The Club

In 1867 Frank Heathcote (1811-1879) obtained the leave of Mr Naylor to promote pigeon shooting matches at Hurlingham and soon after formed the Hurlingham Club, originally for this purpose and ‘as an agreeable country resort'. The Club went on to lease the estate from Mr Naylor in 1869 and in 1874 acquired the freehold for £27,500.

The pigeon is still the Club’s crest and until 1905 clouds of live pigeons were released each summer from an enclosure near the present Tennis Pavilion. The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), an early patron, was a keen shot and his presence ensured the Club’s status and notability from the beginning.