Beaufort
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Beaufort
POlo Club
T
he Beaufort Polo Club had its initial
incarnation as the Hunt Polo Club
and was one of the first in the country.
Inaugurated in 1872 by Colonel Frank
Henry, who had just retired from the 9th Lancers
– the regiment who, three years previous had
played the 10th Hussars in England’s first polo
match – the Club’s ground was on the Westonbirt
Estate between Hare Covert and Elmstree House.
Diaries kept by Colonel Henry give accounts of
the sometimes six and five-a-side games that were
played and the names of the hunting men who
participated.
The 1870’s saw a number of country polo Clubs opening,
notably Monmouthshire and Manchester (now Cheshire); but
many of them including the original Beaufort, were of short
duration.
It wasn’t until the late 1920’s that the Club reformed and
relocated to a levelled ground between Malmesbury and
Hullavington and renamed in honour of its first President,
the Duke of Beaufort. It opened on April 3rd 1929, and from
the outset attracted players and spectators from far and wide
38 Issue 18
– great grounds and the opportunity to play so early on in
the year meant it was extremely popular. The arrival also of
Canadian Player, Herbert Cox – who based himself at Down
Farm on the Holford family’s Westonbirt estate near Tetbury –
was instrumental in the Club flourishing.
The opening of the 1930 season was chiefly memorable for
the visit of the Australian Polo Team and the selection and
trials of the British International Team, which went to America
in the Autumn under the captaincy of Captain C Tremayne