Tennis has been played in the town for well over 130 years and the game is now perpetuated by the Bourne Tennis Club.

The game was originally played on a "tennis ground" near the Abbey Church alongside the bowling green [now the vicarage garden], later transferring to courts in Burghley Street but the club now uses the Abbey Lawn.

The original name was the Bowling Green and Tennis Club, later changing to the Bourne Tennis and Croquet Club which played at the Burghley Street venue for over half a century but when the land was sold in 1958, members were forced to seek a new location.

They were saved by a fortunate coincidence because around this time, Bourne United Charities were planning a new set of courts on the site of the monks' garden which was part of the Abbey Lawn property and had once been used to provide vegetables and herbs for the monks of Bourne Abbey.

It was intended that the new courts would supplement those already in use by the Bourne Hard Courts Tennis Club which had been opened in May 1922 and it was agreed that the two should merge to form a combined club. The ground was subsequently levelled and drained and Messrs W A North and Son Limited, the forage merchants who had bought the Burghley Street site, allowed turf from the old courts to be lifted and used for the new ones on the Abbey Lawn which were opened for play in May 1959.

The old tennis pavilion however was deemed to be unsuitable for removal and was sold for scrap. Within six years there were 70 members playing friendly and competitive matches, while the men's team played with some success in the Lincolnshire League's Third Division.

The club now enjoys some of the finest playing conditions in South Lincolnshire with three first class hard courts, two of which are equipped with floodlighting for evening play, and five grass courts which give unrivalled access during the summer months.

There is now an active membership with players ranging from four years old to veterans in their seventies who all enjoy a friendly and sociable atmosphere while at the same time benefiting from professional coaching and the opportunity to compete in county leagues.

The club is particularly proud of former members James Fox and Andrew Richardson who both achieved recognition in the national game before making a name in the coaching scene at prestigious clubs at home and aboard.

"The club places special emphasis on encouraging the next generation of players and has invested in the services of a highly regarded professional coaching team", said club spokesman Brian Walsh. "They work with both individuals and on carefully devised age-range programmes. We also offer a unique project called cardio-tennis which combines fitness strategies with ways of improving game skills regardless of experience and ability. We also hold daytime sessions for older people and shift workers unable to play at the usual times."

NOTE: Tennis was also played for a time on grass and hard courts in Manning Road on land adjoining the old Bourne Water Works owned by the Congregational Sports Club which was established in 1921 but the club closed soon after the outbreak of the Second World War.

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