Patrick Comerford
During my recent visits to Bedford, I have enjoyed walks along the riverfront, where Bedford Rowing Club is an ever-present part of life in the town. Rowing has been part of Bedford for many years and Bedford Rowing Club is in a picturesque setting on the banks of the River Great Ouse below the Town Bridge and facing the Swan Hotel.
Bedford Regatta was founded in 1853, but there is no record of a rowing clubs in Bedford until 1886. Bedford Rowing Club was founded on 15 March 1886 at a meeting called by the Mayor and attended by a dozen or so people. The club was formed as the Bedford Amateur Rowing Club, with amateurs only eligible for membership, and the boathouse first used by the club was at Batts Ford, where Star Club now stands.
During the following two years, boats were bought from Chetham and Biffin and Chetham and Biffin soon agreed to house the boats at their Duck Mill boathouse, the club’s present home.
The club name was changed to the Bedford Rowing and Sailing Club in 1888 at a meeting that also agreed on black and white as the club colours be black and white. Many generation of the Wells brewing family were closely identified with the club, Charles Wells was elected commodore of the sailing section of the Club and a regatta was organised that September.
The club changed its name back to Bedford Rowing Club in 1902 and the colours were changed to maroon, white and blue. Talks took place that year with Bedford Grammar School and Bedford Modern School on proposals for a joint boathouse at Longholme.
No racing took place during World War I. But soon after the war the first light racing eight oared boat was bought from Trinity College, Oxford, for £40 in 1920, and an eight was entered for the first time at Bedford Regatta.
The club moved to a shared boathouse at Longholme with the Bedford School and Bedford Modern School Boat Clubs in 1922. An eight was entered in the Henley Thames cup for the first time in 1924, and in 1932 an eight was entered for the ‘Head of the River’ race in London for the first time. The club’s first eight rowed in the final of the Thames Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in 1933, but lost to Kent School from the US.
Sir Richard Wells (1879-1957), who was president of the club from 1935 to 1957, was the Conservative MP for Bedford from 1922 to 1945.
Once again, activities were curtailed during World War II, and no activities were recorded between 1942 and 1946. After the war, in the mid-1940s, the club again reached a Henley final, this time in the Double Sculls, but lost.
The acquisition of Chetham’s Boathouse was first discussed in 1957. After R Chetham died in 1960, Chetham’s Boathouse in Duck Mill Lane was leased by the borough corporation to the Trustees of the Bedford Rowing Club for 42 years. A new clubroom and bar were then built, and a separate social club was formed.
A crew from Bedford Rowing Club won through to the final of the Britannia Cup in 1970, and were runners up. A Ward won the gold medal in Junior (Under 18) single sculls at the National Championships in 1974. A Junior Section was then formed, and a women’s section was formed in 1976.
Much of the upper part of the boathouse and the clubroom were destroyed in a fire caused by an intruder in 1984. Members rallied around and over the next few years the boathouse was rebuilt with three gables, and it was extended, with better changing facilities, a gym and training and meeting rooms on the upper floor that had previously only been loft space.
The Rowing Magazine compiled a list of wins every year, awarding points for success. There were over 600 clubs, schools and college rowing clubs in the UK. In the 1989-1990 season, Bedford Rowing Club came second overall and in the next season came top, with more wins than any other club.
The Jackson Trophy, awarded for the fastest provincial club, was won by the club in 1986, 1987, 1991 and 1992. The club won the Trent Head at Nottingham in 1992 with the Women’s Open Eight, and in the same year won Women’s Coxed Fours on the Tideway. Not satisfied with that, the eight split into two fours for Women’s Henley, with both crews reaching the final – the A crew beating the B crew.
A week after the Head in 1998, the club was flooded, as was a large part of south Bedford, and many of the boats were damaged.
Today, Bedford Rowing Club has a strong team of committed rowers, with a large and ever-growing Junior Section. The club regularly competes across the UK at all levels and has a broad membership base, from complete novices and juniors through to senior oarsmen and veterans. The club colours are maroon, white and blue.
The club hosts three Head Races each year as well as a popular Sprint Regatta: the Eights and Fours Head on the second Sunday in February; the Spring Small Boats Head usually on the second Sunday in April, although the date depends on Easter; the Sprint Regatta on the Sunday between Henley Royal Regatta and the National Championships; and the Autumn Small Boats Head on the second Sunday in October.
Bedford Amateur Regatta, founded in 1853, brings competitive rowing to the River Great Ouse in Bedford, and is one of the largest single-day river regattas in the country. Racing takes place through the heart of the town over a 1,200 metre course with races every two minutes with competitors representing schools, colleges and clubs. Events are offered for fours and eights across all categories from J14 upwards including novice and senior.
The organising committee represents all the rowing clubs in the town, and the regatta is one of the key social events in Bedford. The 159th Bedford Amateur Regatta next year takes place on 10 May 2025.
The Riverside Bar at Bedford Rowing Club has a fully licenced bar, lounge area and balcony overlooking the River Great Ouse and the Town Bridge, and serves breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings until midday. With its views over the river as the sun sets, the bar is a popular party venue, and the lounge can be hired for meetings.
Bedford Amateur Regatta has been held on the River Great Ouse in Bedford since 1853 (Patrick Comerford, 2024)
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