City of Cambridge Rowing Club
The club has a long history. Although formally established as the Cambridge Town Rowing Club back in 1863, it had its roots in a local club which was active in Cambridge at least 20 years earlier.
The Club's historic records, which include early minutes, accounts and a fine series of scrapbooks, are deposited with Cambridgeshire Archives.
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Cambridge Town Rowing Eight pictured in 1875. The gentleman in the straw hat is Bill Foster, a well-known local boat builder. Reproduced in '63 Years on the Cam' (Cambridgeshire Archives: R92/91)
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Annual Bumping Races
Organised by the Cambridgeshire Rowing Association, the first town bumping races took place in 1868 with 10 local teams competing. Today, the races remain just as popular (and fiercely competitive). Boats are lined up, bow to stern in a single row along the river and race from Baitsbite Lock to overtake or 'bump' the boats in front.
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Programmes for the Annual Bumping Races
(Cambridgeshire Archives: R92/91)
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Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race
The first Oxford vs Cambridge Boat Race was held on 10 June 1829 at Henley on Thames after two friends, one studying at Oxford, one at Cambridge came up with the idea of an inter-university challenge. Oxford won in a time of 14 minutes, 30 seconds.
From 1856 the race became an annual event run along the course familiar to us today; Putney to Mortlake.
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The Cambridge Boat Race crew in training on the Cam, 1866 near the Plough Inn, Fen Ditton. Cambridge lost the race that year after a dramatic near-collision with a barge.
(Cambridgeshire Archives: R92/91)
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The 1912 Boat Race was beset by gales and snowstorms. Despite the boats being fitted with inflated bladders to give them extra buoyancy, Cambridge, sank just alongside Harrods whilst Oxford met the same fate further down the course at Chiswick. This dramatic sinking was only the second in the history of the race; the Cambridge boat suffered the same fate back in 1859.
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1912 University Boat Race - the Cambridge crew swim for shore.
(Cambridgeshire Archives: R92/91)
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Oxford and Cambridge teams competing in the 1953 University Boat Race. J.R.A. MacMillan, caricatured top right, was a student at Trinity College. He competed in the double skulls at the Helsinki Olympics the previous year at the age of 20. (Cambridgeshire Archives R92/91)
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Steve Fairbairn
Steve Fairbairn (1862-1938) was an Australian by birth who came up to Jesus College and competed in the Boat Race on four occasions. He went on to become one of the country’s most influential rowing coaches and wrote several books expounding his methods.
In 1926 he founded the Head of the River race which is still rowed annually on the Thames. A monument to his memory stands alongside the river, a mile from the Putney end of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race course.
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A page from 'Slowly Forward 366 Points for Oarsmen from the writings of Steve Fairbairn' published 1929. (Cambridgeshire Archives R92/91)
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