The Dover Amateur Rowing Club (DARC) was founded in 1846, the oldest coastal rowing club in Britain. It was not established to race in regattas initially, being more of a leisure club. Its first boats were a couple of pleasure skiffs with seats in the stern for ladies and its members took picnics on afternoon rows around Dover Bay.

Dover Regatta, established in 1826, stages races for professional boatmen and for amateurs who, under regatta rules, had to use regatta-built racing galleys. So that DARC could take part, Dover Regatta for many years had a pleasure boat race for amateurs.

In 1867 DARC was invited to race in the Paris Exhibition and a crew was sent with a loaned racing galley. Following this, the club was reformed as the Dover Rowing Club, with air of putting out racing crews, but lack of money meant that the club could not replace its few old skiffs.

In 1870 Richard Dickeson joined the club. Dickeson, one of the richest and most influential men in Dover, was the President of the Dover Regatta Committee and was frustrated that all the prize money raised from local businessmen went to rowing clubs from other towns. He was determined that the Dover Club would become a competitive racing team and paid for the club's first purpose-built regatta racing galley and a new club house at East Cliff.

Under the presidency of Dickeson, from 1872 until his death in 1900, Dover Rowing Club became the best coastal rowing club in the country. He presented a new racing galley to the club every year for 26 years.

The Dover Club became the premier club of the south coast and was instrumental in creating the SCR Challenge Cup for Senior Fours in 1887, the most prestigious championship in the regatta calendar, and in forming CARA, of which Dickeson was the President, from 1894 to 1900.

Dover's record in the 1890s was remarkable. The Challenge Cup, coastal rowing's equivalent of the F.A. Cup, was won by Dover in 1892, 1893 and 1894 - a third consecutive win giving them outright ownership of the cup. It was presented by the club to Dickeson, and club members purchased a new Challenge Cup which they gave to CARA and then won again in 1895.

The Glory Years

The 1890s saw Dover's Senior Fours crew become the outstanding crew in Britain.

The crew, rowing in the 'Lady Dickeson' became South Coast Champions in 1892, 1893, 1894 and 1895, a remarkable feat in itself but it was the 1894 season that made them unique - they entered 28 races in 15 regattas and won every single race they entered. They took home the three richest prizes in coastal rowing, the South Coast Challenge Cup, the Newhaven Cup and the Portsmouth 100 Guineas Challenge Cup. Their other prizes included silverware, clocks, lamps, dishes, carvers, fish services, tea and coffee services, cutlery canteens, cigar and cigarette cases and jewellery, amounting to a value of £211 - an enormous sum for 1894.

Following their win at [[Eastbourne], the last regatta of the season, the crew returned to Dover by train where many thousands waited for them at Harbour Station. Blue and white bunting, the club's colours, had been hung in the streets and the 'Lady Dickeson' mounted on a trolley and covered in fairy lights, gauze and flags. The bands of the Cinque Ports Artillery Volunteers and the Gordon Boys Orphanage played at either end of the platform.

Huge cheers greeted the crew as they stepped off the train and, after presentations of rosettes and flowers, they were put in an open carriage and paraded through packed streets with the 'Lady Dickeson' behind followed by the marching bands. Later, a dinner reception was held at the Grand Hotel where champagne was drunk from the new silver cups.

The 1895 season was also dominated and won by the Dover crew but halfway through the season they finally lost a race after an unprecedented nineteen consecutive victories in the Senior Fours. Unfortunately for the estimated crowd of 30,000 it was at Dover Regatta that they lost, coming third!

The famous crew reunited for the 1913 Dover Regatta to row in a special veterans race which, naturally, they still won easily.

Dover's success continued into the 20th century when a new senior pairs crew won the championship for five consecutive years from 1907 to 1911.

Dover Rowing Club Later History

Following the club's amazing record during the 1890s, the club continued to dominate coastal rowing and again won the South Coast Championship on three consecutive occasions in 1907, 1908 and 1909. Having won the Challenge Cup outright yet again the club presented it to CARA as a perpetual trophy that could not be won outright and then won it again in 1910 and 1911, five consecutive wins.

The club was inactive during the First World War, its clubhouse commandeered by the Navy and most of its members joining the armed forces. Some were killed in action, including Ford, Gill, Sharp, Chettle, Harris, Golding and Divine. The club organised a Peace Regatta in 1919 but with most of the members still in service the races were for the lifeboats and whalers of the Dover Patrol Destroyers and Minesweepers and a Ladies Pair Oared race between the WAACs and the WRNS. This was one of the first ever ladies prize races and was followed in 1920 by the club admitting ladies as full members though it was to be 50 years before there were ladies competition teams.

Dover Rowing Club never quite regained its dominance in the post war years though they were still quite successful, particularly in 1928 when the club were CARA champions in the Junior Fours, Junior Pairs, Junior Sculls and winners of the Colonel Hankey South Coast Championship.

Following the Second World War the club began racing again in 1946, but the late 1940s and [[1950s] were the leanest years for the club - in some seasons it could not get any kind of crew together and only competed in the Dover Regatta. Very few wins were recorded during this period.

A revival began in the 1960s with a new input of members, including [[Roger Cuff]. Cuff joined the club in 1959, was captain from 1963 to 1977 and club chairman from 1986 until his tragic death in the sea off Lanzarote in 1990. He was Junior Sculls champion in 1963 and Senior Pairs champion in 1971 with Andy Ratcliff. Other wins and championships followed for the club, culminating in the Senior Fours Championship in 1981, the first time since 1911.

Today Dover Rowing Club is still going strong although it is perhaps not as successful as in the old days. The crews still compete hard in many of the South Coast Regattas and, not surprisingly for the club that held one of the first ladies races, the women's team were one of the best of the coast and were CARA champions in Senior Fours in 1991 and 1992. There is a very strong youth section at the club.


This page has been taken from www.doverrowinglub.co.uk with permission.