Origins of Leighton Buzzard Golf Club
A Short History of the Origins of Leighton Buzzard Golf Club by H.H Adam
Research by Dr. H. H. Adam April 2022. (Member of LBGC since 1977). Acknowledgements are due to resources obtained through The British Newspaper Archive (BNA) and other on-line sources, and to Delia Gleave of The Leighton Buzzard and District Archaeological and Historical Society who found the reference to the closure of the Golf Club in 1908.
Foreword
As Leighton Buzzard Golf Club prepares to celebrate its centenary at Plantation Road in 2025, I thought to investigate any golfing history in the town which preceded our establishment there. I was curious to know if such a history had any real bearing on the events of 1925. In 1985 and 2000 we celebrated our 60th and 75th anniversaries of establishment at Plantation Road. With amongst other events, memorial booklets were produced detailing the course and its development as well as some of the many individuals who have contributed to that and to golf in Leighton Buzzard. Previous history was briefly hinted at in both booklets, mentioning a facility in Grovebury Road. Back then, in 2000, and of course, more so, in 1975, facilities to research such history were pretty much limited to trawling through hundreds of microfilmed pages of newspaper reports. That would, as they say, try the patience of a saint. However modern search engines and in particular the British Newspaper Archives online, make the task a lot easier. Below is what I found.
The Beginnings
In March 1896 a golf course was established in Grovebury Road, Leighton Buzzard – thought to be on land at Grovebury Farm and consisting of 9 holes. Initially the Club was called The Grovebury Club, hiring a professional – George Thomas Harris.
The first recorded competition I have found was a match organised between a team appointed by a Mr. H. J. Gibson and a team from the Grovebury Club, captained by Mr. J. R. T. Tarver (then aged 24). The Grovebury Club triumphed. Details are in the appendix.
In February 1897 medal competitions within the club were instituted. February’s winner was P.F. Morton, runner-up J.R.T. Tarver. April – winner Tarver, runner-up Morton. May – winner L.C.R.Thring, runner-up W.F. Brown. Again, there are details in the appendix, but clearly this was a proper golf club managed under the rules of golf at the time.
In October of that year a match was arranged against South Bedfordshire Golf Club – the oldest club in the county. The match was a victory for South Beds. Grovebury was captained by L.C.R. Thring who halved his match with the South Beds captain, C. H. Osborne.
The following year a match was arranged between the married and the single members (all of whom we presume were male) with L.C.R. Thring being captain of the married players and J.R.T. Tarver captain of the batchelors. The match was halved, but Tarver defeated Thring – by 7 holes. The January medal that year was won by J. Healing and the runner-up was C.C. Edmunds.
By 1900 the club had become moribund, and was liquidated, generously donating £11 12s 6p to The Soldiers and Sailors’ Family Association. (Equivalent worth in 2022 approximately £1,520).
Five years later an effort was made by Mr. L. W. Urquhart to resuscitate golf at the Grovebury site and it is reported that he obtained an option on that land and the clubhouse. Looking for support from former members and other lovers of the game he succeeded in his goal of about 70 members who were willing to pay a guinea joining fee and an equal annual subscription. (Each equivalent to roughly £130 in 2022 – cheap golf by today’s standards)
Mr. Urquhart and Mr. T. Bromhead Bassett acted as provisional secretary and treasurer respectively, and the resuscitated club was given the new name of Leighton Buzzard and District Golf Club – later abbreviated to Leighton Buzzard Golf Club - LBGC. (see appendix – Beds Advertiser and Luton Times of September 15 1905.)
By 1906 the course was stated to be “in capital condition and flourishing”. (See appendix - The Beds Advertiser and Luton Times July 6, 1906). Mr. J.R.T. Tarver (again, we presume, Captain) had presented a gold medal for competition by the members. The winner each year was to receive a silver replica. This medal sits in the Trophy Cabinet at LBGC today – referred to as the Grovebury Medal. It remains the object of an annual competition. See images in appendix.
Leighton Buzzard Golf Club appears to have become moribund yet again in early 1908. It was reported in the Luton Times and Advertiser on the 28th February 1908 that “Owing to the apathy of the inhabitants and those living in the neighbourhood it seems the golf club must cease to exist. This is more especially to be regretted as the Committee has been offered a splendid new site on satisfactory terms, which is on the main road and in close proximity to the station. We hear that many members have retired from the Club due to the inaccessibility of Grovebury. At a meeting on Saturday the Committee made their report as to the support promised and owing to the scarcity of answers received in response to a circular letter, they had no alternative but to propose the winding up of the Club. However the secretary, (Mr. Urquhart) has arranged another meeting for tonight (Friday)”.
So far, my searches have failed to provide any reports of Mr. Urqhart’s meeting, and I assume that was the end of the fledgling club – a mere two years of operation; I have also been unable to find any evidence of a facility for golf near the station. Seven years later it was reported in the Luton Times and Advertiser on Friday 15th January 1915, “The sum of £4/15s – the balance left over from the late Leighton Buzzard Golf Club, has been forwarded to the Prince of Wales Fund.” [1]
Although golf in Leighton Buzzard had a stuttering start, it was not yet done. Like a phoenix from the ashes, a Club was resurrected yet again, when in 1924, land in Heath and Reach, used for sheep and cattle grazing, was offered to rent for the purpose of golf.
H. B. Grotrian, MP, owner of the Knolls in Plantation Road. offered an interested group including the above-mentioned Mr. J.R.T. Tarver as well as Mr. Jack Lucking, Mr. Joe Labrum and Mr. Laurence Faulkener, this nearby land to turn into golf holes.
In January 1925 a public meeting was held to settle the matter. The Beds and Herts Pictorial of Tuesday February 3rd 1925 reported the following:
"Leighton Golf Course. Possible Extension Later. A decision to form a golf club for Leighton Buzzard was come to at a meeting at the Swan Hotel, Leighton Buzzard on Saturday evening. Mr. H. B. Grotrian MP, who had previously made an offer of 57 acres of land at "The Craddocks", Plantation Road, presided, and it was on his proposition, seconded by Mr. J. R. Tarver, that the decision was arrived at. Mr. Tarver said that he had visited the site three times and was sure it would be one of the best 9 hole courses in the district. The land was exceptionally good for the purpose. A lengthy discussion ensued as to whether an 18 hole course should be made, but finally it was decided to commence with nine, and possibly extend later. The membership of the club already numbers 120." Initial subscriptions were 3 guineas for gentlemen and 2 guineas for ladies, with entry fees waived for existing members of whom there were either 120 or 130 according to reports. (In 2022 value the men’s sub. Is equivalent to £205 and the ladies to £137 so golf was still cheap by today’s standards.)
The new Committee had Mr. J.R.T. Tarver again as captain, H.B. Grotrian as President and Mr. J.R. Labrum as Secretary [2].
So, Leighton Buzzard Golf Club was successfully re-homed on “The Craddocks” at Plantation Road and has expanded in more recent times to become a full 18 hole course of some significant challenge and interest.
Summary
The rest, as they say, is history. Speculating, we can only imagine that the foundations of LBGC in 1925 depended on certain individuals who were members of the local golfing community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, especially the late John R.T Tarver (1874 – 1962). All we can say with certainty, is that they were far more successful in establishing a home for LBGC than the previous attempt 20 years earlier. What is clear is that J.R.T. (John Ronald Tulloch) Tarver was a continuous local golfing leader, the first captain of the club at Plantation Road, and subsequently President in 1928. I believe he can be regarded as the “Father of Leighton Buzzard Golf”. I have also researched what I can of his life, provided in a separate document. He was employed as estate manager of the Ascott Estate, Wing, Leighton Buzzard, by the Rothschilds and became an eminent public servant in Buckinghamshire, dying in Lower Ascott in December 1962, aged 89.
[1] £4/15s in 1915 is the equivalent worth of £520.27 in 2022 The Prince of Wales National Distress Fund – The aim of the Fund was to help support wives and dependants of soldiers and sailors, and those made unemployed due to the war. One of the main principles of the Fund was to keep dependants of soldiers and sailors in as good a position as they were before the serviceman had signed up
[2] http://www.golfsmissinglinks.co.uk/index.php/England/central-east/Bedfordshire/1250-eng-ce-grovebury-golf-club