Papers of the Agecroft Rowing Club

The information which can be found in the papers is very varied indeed. As one would expect from a rowing club, there is much information on the development of the sport, particularly in the log books, rowing notes book and correspondence files; rowing styles, techniques and boat design are all commented upon. The polluted state of the River Irwell and the building development along its banks also feature quite strongly in the Club's records. The collection is surprisingly rich in photographs, not just of the Club members and of rowing activities on the Irwell, but also of the social aspects of the Club. The regatta and various boating holidays Club members undertook, most notably along the River Wye and River Dee, feature strongly, along with detailed written accounts. Members' lives outside the Club also feature in the records, particularly their war service.

The papers of the Agecroft Rowing Club are rich and engaging in their variety: through them can be charted the development of the sport of rowing, but more colourful perhaps is the picture they paint of those who "liked messing about in boats".

There are seven classes of material: Club Committee and AGM minute books, 1864-1966 (ARC1); Regatta Committee minute books, 1913-1954 (ARC2); correspondence files, 1912-1951 (ARC3); log books, 1865-1954 (ARC4); Agecroft Regatta records, 1922-1959 (ARC5); miscellaneous records including a history of the Club published in 1960, 1928-1980 (ARC6); and the 'Travel Notes' or travel diaries of R.W. Blakeley, compiled in 1946, recording his travels in Europe between 1900 and 1938 and profusely illustrated with photographs (ARC7).

The Agecroft Rowing Club was founded in 1861 by Ishmael Lythgoe to provide a place where inhabitants of Manchester who enjoyed the sport of rowing could gather together and practice their chosen sport. Its original home was in an old boiler house belonging to one of the dye-works which lined the banks of the River Irwell in Salford at that time. It moved twice subsequently, first in 1867 to the Irwell Road near the Douglas Green Weir, and again in 1935, upstream to the playing fields near Kersal Cell. Although the Agecroft Rowing Club held regattas throughout its life, offering cups and trophies to competing teams, and participated itself in the regattas of other rowing clubs, even as far afield as Germany and Norway, it was not a centre of rowing excellence. Rather, it was a social club for enthusiasts of the sport of rowing, where a member could practice his sport (women were not permitted as members) among like-minded individuals. The records of the Club reflect this enthusiasm and love for the sport.