First and Third Trinity Boat Club
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CUCBC | |
Website | www |
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Events | |
Second Trinity Challenge Sculls, Talbott Cup | |
Notable members | |
Justin Welby, Gregory Winter, Imogen Grant |
The First and Third Trinity Boat Club is the
The boat club also gives its name to Trinity College's May Ball, which is the oldest such event in Cambridge and originates from the club's celebrations after the victories in the May Bumps.[citation needed]
History and legend
In the nineteenth century the various Trinity boat clubs were very strong, often won events in Cambridge and at various regattas around the country, notably the
In 1876 Second Trinity was disbanded due to having insufficient members. A legend claims that during the Bumps in that year, the rowers of Trinity's arch-rivals,
In the twentieth century the clubs remained competitive and continued to achieve success in various events. The Second World War forced the two clubs to combine resources, and after the war they formally merged in order to remain competitive with the now larger boat clubs of other colleges. In the same year First and Third won the
First Trinity Boat Club
The Trinity Boat Club, the original
In 1946, the club amalgamated with the other remaining boat club of the College,
The club was very successful throughout its history, but especially in the 19th century. Its early history is well covered by Walter Rouse Ball's 1908 book, A History of The First Trinity Boat Club, which is available online in its entirety.
In 1839 First Trinity won the Grand Challenge Cup in the first Henley Royal Regatta (but not made "Royal" till 1851). The crew rowed in a boat named the Black Prince, the bow section of which is still owned by the First and Third Trinity Boat Club but which is on loan to the River and Rowing Museum in Henley. They defeated the other three entries, who were Wadham College, Oxford, Brasenose College, Oxford and the Oxford Etonian Club. First and Third Trinity Boat Club still names its higher quality men's eight-oared boats 'Black Prince'. As new boats are purchased, older boats are demoted to lower boat use and are referred to by their boat registration eg Black Prince 804, Black Prince 803.
1st Trinity has won Olympic gold on two occasions. The coxless four of Charles Eley, James MacNabb, Robert Morrison and Terence Sanders won gold for Great Britain at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, with Canada gaining silver, and Switzerland the bronze. In the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, 1st Trinity successfully defended the coxless fours title (Richard Beesly, Edward Bevan, John Lander, Michael Warriner), with the United States getting silver and Italy receiving bronze.
First Trinity was also very successful on its home water, the River Cam. Between 1827 and 1908 First Trinity was "Head" crew in the University of Cambridge's Bumps races 38 times, more than any other Club.
Second Trinity Boat Club
The Second Trinity Boat Club was a short-lived rowing club at Trinity College. Little is known about the club, as very few records survive from 2nd Trinity. The club was reserved for members of the clergy and theology students who were studying at Trinity, and, by 1876 the club folded due to a lack of members.[1]
2nd Trinity competed in the early bumps races in Cambridge from 1829 until its demise in 1876, going Head of the River in 1835 and 1849.
The club was originally known as the Nautilus Club, changing its name to Second Trinity, Queen Bess to reflect the name of its boat, a common practice at the time. The name of the club continued as Queen Bess until 1838, when it ceased competing. The club reformed in 1840 as the 2nd Trinity Boat Club, but was often described as Reading Trinity and nicknamed the Hallelujahs, in reflection of its membership. By the mid-1860s, the club was in decline, and despite efforts by the First Trinity Boat Club in 1866 to limit their membership in order to boost that of 2nd Trinity, this failed to help, and the decline continued. 1st Trinity voted to remove their membership limit once again. By 1870, the club had abandoned its original entry requirements, and allowed new students who did not have a connection to theology courses, and this allowed the club to continue for a few years, even rising back up to 7th in the bumps races in 1873. Thereafter, numbers dwindled once again, and by the Easter term 1876, the club had dropped to last but one in the first division. At a meeting of all three Trinity clubs, the 2nd Trinity Boat Club was formally dissolved, with its members given an invitation to join First Trinity.[2]
In 1894, a group of students had claimed to have re-founded 2nd Trinity, and raced in the bumps, but the new 2nd Trinity was not recognised by the Cambridge University Boat Club and did not race again.
One of 2nd Trinity's trophies, the Baines Cup,[3] is used today as the main prize of the Second Trinity Challenge Sculls, a sculling race run by the current 1st and 3rd Trinity members.
An account of its history can be found at First and Third Trinity Boat Club.
Third Trinity Boat Club
The Third Trinity Boat Club was a
Third Trinity rowed with black blades.
Results
Third Trinity competed in the early bumps races at Cambridge University and also in the Lent and May Bumps when they became separate events in 1887.
Third Trinity nearly always did better in the May Bumps than the Lent Bumps, achieving the headship of the May Bumps on nine occasions including holding it for six consecutive years between 1901 and 1906. When the club began rowing with First Trinity, the 1st VIII were in 9th position.
Third Trinity never went head of the Lent Bumps, but managed second place in 1902 and 1922 before plummeting into the mid 2nd division just before the merger.
Third Trinity still hold the record for the most wins in the Visitors' Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta, standing at 14, even though they have not entered since the merger over 70 years ago.
Merger with First Trinity
Third Trinity merged with First Trinity officially in 1946, but the two clubs had been rowing together in the bumps throughout the war period.
In 1946, the newly formed First and Third Trinity Boat Club entered the Henley Royal Regatta and won the Visitors' Challenge Cup with ease; they won the Ladies' Challenge Plate the following year.
Following the merger, the new club took the bumps positions of First Trinity's crews, since they were placed higher than those of Third Trinity, but the new club used Third Trinity's black blades for a number of years, before switching to the current blade colours of blue and gold.
Cultural references
The First Trinity Boat Club and Third Trinity Boat Club are mentioned in The Fall of Prince Florestan of Monaco by Himself, a fictitious work by Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke.[4]
Honours
Henley Royal Regatta
See also
- University rowing (UK)
- Trinity College, Cambridge
References
- ISBN 0-9538475-1-9
- ^ A history of the First Trinity Boat Club, W.W. Rouse Ball - 1908
- ^ 2nd Trinity Challenge Sculls history
- ^ Wentworth Dilke, Sir Charles (1874). The Fall of Prince Florestan of Monaco by Himself (Fourth ed.). Macmillan and Company. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
- CUCBC (various years) - Lent and May Bumps programmes.
- First and Third Trinity Boat Club website
- A History of the First Trinity Boat Club