The Argonaut Club was an English rowing club based on the

Tideway The Tideway is the part of the River Thames in England which is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock. The Tideway comprises the upper Thames Estuary including the Pool of London. Tidal activity Depending ...

of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

that competed in the middle of the 19th century.

History

The Argonaut Club was active in the 1850s and its first major successes were in the

Visitors' Challenge Cup The Visitors Challenge Cup is a sport rowing, rowing event for men's coxless fours at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing clubs and has similar qua ...

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a Rowing (sport), rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It diffe ...

in 1852 and 1853. The most prominent member, James Paine won the

Wingfield Sculls The Wingfield Sculls is a Rowing (sport), rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, on the The Championship Course, Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake. The race is between single scullers and is usually on the ...

in 1853. Argonaut was one of several clubs on the Tideway including Wandle Club,

Thames Club The Thames Club was an English rowing club based on the Tideway of the River Thames that competed in the middle of the 19th century. The Thames Club was active in the 1840s and 1850s and its first major success was winning the Grand Challenge C ...

St George's Club The St George's Club was an English rowing club based on the Tideway of the River Thames that competed in the middle of the 19th century. The St George's Club included members who were receiving a medical education at St George's Hospital at Hyde ...

, Meteor Club and Petrel Club. In 1856 there was a move to combine these clubs into a single club that could compete successfully against the Oxford and Cambridge crews at Henley in the four and eight. To achieve this, the

London Rowing Club London Rowing Club (LRC, or colloquially, 'London') is the second-oldest of the non-academic active rowing clubs on the Thames in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1856 by members of the long-disbanded Argonauts Club wishing to compete ...

was formed.E D Brickwood ''Boat Racing or The Arts of Rowing and Training'' 1876
/ref> Under the rules of the Henley Regatta, a club had to be in existence for a year before it could compete at the regatta. For this reason, the London Rowing Club members competed under the aegis of the Argonaut Club in 1856. Its crack four, composed of

Josias Nottidge Josias Nottidge (1828–1873) was an English rower who twice won Silver Goblets at Henley Royal Regatta. Nottidge rowed initially for Wandle Club . He took part in the Wingfield Sculls in 1853 when it was won by James Paine. In the heat, ther ...

, A. A. Casamajor, James Paine, and

Herbert Playford Herbert Harlee Playford (1831 – 1 January 1883) was a British rower who won the Wingfield Sculls and the Diamond Challenge Sculls at Henley Royal Regatta. He was instrumental in founding London Rowing Club and the Metropolitan Regatta. Play ...

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

, and F. Levien as

cox Cox or COX may refer to: Companies * Cox Enterprises, a media and communications company ** Cox Communications, cable provider ** Cox Media Group, a company that owns television and radio stations ** Cox Automotive, an Atlanta-based busines ...

won the

Stewards' Challenge Cup The Stewards' Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless fours at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through ...

and the

Wyfold Challenge Cup The Wyfold Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless fours at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through so ...

. The same four comprised the final of the

Silver Goblets The Silver Goblets & Nickalls' Challenge Cup is a Rowing (sport), rowing event for men's coxless pairs at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing clubs ...

with Casamajor and Nottidge winning over Paine and Playford. In addition, Casamajor won the

Diamond Challenge Sculls The Diamond Challenge Sculls is a Rowing (sport), rowing event for men's single sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. First run in 1844, it is open to male scullers from all eligible rowin ...

at Henley and also won the

for Argonaut Club in 1856.Wingfield Sculls Record of Races
/ref> In 1857, London Rowing Club was able to compete at Henley in its own name when it won the

Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing (sport), rowing competition for men's eight (rowing), eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male cr ...

History

Honours

Henley Royal Regatta

References