Addiscombe Cycling Club

The 1883 Addiscombe Cycling Club

The first recorded bicycle race took place in France in 1868 and within a year racing was introduced into England with numerous clubs springing up from the 1870’s onwards. In 1878 the Bicycle Union was formed, its aims being to look after cyclists’ rights, to frame racing rules and to organise national championships. In 1884 the name was changed to the National Cyclists’ Union and this Body would continue to administer the disciplines of track and massed start racing on closed circuits until the 1950’s.

The first Minutes of an Addiscombe Cycling Club were recorded in 1883 (see The Cyclist Year Book of 1884). Whether any club bearing the name existed prior to that seems rather unlikely. At the time of its formation the club did not have any headquarters but had 18 members, a 2/- entrance fee and an annual subscription of 3/-. The Honorary Secretary was E. Fagg of Clarence Lodge, 7 Canning Road, Croydon. The Captain was A. M. Day.

In an 1884 bound volume of the weekly magazine The Cyclist there appears a regular feature “What the Clubs are doing”. A report on weather conditions of the day is followed by a list of clubs, their attendance figures and the venue of their club runs. The Addiscombe was frequently listed as in the following examples.

  • Saturday, 19th April. Weather fine but very cold … 14 Addiscombe to Redhill (Lakers Hotel, v.g.)
  • Saturday, 10th May. Perfect day, cloudless blue sky, westerly wind… 18 Addiscombes to Knockholt (Crown v.g.) …
  • Saturday, 14th June. Wind north. Weather and roads beautiful. … 19 Addiscombe men to Barnes Meet….

A separate report on the Barnes Common Meet confirms 19 Addiscombe took part in the ceremony and that in all some 600 tricyclists were present. “After the day’s work was over several of the clubs joined the Wandsworth at T and a social afterwards at the Spread Eagle … Mr Marsh read his prize essay on “Tricycling as an Aid to Health and Business” and Mr Seery sang his prize cycling song “Out of the Hurly-Burly.…”

The issue of 25th June 1884 reported on the Hayes Meet.

“If only as an incentive to visit once a year that lovely spot Keston Common … the annual gathering of tricyclists, under the title of the Hayes Meet, arranged by the London Tricycle Club, would be a popular event. .…the procession, ready grouped alongside the road on the summit of Keston Common, started punctually at 5.30 pm headed by the ever courteous and much maligned treasurer of the London Bicycle Club, Mr John Browning, with Mrs Browning on their “Cobweb” double, with 36 inch wheels and weighing but 120 lbs. Two hundred and forty machines in all filed past as the long line wended its way over the picturesque commons of Keston and Hayes, and past the Fox PH where there was a goodly group of spectators awheel and otherwise. Actual members in the procession were:

  • London T.C. 52
  • St. John’s T.C. 25
  • Brighton C.C. 2
  • Addiscombe C.C. 21
  • South London T.C. 32
  • Blenheim T.C. 2
  • Wandsworth T.C. 3
  • Croydon C.C. 2
  • Ealing & Acton T.C. 2
  • unattached 99

At the “high T” provided in a tent in a field kindly lent by Mr Harrod, 150 sat down, under the chairmanship of “the Major” … After a few well-chosen words from the chair, the assembly was officially closed until 1885, and the riders dispersed mostly well pleased with the day’s diversion. Some good hill riding was done by the Addiscombe C.C. men who scaled the hill through the wood on sociables and singles in good style ….”

The Anchor Public House at Ripley on the Portsmouth Road was a mecca for cyclists and like many similar establishments of that period retained a Visitors’ Book. The Dibble family who owned the Anchor maintained Visitors’ Books for 15 years and these remained in situ until 2002 when the current publican recognised their historic value and sold the collection. An Arab purchased six of the books at auction but fortunately the Surrey History Centre now preserves the other six. The books contain the signatures, comments and occasionally little drawings, from the famous and not-so famous cyclists who stopped off for refreshment. On 2nd June 1884 the sub-captain of the Addiscombe, P. Paget, took eight members to this extremely popular cyclists’ rest and on the 26th July Addiscombe members C. J. Blackwell, A. M. Day, H. Sharland, E. J. Lovett, J. Bell, J. T. Midland with club captain W. E. Fagg, signed in. Members visited on other occasions and this would have involved a round trip of at least 30 miles on roads very rough compared with today’s highways.

Bicycling News of 1886 reports that J. J. Bell, Addiscombe C. C., was a visitor at the Invitation Dinner of the Surrey Bicycle Club at The Anchor, Ripley. In 1887 J. Blake on a 3-day tour with members of the Pickwick Bicycle Club – a club dating back to 1870 and still in existence – signed as Pickwick and Addis- combe. All members of the select Pickwick club adopted the pseudonym of one of the Pickwick characters and Blake was Horatio Fizkin Esq.

A tandem tricycle of the mid-eighteen-eighties.

The Croydon Review, February 1888, announced “The Addiscombe Cycling Ball. This annual event took place at the Public Halls on Friday, 13th ult., when there were upwards of 200 members and friends in attendance. Mr F. Cumbers officiated as MC, and Mr Layton had an efficient band in attendance.”

The Cyclists’ Year Books of 1890-93 yield up the information that the Addiscombe’s secretary was by then Stuart F. Bowyer of Buckland Lodge, 29 Dingwall Road, Croydon, and that the club uniform was “that of the CTC, an all-wool grey cloth jacket and knickerbockers, Stanley helmet with small peak, and grey stockings”. The Captain was F. Cumbers.

Of the demise of this forerunner of ours we have no information, but many clubs disappeared in the late 1890’s with the advent of the motorcar. What we do know is that the club eventually became defunct because in 1906 the second Addiscombe Cycling Club was born.