History

The first cycling club in Guildford

Guildford

Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...

 was in the early days of cycling in 1877, when the high bicycle (the penny-farthing

Penny-farthing

Penny-farthing, high wheel, high wheeler, and ordinary are all terms used to describe a type of bicycle with a large front wheel and a much smaller rear wheel that was popular after the boneshaker, until the development of the safety bicycle, in the 1880s...

) was in vogue. It began as Guildford Bicycle Club and changed name to Guildford Cycling Club. The club lasted 35 years, by which time the members were middle-aged, middle-class and motoring-inclined.

In the meantime, working men in the Charlotteville area of Guildford

Guildford

Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...

 wanted a club that would cater for them. Charlotteville, area on the north-eastern side of Guildford, was funded by a wealthy doctor, Thomas Sells. It was laid out by the Guildford architect Henry Peak, beginning in 1862, and named after Sells' wife, Charlotte. Charlotteville Cycling Club was formed at Charlotteville Institute in Addison Road on 27 March 1903. The mayor was the first president.

Charlotteville has been racing since its first club event, a 25-mile time trial, in 1905. However, racing in Guildford goes back further, to when Harold Crooke of Guildford CC won the first Anchor Shield in 1886 at races in Woodbridge Road. This trophy was provided by the landlady of the Anchor in Ripley

Ripley, Surrey

Ripley is a village and parish in Surrey, which grew on the main A3 road from London to Portsmouth. The road was renumbered as B2215 when a bypass was built. The village is situated close to the M25 motorway and southeast of Woking, northeast of Guildford and some southwest of central London...

, a venue for cyclists. The races were organised in conjunction with a Southern Counties Cyclists' camp in Shalford Park. Two years later, Crooke took the national high bicycle 100 miles record.

In the Charlotteville, Vic Jenner rode for Britain in the world championship road race in Italy in 1932. Then in 1938 and 1939, George Nightingale gained the 25 and 30-mile records and became the second person to beat the hour for 25 miles in Britain. Derek Cottington took the 25 and 50-mile straight-out records in 1970 and won the 25 and 50-mile championships in 1971.

Time trials for members had been run since1905, but in 1928 the Charlotteville promoted its first open event, an evening track meeting, the first of an annual series. After the war in 1946, track promotion was renewed with the Whit Monday meetings at Woodbridge Road.

One of the Charlotteville's promotions was the World's Championship Trials at Brooklands Motor Racing Track

Brooklands

Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...

 in 1933. The motivation was Jenner's experiences in Italy. This was the birth of modern road racing.

Guildford Town Centre Races

The Guildford Town Centre Races were first promoted by Charlotteville Cycling Club in 1984 as part of Guildford Festival. The route was the same as it is today, a small circuit of North Street, Market Street and a climb of the cobbled High Street. The first race was attended by 2000 spectators. Southern Veteran-Cycle Club Ripley Section rode two laps on veteran machines. The oldest was a French Michaux velocipede of about 1868. There were also two high “Ordinaires” of about 1880 and a Singer solid-tyred safety of 1890.

The Town Centre Races were the idea of Les Smith, Mike Willimott and Stuart Campbell who promoted them for the first ten years. Since 1984 the races have been cancelled in 1995, 1999 and 2000 due to roadworks or builders’ scaffolding on the road.

Colours

Club colours are red, green and white. The design has changed many times. The design shown here is for 2007 and was designed by Roger Morgan

See also

• Sid Ferris
  Sid Ferris
  Sidney "Sid" Herbert Ferris was an English long-distance cyclist who broke the records for Edinburgh-to-London, Land's End to John O'Groats, and 1,000 miles in 1937....
  
  - Harry Ferris was a successful competitor in pre-war events organised by Charlotteville C.C.

External links

• Charlotteville Cycling Club - The club's website.
• Charlotteville Cycling Club Race Team - The website for the club's Road Racing team.