Newnham College Boat Club is the

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 for members of

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

. The club has a year-round senior squad and invites all members of the college to learn to row by joining the novice squads during Michaelmas or Easter terms. In the

Lent Bumps The Lent Bumps (also Lent Races, Lents) are a set of rowing races held annually on the River Cam in Cambridge. They began in 1887, after separating from the May Bumps, which are bumping races held in mid-June. Prior to the separation there ha ...

, the 1st VIII has rarely finished outside the top nine places, taking the headship in 1977, 1982, 1983, 2019 and 2022. In the

May Bumps The May Bumps (also May Races, Mays) are a set of rowing races, held annually on the River Cam in Cambridge, England. They began in 1887 after separating from the Lent Bumps, the equivalent bumping races held at the end of February or start o ...

, the 1st IV and 1st VIII has never finished outside the top ten places, taking the headship in 1975, 1976, 2003, 2019 and 2022. The club pioneered women's rowing at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in the 19th and 20th centuries.

History

Women students at Newnham were coxing in the 1870s and rowing in the 1880s. The club was founded in 1893, as the Newnham College Rowing Society, making it one of the oldest continuously existing all-women's rowing clubs in the world. Newnham first bought an VIII from First Trinity in 1918, and in 1919 the club made its racing debut against the

London School of Medicine for Women The London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW) established in 1874 was the first medical school in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain to train women as doctors. The patrons, vice-presidents, and members of the committee that supp ...

, winning on the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

by 1¾ lengths. This was followed by Newnham's first race against men in 1920, losing to the Anglican theological college

Ridley Hall Ridley Hall is a theological college located on the corner of Sidgwick Avenue and Ridley Hall Road in Cambridge (United Kingdom), which trains men and women intending to take Holy Orders as deacon or priest of the Church of England, and members ...

. By 1922 a second VIII had been purchased from

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

. Newnham College Boat Club represented Cambridge in the

Women's Boat Race The Women's Boat Race is an annual rowing (sport), rowing race between Cambridge University Boat Club and Oxford University Women's Boat Club. First rowed in 1927, the race has taken place annually since 1964. Since the The Boat Races 2015, 20 ...

from the inaugural race in 1927 until the wartime foundation, in 1941, of the

Cambridge University Women's Boat Club Cambridge University Women's Boat Club (CUWBC) was the rowing club for women at the University of Cambridge. CUWBC fielded both a lightweight eight that races against Oxford at the Henley Boat Races, and two openweight eights that race at the ...

with members of

Girton College Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the univ ...

, also catering (at that time) solely to women. All of the Cambridge rowers in 1941 were members of Newnham, the first non-Newnham rower (a Girtonian) competing the following year. The Cambridge victories in the early years, 1929 and 1930, were credited to Newnham College. The first bumps races for women were held in 1974 and since then have continued to be major events in the club's calendar. In 1976 in the

, Newnham I were head on the 2nd day, and Newnham II were in 2nd position. No other women's club has managed to get a 2nd boat into 2nd place. The only men's club to have managed it was First Trinity, whose 2nd boat bumped its 1st boat in the 1875 races to finish in 2nd place behind

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. Newnham is, therefore, the only club (men or women) in the history of Cambridge Bumps racing to have held the top two places simultaneously. In 2006 Newnham won the newly inaugurated Pegasus Cup for being "the most successful college boat club competing in the Cambridge May Bumping Races", with a points system that takes into account the number of boats competing in the races, thus favouring smaller boat clubs. They reclaimed the Cup in 2017. The May races in 2007 saw Newnham go up three places. In 2009/10 Newnham won the Michell Cup, annually awarded by the CUCBC to the Boat Club giving the best performance on the river during the course of the academic year. Newnham retained the trophy in 2010/11 and the upwards trajectory in the Bumps tables was continued in 2011/12 when the first VIII finished at 3rd on the river. In 2013 Newnham won the newly inaugurated Marconi Cup for being "the most successful college boat club competing in the Cambridge Lent Bumping Races". In 2019, Newnham claimed headship in both the

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

and

, ending 's two-year reign by bumping them in both events.Bumps results: May Bumps 2019 Women's Division
- Cambridge University Combined Boat Clubs (CUCBC) This was Newnham's first Lents Headship since 1983, their first Mays Headship since 2003, and their first ever Double Headship (meaning holding Head position in both the Lents and May Bumps in the same year). Additionally in the May Bumps 2019, Newnham II claimed "W2 Headship" position, being the highest ranked W2 on the river. Having lost the Lents headship in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, Newnham regained it in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

All Boats Bumps Chart: Lent Bumps 2022
- CamFM. Retrieved 5 March 2022. before losing it again in 2023. Since 2024, Newnham have maintained a

boathouse A boathouse (or a boat house) is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. describing the facilities These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats ...

on the River

Cam Cam or CAM may refer to: Science and technology * Cam (mechanism), a mechanical linkage which translates motion * Camshaft, a shaft with a cam * Camera or webcam, a device that records images or video In computing * Computer-aided manufacturin ...

, on a plot of land leased by Corpus Christi College and immediately adjacent to the Old Combined boathouse shared by Girton, Sidney Sussex,

Wolfson See also Woolf, Woolfe, Wolfe, Wolff, Wolfson and Woolfson (especially for family names). Wolfson or Volfson is a Jewish surname, and may refer to: * Alice Wolfson, American activist and attorney who specializes in women's health * David Wolfson ...

, and Corpus Christi college boat clubs. The Newnham boathouse uses sustainable and locally-sourced materials, including

larch Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to the cooler regions of the northern hemisphere, where they are found in lowland forests in the high la ...

from the Rougham Estate, in Suffolk, and

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

coppiced Coppicing is the traditional method in woodland management of cutting down a tree to a stump, which in many species encourages new shoots to grow from the stump or roots, thus ultimately regrowing the tree. A forest or grove that has been su ...

at nearby

Grantchester Grantchester () is a village and civil parish on the River Cam or Granta (river), Granta in South Cambridgeshire, England. It lies about south of Cambridge. Name The village of Grantchester is listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as ''Granteset ...

Notes

References

* Durack, John; Gilbert, George; Marks, Dr. John (2000). ''The Bumps: An Account of the Cambridge University Bumping Races 1827-1999'' * CUCBC (various years) - Lent and May Bumps programmes.

External links

Newnham College Boat Club

CUCBC
{{Authority control Rowing clubs of the University of Cambridge

Boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically used on inland waterways s ...

Sports clubs and teams established in 1893 1893 establishments in England Rowing clubs in Cambridgeshire Rowing clubs in England Rowing clubs of the River Cam