, of whom more anon, whilst he was engaged on the restoration of the Bodleian Library. It was sent by Mr Madden, sub-librarian:
Bodleian Library
26 May 1881
Dear Mr Jackson,
Last night at about 10:45 I saw out of my window a blaze of light near the Bodleian, which at once reminded me of Hertford being head of the river and of concomitant festivities, so I went and saw that not only were rockets, bombs, and every form of firework being let off in all directions (chiefly upward) in the front quad of Hertford, but also a huge bonfire was blazing just within the great gates of the College, fed with tables and chairs by a mad set of undergraduates who were chiefly occupied in dancing insanely round it. The sparks were flying straight up to about the level of the Schools tower, which, as you know is swathed in wood-work and tarpaulins. Had there been any touch of east wind there would certainly have been showers of sparks all over the tower...
No notice had been given to any of us of the obvious danger if the wind had blown towards the library and the Senior Proctor (one of the curators) had, I am told, specially sanctioned the fires... We stayed on the scaffolding until 2a.m. when the men seemed to have gone to bed but it is so striking an instance of danger in a quiet summer town that you will pardon my telling you of it...
Very truly yours
J. MADDEN
[edit] Later Years
1997 saw the opening of the fantastic new boathouse which replaced the older boathouse on the same site.
The club room has a magical feel to it: adorning the walls of the club room are the names of all those who have captained Hertford, those who have represented Oxford against Cambridge and those who have been champions, most notably Paul Mattick, currently the reigning world champion as part of the GB Lightweight Men's 4- crew that won at the 2007 World Rowing Championships in Munich. Paul began rowing at Hertford and maintains his connection to the boat club as Women's 1st VIII coach.
Also on the site is a fantastic erg room, changing facilities, kitchen/bar and of course the boat bays.
The years since the construction of the boat house have been highly successful with both the men's and women's sides achieving numerous sets of blades, in fact Hertford were the most successful college in Torpids 2006!
[edit] The Fire
On Monday July 4 2005 the Longbridges Boathouse that accommodates Hertford and several other college boat clubs was damaged by a fire. In an incident that the police identified as arson, the building remained undamaged but twenty-six boats were destroyed by the heat of the fire. The boat storage area as well as two clubrooms suffered severe smoke damage.
Upon investigation the cause of the fire was attributed to incendiary devices which had been placed in the Eight's bays. Responsibility for the fire was claimed by members of the Oxford Arson Squad via the ALF's group website.[1] The fire wiped out the entire fleet of eights, including the newly acquired Women's Filippi, however the small boats stored in a different bay were undamaged. Fortunately Hertford held a good insurance policy which has allowed for the purchase of a new fleet and all the boats which were burnt have now been replaced by ones of a similar if not higher quality.
[edit] Facilities
[edit] Fleet
The boat club is one of the best equipped on the Isis, thanks in no small part to insurance money following the fire, and aims to buy a new eight every three years.
[edit] Men's Boats
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- Raymond Sims Evolution Newgen 8+ (2005)
- Stampfli 8+ (2006) (Templeton)
- Janousek 8+ (2005)
- Aylings 8+
- Lola-Aylings 4+ (Templeton)
- Janousek 4+
- Raymond Sims Evolution Newgen 8+ (2005)
[edit] Women's Boats
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- Stampfli 8+ (2005)
- Janousek 8+ (2005)
- Janousek 8+
- Stelph 4+/x (2005)
- Stampfli 8+ (2005)
[edit] Shared
- Lola Aylings 2x/-
- Filippi 1x (2007) (Currently stored elsewhere and used by P.Mattick as part of his preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympics)
- Stelph 1x
- Janousek 1x
[edit] Erg Room
The club owns an impressive erg room containing 8 Concept C ergs (and sliders) with large mirrors lining one wall so that you can see and improve your technique.
[edit] Club Room
Above the boat bays is a large club room, a great place to chat about outings, do circuit sessions, relax in between races or hold after event parties whilst looking out over the Isis! Adjoining this space are changing facilities for men and women, a warm shower and a kitchen/bar for Pimms and beer after a warm summer's day race! Hertford also owns a Rowperfect machine, which analyses a rowers stroke and compares it to those of World Champions, or someone else in your crew!
[edit] Hertford Rowing Bursary
The Hertford College Boat Club rowing bursaries are awards of up to £1000 a year for the students of the college who do the most to promote Hertford rowing. They are open to male and female, graduate and undergraduate students. To find out more, take a look at the HCBC Website.
[edit] Society
Hertford has a strong rowing history and this is reflected by the active role that the boat club society plays in the running of the club. The highlight of the year is the AGM, held in the club house it provides a great opportunity for past members to meet old friends and current rowers to discover just how much things haven't changed! This is followed by the annual Society boat race, pitting past rowers against the current 1st VIII's, unfortunately the bookies don't take bets on this one! Society members also receive the "Blades" magazine which is published regularly and keeps them up to date with the current success of the club. To find out more, take a look at the HCBC Website.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Anti-vivisectionists claim responsibility for Oxford attack | Special Reports | EducationGuardian.co.uk
