Out there, in the ‘little bit of Heaven that is Walditch’ as a friend puts it, is the Hyde Real Tennis court. It has had a number of reincarnations in its existence. The court dates from 1887, when there was a revival of the mediaeval game of Real Tennis. Lawn tennis had gone its own way in 1870, but Real Tennis continued as a game played by royalty and the rich. It is a mix of squash and lawn tennis, played over a net but also off the court walls.

Joseph Gundry built the court to impress a friend, Edward VII, but Gundry died in a hunting accident in 1891 before he could lure his friend to Dorset to witness the impact. After Gundry’s death, the court was rarely used for tennis. It hosted the village flower show, was a roller-skating rink, and from 1930 it became a barn.

This photograph was taken in 1910 when Mr G. Bonfield opened the Grand Skating Rink- “the Fastest and Safest Floor in England, Twice the Size of any other Local Rink”. Refreshments were provided and tea made to order at moderate prices. Roller-skates could be hired for sixpence, the same as the adult entry fee for a two-hour session (children half-price). For an extra sixpence, you could have an hour’s roller-skating lesson. The rink opened and closed in 1910, and was open again from 1914 to 1918.

In September 1939, before moving to the battlefields of France and Belgium, members of 229 Battery, 58th Sussex Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, were billeted in Walditch, and we have a photograph of them in the archive. The barn was their dining room. A side room became the sergeants’ mess, while the yard and shed were the cookhouse. There were four artillery guns behind the barn (court) next to the parade ground. Sanitary facilities for the men consisted of buckets and canvas screens.  The Hyde house was of course the officers’ mess and living quarters.  Some officers were billeted privately in houses along Crock Lane and East Road. Whoever chose the billets had a sense of humour: they included houses called Battlecombe and The Retreat.

In 1942 the Hyde Real Tennis court was requisitioned by the US army. Two companies of American infantry arrived in 1942 to train for the Normandy landings. They needed covered space for a tank repair depot- so they just knocked a large hole in one end of the building and removed most of the fittings. These troops took part in the disastrous Slapton Sands rehearsal for D-day. where many troops died. There is no mention of casualties at Slapton in the Commanding Officer’s notes (this was kept secret until recently); however, he reports that casualties at Omaha Beach were “extremely heavy”.  Before embarking for D-day at Weymouth, General Montgomery addressed the US and British troops at Bridport Cricket Grounds. He wasn’t a popular guest at The Hyde: Mrs Gundry described him as ‘bossy and overbearing’.

The court was used as a barn for cows until 1995 when another Joseph Gundry died and left it to the Bridport and West Dorset Sports Trust, which also owns Bridport Leisure Centre, on the condition that it was restored to its original use. It cost £400,000, with most of the money coming from the Lottery and small contributions from Bridport and local parish councils. This is one of only 25 Real courts remaining in Britain, and the club welcomes all ages and abilities.

Ann Sydney- Research Volunteer

(adapted from an article original published in The Bridport Times)

All of the information included in this article is correct to the best of our knowledge. However, if you believe anything is incorrect, or would like to submit further information, then don’t hesitate to get in touch.