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Markeaton Golf Club, Kedleston Road Course, Derby. (1896 - WW2)

In February 1896 it was announced that there was to be a new golf club just outside Derby.

The course was to be laid out on land belonging to Mr F N Mundy, for the convenience of inhabitants in the north-west end of the town. It was to be a nine hole course, laid out under the direction of Mr W G Copestake, who, with other gentlemen, had formed the Markeaton Golf Club, which was “likely to become a very successful affair”.  Mr F N Mundy was president; Mr Geoffrey Drage MP, Sir Alfred Haslam and Mr Henry Evans were vice-presidents, and Mr E Colebourn, hon. secretary.

The first medal competition took place on Saturday 27 March 1897, result as follows; C A Severn, 121-30-91; F Cooper, 122-30-92; F G Smith, 137-45-92; H V Edwards, 137-40-97; W Holloway, 133-35-98.

Much optimism was shown at the outset, but the only evidence found so far of golf being played is the medal result above, did this original club moved forward?

In October 1911 it was reported that first annual meeting of the “newly formed” Markeaton Golf Club was held at the St James’s Hotel on Friday the 27th October. Mr R M Pearson, captain of the club, presided over an enthusiastic gathering. He congratulated the members and committee for all the hard work put in to make the clubs first year a success. Membership numbers had exceeded all expectations and it was still on the increase. The annual report was presented by the secretary, Mr J Ball, considering the initial financial outlay to set up the club and course there was still a balance in hand. The committee were aware of improvements to be made on the course and it was hoped that many of these would be carried out during the coming year. The adoption of the report was unanimously agreed to on the motion of Mr A Robotham, seconded by Mr W E Wood. The accounts were audited by David Sibbald, Stones & Co., the honorary auditors of the club.

To succeed Mr W A Bingham, who was thanked for all his work during a busy and anxious year, Mr H M Peacock was elected chairman of committee. Mr James Ball was re-elected as hon. secretary, Mr Victor Vaughan was re-elected hon. treasurer. Members of the committee were; H M Peacock, chairman, W J Piper jun., T C Disney, C T Leach, J A Garratt, S A Young, D M Aird, J Munro, J M Sibbald, W A Bingham, J Peacock, jun., and C J Moon.

Following the meeting the prize presentation took place, Mrs Bingham presenting the trophies and prizes; Markeaton Challenge Bowl, B M Jeffrey; Coronation Cup, J Brown; bogey prize, J A Garratt; prize for medal play, J Ball; eclectic prize, W E Wood; foursome prize, T McLean and J Ball; four ball foursome, W A Bingham and T McLean; June medal, J Peacock jun. The secretaries hard work was also rewarded, he was presented with a handsome marble clock, suitably inscribed.

The station was at Derby with an electric tram service running to the clubhouse.

The Images below are taken from The Fairway Scorer published in the 1930s by Fudge & Co, Sardinia House, London WC3.

Markeaton Golf Club course layout.

Markeaton scorecard.

Front cover of booklet.

Club membership and competition information.

Result of the June monthly medal 1913; E Denton, 85-12-73; P Duesbury, 97-17-80; T C Disney, 99-16-83; R Gutch, 100-17-83; H C Massy, 99-15-84; W Slater, 105-18-87; W E Wood, 110-20-90; H Mitchell, 113-22-91.

Below is the result of a one sided foursome match played against the Derbyshire Golf Club in July 1913. A match between the club professionals, Hutchings, Derbyshire, and Knight, Markeaton was also played, this game resulted in a half.

The annual meeting was held at King's Cafe, Derby, in October 1913, H M Peacock presiding. The secretary, A J Tranter, presented a satisfactory report which showed  that the course had been extended to 18 holes. One of the main reasons for this was the increased membership which had risen to nearly 200. Reference was made to the inadequate accommodation at the cottage, this was being used as the clubhouse, it was stated that the committee intended to press on with the construction of a new clubhouse, a suitable site had been found and plans had been drawn up. The club had now secured a ten year lease on the proposed land. The treasurer, J A Garratt, produced the balance sheet which was showing a satisfactory balance in hand. The following officers were appointed; president, Mr H N Sutton; H M Peacock, chairman and captain; A J Tranter, secretary; J A Garratt, treasurer; Sibbald, Stones & Co., auditors.

February 1914 Markeaton Golf Club button. Images courtesy of Dixon Pickup.

The annual meeting was held in the clubhouse on Friday 12 November 1915. Mr J Peacock, President, was in the chair and there was a large attendance of members. Despite the present troubles the club was in a healthy position financially and the course had been greatly improved during the year, whilst membership had been well maintained. Considering the plight of many clubs at this time Markeaton seemed to be surviving remarkably well. Over 40 members had joined the forces, but new members had compensated for this number. Mr A J Tranter was to carry on as secretary. Replacing Mr J A Garratt as treasurer was Mr H W Friis. Mr Garratt was thanked for his sterling work during his term of office. The following were elected on to the committee; D M Aird, E Denton, J Munro and E Knight.

The annual meeting was held in the clubhouse in November 1916. Mr John Peacock, president, was in the chair and even in these difficult times the club was still financially stable. The election of officers took place, Mr John Peacock was enthusiastically re-elected president, Mr J Peacock jun, captain, Mr H W Friis, treasurer, Mr A J Tranter, secretary. Due to rotation there were five nominations for the four vacancies on the committee, the following were elected; J Hill, W Garratt. J A Garratt and A C Hinde.

At the meeting their was a special presentation to the secretary, Mr A J Tranter, who had worked tirelessly towards the success of the club. The presentation consisted of an address, beautifully illuminated, and framed in old English gilt, together with a wallet containing 50 guineas for Mr Tranter and a gold watch for Mrs Tranter. The text on the address was as follows "To Alfred J Tranter, Esq. We, the committee and members of the Markeaton Golf Club Ltd., desire to record our appreciation for your services as honorary secretary to the club during the last four years. The success of the club during that period is very largely due to your conspicuous ability, ready tact, and unfaltering courtesy, and we hope to have the advantage of your invaluable service for many years to come. We have much pleasure in asking your acceptance of a token of our esteem and regard, together with a memento of the occasion for Mrs Tranter - Signed for and on behalf the committee and members, John Peacock, president, D M Aird, chairman, J Peacock jun, captain, H W Friis, treasurer. Derby, 10th November 1916" Mr Tranter was then received with loud applause and went on to thank the members for their kindness. He also said that the work he had done he had done willingly, and had been made enjoyable by the help he had received at all times from the officials and by the kindness of the members. Both he and Mrs Tranter would value the gifts , not for their value alone, but for the very kindly feeling they represented.

Location of the course at the time of WW1.

Ordnance Survey Map Revised 1913 © Crown Copyright {year of publication 1919}.

WW1 Bronze Memorial Plaque salvaged from a skip. Image courtesy of Ernest Brannan.

Competition held by the club in aid of the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary War Memorial Fund, played in April 1920. There were over 30 entries for the 9 hole competition, leading scores; J G Hall, 46-7-39; F B Griffiths, 46-5-41; W Stacey, 81 scratch.

On Saturday 8 May 1920 Markeaton visited Matlock , result below.

Result of a club match played in July 1920 against Erewash Valley.

Club match played at home against Chevin on Saturday 17 July 1920.

Club matches played on Saturday 28 August 1920 between Markeaton and Erewash Valley. Firstly Erewash v Markeaton.

Second match Markeaton “A” v Erewash “A”.

On 2 October 1920 two club matches were held against the Derbyshire Golf Club. Below is the result of the "A" team match played on the Markeaton course, for the other result see Derbyshire Golf Club.

The final of the ladies section of the Hospital Cup was played at Markeaton on Tuesday 5 October 1920. Mrs Smith of the Derbyshire club defeated Miss Williamson, Markeaton by 6 and 5.

On Thursday 7 October 1920 the final stage of the gents section of the Hospital Cup was played at Markeaton when A V Nutt, Derbyshire defeated P J Ball, Markeaton on the 37th hole. Mr Ball led by 2 holes from the first 18 holes played on the Derbyshire course the previous week. These two holes were quickly wiped out in the early stages of this match, at the turn Mr Nutt was leading by two holes. Up to this point Ball was often past the pin with his approach shots, but after halving the 10th and 11th he won the 12th with a four, but subsequently lost the 13th and 14th and found himself three down with four to play. But the nerves seem to set in on the experienced Mr Nutt and Ball won the 15th with a five, the 16th with a three and the 17th with a five, so it was all square with one to play. The eighteenth was halved in four, with Mr Nutt taking the Cup on the 37th green. Mr Nutt was congratulated on his performance, having to concede a stroke a hole to his 15 year old schoolboy opponent was no mean performance.

Below is the result of the second division cup competition held in October 1920.

Mr D M Aird presided at the annual dinner which took place in the Assembly Rooms in November 1920. About 150 members and friends attended, also present were the Mayor, Coun A J Eggerton and the Mayoress. Amongst the guests was Mr W Price Abell, captain of the Chevin Golf Club, who praised the success of the Markeaton Club, and gave a very interesting speech. He went on to say that golf at that time was a business proposition, unfortunately many clubs had failed because they had not done what Markeaton had done. They had closely followed the doctrine of St Andrews in making golf easy and enjoyable for the poor players, and it was the poor players' money that made them successful. Courses were often laid out by plus players, who, when laying them out, forget the poor players from whom the money comes. One thing about St Andrew's course was that everyone, whether a plus or a 30 handicap player, went away from it feeling they were better players than they really were. The Markeaton course was a similar example. Following his speech he proposed a toast to the club secretary, Mr A Tranter, a pioneer member of the Markeaton club.

The clubs annual report and balance sheet for year ending 30th September 1920 was showing a loss of £80, this was due to the increased cost of labour and materials.

Below is the result of a club match played at Chesterfield in September 1921. 

The ladies’ team had a convincing win at Markeaton against Matlock on Wednesday 21 September 1921, result below.

The final of the Derbyshire Hospital Cup competition was decided on Friday 23 September 1921. The contestants were Mr J De Looze representing the Derbyshire Golf Club and Mr H J S Hilton from Markeaton. The competition was 36 holes of match play. The first 18, on the Markeaton course, left Mr De Looze 3up. The remaining 18 holes were played on the Ashbourne Road course, Mr De Looze eventually won the match by 8&7.

In 1923 the club had a membership of 360. Visitors’ fees were 2/6 a day, 10/6 a week, 17/6 a fortnight and £1/10/0 a month. Sunday play was allowed without caddies.

Mr D M Aird presided at the annual meeting held on Wednesday 3 December 1930. Not only did the balance sheet show a profit of £42 on the year, the committee had also secured a five year renewal of the lease. For this, the Rev W G Clarke-Maxwell, landlord, was warmly thanked. Mr C Turner Leech was re-elected president. Mr J Hunt was re-appointed as captain, he acknowledged the compliment but said he would like to see the honour passed round, he accepted it for another year because at the present juncture, the committee thought that a change was undesirable. Mr J Edwards was re-elected treasurer and Mr E B Smithson, secretary (also received a 50 guinea honorarium for his services). Due to rotation Mr Aird, E J Mooney, A D Peacock and R W Lawson retired from the committee, the other members of the committee were re-elected with Mr P Stone Clarke succeeding Mr Lawson. J M Sibbald was again elected auditor. A vote of thanks given to the committee, officials and staff was proposed by Mr W J Piper, seconded by Mr B Saxton.

Below is the result of a match played at Markeaton between the Derby County footballers and directors on Wednesday 10 December 1930. 

Harry Wilkes the Derby County goalkeeper about to take his shot. He is being watched by Freddy Jessop, his partner, and their opponents H Slater and H Rowling.

Below is the result of a ladies’ match against Chevin played at Markeaton in August 1931. 

Below is the result of a match played at Chevin in July 1938. 

The Derby County footballers held their golf tournament at Markeaton on Monday 17 October 1938. Jimmy Hagan won the first division with a score of 87-14-73. Scores from all three divisions below.

Result of the medal played in May 1939; First division – A N C Black, 73-7-66; E Ingham, 81-12-69; P J Ball, 73-2-71; J P McCrae, 76-5-71; J M Garrow, 82-9-73; E J Mooney; 82-8-74; Second division – K E Swain, 88-14-74; L R Roberts, 89-15-74; A E Harrison, 91-13-78.

On Friday 19 May 1939 on the Markeaton course Miss Joan Hives, who had held the Derbyshire Women’s Championship for the previous two years, was defending her title against Miss D Spalding (Burton Golf Club). Miss Hives went on to make it three championships in a row, she won the match 2up.

Joan Hives playing out of a bunker on the third. Miss Spalding putting on the second. (Derby Daily Telegraph)

Result of a match against Chevin played in July 1939.

Derby Daily Telegraph Monday 10 July 1939. Image © Reach plc. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

Report on the new golf course in July 1939.

Derby Daily Telegraph Saturday 29 July 1939. Image © Reach plc. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

Above is the layout of the “Markeaton Golf Club New Course” It seems as though they intended to carry on as Markeaton Golf Club at this time. (Image from the Derby Evening Telegraph 4 August 1939).

The club’s final appearance in the Golfer's Handbook was in 1940; A licensed clubhouse and a club membership of 310; The 18-hole course had a S.S.S and Par of 71; Course records were amateur P J Ball 68 and professional H Bruton 66.

The area that the course once occupied has mostly been taken over by housing and the University buildings. The original clubhouse was still standing at the time of writing.

Grid reference SK33625, 38290, co-ordinates 433625, 338290.

It was announced in November 1945 that the end was in sight for Markeaton golf course. It was obviously a sad time for the club members, made worse by the fact that the club was to close on Christmas Day. The club was well known for its cheerful social atmosphere and it was a good that the clubhouse pavilion would survive as a lasting memory of the club.

In 1946 the Keddleston Park Golf Club was formed on a course laid out by James Braid.