
Marlow Rowing Club is a
rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...
club on 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 ...
in England, on the southern bank of the Thames at
Bisham
Bisham is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. The village is on the River Thames, around south of Marlow in the neighbouring county of Buckinghamshire, and around northwest of Mai ...
in
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
, opposite the town of
Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Marlow ( ), historically Great Marlow or Chipping Marlow, is a town and civil parish within the Unitary Authority of Buckinghamshire, England. It is located on the River Thames, south-southwest of High Wycombe, west-northwest of Maidenhead and ...
just beside
Marlow Bridge
Marlow Bridge is a road traffic and foot bridge over the River Thames in England between the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire and the village of Bisham in Berkshire. It crosses the Thames just upstream of Marlow Lock, on the reach to Temple Lock. ...
and on the reach above
Marlow Lock
Marlow Lock is a lock (water transport), lock and weir situated on the River Thames in the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England, about 300m downstream of Marlow Bridge. The first pound lock was built by the Thames Navigation Commission ...
. Founded in 1871, it is one of the main rowing and
sculling
Sculling is the use of oars to propel a boat by moving them through the water on both sides of the craft, or moving one oar over the stern. A long, narrow boat with sliding seats, rigged with two oars per rower may be referred to as a scull, its ...
centres in England. Members of the club have represented Great Britain in the Olympic Games and World Championships.
History
The local football club
Marlow F.C.
Marlow Football Club is a association football, football club based in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Alfred Davis Memorial Ground. Marlow are the only football club in England to have applie ...
was founded at a dinner at
Compleat Angler Hotel
The Compleat Angler Hotel was a modest three-story hotel on the island of North Bimini in the Bahamas. The establishment, located in the center of Alice Town, contained 12 guestrooms in addition to its rowdy bar. It is notable for its association ...
in 1870. At a football club dinner at the Angler, members decided that what the town needed next was a rowing club, and further meetings were held to found one, which happened on 16 May 1871.
Rowing was already established in the town, and the
Marlow Regatta
The Marlow Regatta is an international rowing regatta, that takes place annually at Dorney Lake, Buckinghamshire near Eton next to the River Thames in southern England. It attracts crews from schools, clubs and universities from around the Unit ...
, a separate organisation to the rowing club, had been running since around 1855. Initially the club had no home and rowers sheltered under
Marlow Bridge
Marlow Bridge is a road traffic and foot bridge over the River Thames in England between the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire and the village of Bisham in Berkshire. It crosses the Thames just upstream of Marlow Lock, on the reach to Temple Lock. ...
on the
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
side, but when the freeholder died in 1888 they had to move to Meakes and Redknap boathouse on the other side of the river. In 1892 Edward Riley offered to allow the use of his land just above the Meakes boathouse, by 1896 Mr Wethered, the club captain (from the local brewery family) obtained a lease from Mr Ward, a life tenant of the site that the club now occupies. The clubhouse was complete in 1896 and formally opened in 1897. Ward died 10 years later, but the new owner, Mr Borgnis, granted a new lease
the club remained a tenant of sympathetic landlords until it acquired the freehold following the 2011 fire. The neighbouring land was acquired from Sir James Boyton (who still has a boat named after him).
During the early years of the club, the Town Challenge Cup at
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 ...
was a trophy that many of the Upper Thames clubs wanted, and Marlow entered every year from 1871 (except 1879) until it was withdrawn in 1883, and it won 6 times. The club competed at many local regattas.
During the
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
the club lost many members to the war including most of the first eight which had won at many local regattas, and played host to disabled servicemen and a guards regiment which had been garrisoned nearby.
Marlow first competed in the
Head of the River Race
The Head of the River Race (HORR) is an against-the-clock ('processional') rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, between eights, other such races being the Schools' Head of the River Race, Women's Head of the River R ...
in 1932, and lost further members in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
By the 1950s the club was strong, with
Mike Spracklen, later an internationally famous coach, as captain in 1959. The club had reached the finals of the Wyfolds in 1954, and in 1959 it won 20 trophies. In 1958 Mike Spracklen and Geoff Baker had won gold medals in the Empire Games 2x event.
By the 1960s and 1970s the club was small in numbers, but in 1978 a local junior,
Steve Redgrave
Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave (born 23 March 1962) is a British retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships golds ...
started his career with the club. With Steve the club won its first Henley trophy in a long time when 1981 Steve and Eric Sims won the 2x event, which he repeated with Adam Clift. Redgrave won many other trophies at Henley and went on to be the UK's most successful rowing Olympian. He is now club president of Marlow Rowing Club and Chairman of Henley Royal Regatta. Mike Spracklen set up the GB training centre at
Leander Club
Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and the oldest non-academic club. It is based in Remenham in Berkshire, England and adjoins Henley-on-Thames. Only three other surviving clubs were founded prior ...
, but that catered for men only. The women's rowing set-up was based at Longridge and Marlow offered a home to the first tier of women's rowing. This led the club to have an exceptional women's presence in the late 1980s and 1990s:
Gillian Lindsay
Gillian Lindsay (born 24 September 1973, in Paisley) is a former Team GB Scottish rower. She won silver in the quadruple sculls at the 2000 Summer Olympics silver medalist, and two-time medal winner in the World Championships, taking silver i ...
won the (2x) World Championships in 1998, Alex Beever, Lisa Eyre and Sue Walker were World Champions in the 4- and bronze medallists in the 8o,
Cath Bishop
Catherine Bishop (born 22 November 1971) is a former British rower. In partnership with Katherine Grainger she was World Champion in the coxless pair in 2003, and in 2004 they won a silver medal at the Olympic Games. Following a career as a di ...
was British and World record holder, silver medallist in the 2- in 1997 and won the Paris world Cup in 1998. Twelve athletes from MRC prepared for the Sydney Olympics. The late 1990s also saw the early stages of the careers of
Sarah Winckless
Sarah Katharine Winckless (born 18 October 1973) is a British former rower. She won a bronze medal in Double sculls with her partner Elise Laverick at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and was twice world champion, in 2005 and 2006.
Early life and ...
and
Katherine Grainger
Dame Katherine Jane Grainger (born 12 November 1975) is a Scottish athlete. She is a 2012 Summer Olympics gold medallist, four-time Olympic silver medallist and six-time World Champion for Great Britain. She served as Chancellor of Oxford Broo ...
, both club members who went on to World and Olympic medals.
Ann Redgrave
Ann, Lady Redgrave ( Elizabeth-Ann Callaway; born 8 March 1960) is a British surgeon and osteopath and former rower.
Rowing career
Having taken up the sport in 1981, Redgrave rowed in the women's eight at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The ...
was MRC's first female captain in 1989, as well as being an Olympic rower in her own right. As women's rowing has been fully integrated into the British Rowing system Marlow has lost this stream of highly talented women.
However, with Adaptive (Pararowing) on the rise Marlow had a Paralympian in the form of
Naomi Riches
Naomi Joy Riches Order of the British Empire, MBE, DL (born on 15 June 1983) is a British Adaptive rowing, adaptive rower who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics and a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics.
Personal life
Ric ...
and now has other pararowers as members as part of the national development scheme.
The club now has a strong junior section, with around 500 members aged 11 to 90.
Fire and rebuild

The club was seriously damaged by a fire on 3 August 2011. The 1896 building was damaged beyond the repair and the 1970s building warped by heat. The decision was taken to demolish and start again. The club operated out of the 1970s building, and at temporary gyms first in a tent at
Bisham Abbey
Bisham Abbey is a Grade I listed manor house at Bisham in the English county of Berkshire. The name is taken from the now lost monastery which once stood alongside. This original Bisham Abbey was previously named Bisham Priory, and was the t ...
and near
Marlow railway station
Marlow railway station serves the town of Marlow in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west of and is the terminus of the single-track Marlow Branch line from .
History
A branch from the Wycombe Railway at was built by the Great Marlow Ra ...
, and boating sites at Marlow Sailing Club, Bisham Abbey, the Compleat Angler Hotel, Longridge Activity Centre, Cookham Reach Sailing club and Westhorpe watersports centre.
Disruption to rowing was kept to a minimum and the junior section won the National Schools Championship, the British Championships and the National Sculling Head in 2012, with the coaching team winning a national award.
Following fundraising and a grant of £1million from Sport England the club reached a fundraising target of around £2.6 million and was substantially rebuilt expanding from four boat bays to five, doubling the gym space and with a third floor bar facility.
The club itself has converted into a registered charity (it was previously a Community Amateur Sports Club) and it has been selected as a British Rowing hub for the para-rowing element of the Elite Talent Development Pathway.
The new clubhouse was opened by club President
Steve Redgrave
Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave (born 23 March 1962) is a British retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships golds ...
and international coach and MRC member
Mike Spracklen in September 2015, at an event attended by local MP (and later PM)
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...
.
River
The club rows from Marlow up to
Temple Lock
Temple Lock is a lock and weir situated on the Buckinghamshire bank of the River Thames near Temple Mill Island opposite Temple Meadows and not far from Hurley, Berkshire. It was first built by the Thames Navigation Commissioners in 1773. ...
(approximately 2 km), and from below Marlow Lock down to
Cookham
Cookham is a historic River Thames, Thames-side village and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the north-eastern edge of Berkshire, England, north-north-east of Maidenhead and opposite the village of Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, Bourne ...
(approximately 5 km). The former stretch is the home of Marlow Town Regatta, Marlow Spring Regatta and FirstRow Challenge, and the latter the setting for Marlow Long Distance Sculls and the (discontinued) Marlow Fours and Pairs. The
Marlow Regatta
The Marlow Regatta is an international rowing regatta, that takes place annually at Dorney Lake, Buckinghamshire near Eton next to the River Thames in southern England. It attracts crews from schools, clubs and universities from around the Unit ...
moved to
Dorney Lake
Dorney Lake (also known as Eton College Rowing Centre, and as Eton Dorney as a 2012 Summer Olympics venue) is a purpose-built rowing lake and Meetings & Events Venue in England. It is near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and is around ...
in 2001.
Off the water the club also runs the "Rower's Revenge"
Triathlon
A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the ...
which consists of rowing machines, cycling and running and was held in October each year for around 15 years. It was then transferred to an events company but from 2016 returned to the rowing club and moved to August. From 2017 it will contain an event for disabled athletes, comprising 4 km on a rowing machine (as per the general event), plus 15 km hand cycle and 1.5 km wheelchair race.
Colours
The club colour is
cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to
* Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae
***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
.
The colour scheme was chosen early in the club's history with the club's 1884 rules declaring simply as rule 7 "The Colour of the club shall be cardinal". Bylaw 1 provided more detail: "It shall be compulsory for Members rowing in Regattas or Matches to wear the Club uniform, as follows - Jacket: Dark Blue, Swan worked in Cardinal on breast pocket, Cap - Dark Blue, swan worked in Cardinal on front, Staw Hat, Dark blue ribbon, swan worked in cardinal on front, Jersey - White, trimmed cardinal. Members who have been selected to row in regattas shall, and members who have rowed in regattas may, have their coats trimmed in cardinal."
This colour scheme has largely survived, with modern all-in-ones are maroon with a white stripe down the side and the club crest on the front. Shirts are white with a maroon stripe on the arm and the word "Marlow" picked out in white lettering. Leggings are black with a maroon stripe down the side. The colour scheme is not dissimilar to that of
Vesta Rowing Club
Vesta Rowing Club is a rowing club based on the Tideway of the River Thames in Putney, London, England. It was founded in 1870.
Vesta organises two head races every year; the Scullers Head and the Veterans Head.
History Foundation
Vesta Rowi ...
or
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...
.
Club blazers come in two forms - original blue as described, and a white variant. There are photos of members in the 19th century wearing the white version.
Relationships with other clubs and organisations
Marlow Rowing Club's building is also used by Marlow Canoe Club, Longridge Canoe Club, Henley Open Water Swimming Club and a local triathlon club. It was previously a base for local schools but they moved to Longridge.
The bar is run by a trading company owned by the rowing club (which is a charity) and is open to the public on a limited basis.
The club is a base for the
British Rowing
British Rowing, formerly the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA), is the national governing body for the sport of rowing (both indoor and on-water rowing). It is responsible for the training and selection of individual rowers and crews represent ...
talent development pathway for
Adaptive rowing
Pararowing (or adaptive rowing) is a category of rowing race for those with physical, visual or intellectual disabilities.
History
In 1913, rowing for individuals with disabilities was initiated by headmaster George Clifford Brown at Worcester ...
(or Pararowing) and many members of the BR Para squad are members.
During the annual
Swan Upping on the Thames, the Swan Uppers leave their boats at Marlow RC overnight.
The club is twinned with Rowing Club de Port Marly, in France which is the rowing club in
Marly-le-Roi
Marly-le-Roi () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the administrative region of Île-de-France, France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris.
Marly-le-Roi was the location of the Château de Marly, ...
that
Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Marlow ( ), historically Great Marlow or Chipping Marlow, is a town and civil parish within the Unitary Authority of Buckinghamshire, England. It is located on the River Thames, south-southwest of High Wycombe, west-northwest of Maidenhead and ...
is twinned with.
Honours
Recent British champions
Henley Royal Regatta
Notable members
*
*
Cath Bishop
Catherine Bishop (born 22 November 1971) is a former British rower. In partnership with Katherine Grainger she was World Champion in the coxless pair in 2003, and in 2004 they won a silver medal at the Olympic Games. Following a career as a di ...
*
Katherine Grainger
Dame Katherine Jane Grainger (born 12 November 1975) is a Scottish athlete. She is a 2012 Summer Olympics gold medallist, four-time Olympic silver medallist and six-time World Champion for Great Britain. She served as Chancellor of Oxford Broo ...
*
Mike Spracklen
*
Gillian Lindsay
Gillian Lindsay (born 24 September 1973, in Paisley) is a former Team GB Scottish rower. She won silver in the quadruple sculls at the 2000 Summer Olympics silver medalist, and two-time medal winner in the World Championships, taking silver i ...
*
Zac Purchase
Zachary Jake Nicholas Purchase-Hill MBE (born 2 May 1986) is a retired English rower.
Purchase won an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Both medals were won in the ...
*
Ann Redgrave
Ann, Lady Redgrave ( Elizabeth-Ann Callaway; born 8 March 1960) is a British surgeon and osteopath and former rower.
Rowing career
Having taken up the sport in 1981, Redgrave rowed in the women's eight at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The ...
*
Steve Redgrave
Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave (born 23 March 1962) is a British retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships golds ...
*
Naomi Riches
Naomi Joy Riches Order of the British Empire, MBE, DL (born on 15 June 1983) is a British Adaptive rowing, adaptive rower who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics and a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics.
Personal life
Ric ...
*
Sarah Winckless
Sarah Katharine Winckless (born 18 October 1973) is a British former rower. She won a bronze medal in Double sculls with her partner Elise Laverick at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and was twice world champion, in 2005 and 2006.
Early life and ...
See also
*
Rowing on the River Thames
The River Thames, Thames is one of the main Sport rowing, rowing rivers in Europe. Several annual competitions are held along its course, including the Henley Royal Regatta, The Boat Race and other long-distance events, called Head of the River ...
References
{{United Kingdom rowing clubs
Sports clubs and teams established in 1871
Rowing clubs of the River Thames
Sport in Buckinghamshire
Rowing in Berkshire
Marlow, Buckinghamshire
1871 establishments in England
Sports clubs and teams in Berkshire
Bisham