The Club

The Polo Club was inaugurated in the summer of 1894, under the Seventh Earl Bathurst, and since then has more than realised the hopes of its original founder. Two grounds were in use for matches at Cirencester, but it was not until 1909 that Lord Bathurst gave permission for the Ivy Lodge ground to be boarded. A local newspaper at that time reported:

“The concession is one which will be greatly appreciated by players, for Cirencester is practically the only first-class ground in England which is unboarded. This enables the County Cup to be played at Cirencester which, up to now, has been impossible.”

The early history of the Cirencester Club, set down in immaculate copper-plate handwriting in the minute books, reveals many differences between the polo of those days and of today. There is, for instance, mention that “two suitable horses be purchased for the rolling and mowing of the grounds”. Later, “one horse was loaned and another, a five year old, was purchased at Cheltenham for 17 guineas”.

At the turn of the century, the popularity of the game had spread throughout the country, with one newspaper commenting, “In no district has Polo made greater progress during the past five years than in Gloucestershire and the fact that three clubs with full sized grounds now exist in the county has made it possible for the senior club, Cirencester, to arrange a cycle of matches throughout the season without having to travel so far as was necessary before”.

In July 1914, preparations were being made for the Open Tournament the following month. It was agreed that “Messrs Saunders & Sons Ltd. erect a stand about 80 feet long, to seat 230 people for an agreed sum of £27. 10s, three or four tiers of seats”. But, immediately below this minute are written seven terse lines:

“Four days after the above meeting, viz August 4, 1914, England declared war on Germany and the Great European War began in real earnest and members of the Polo Club of military age rushed to join their various regiments – the tournament being immediately abandoned and military duties at once entered upon.”

The war over, polo was resumed in the Park. For several seasons the sport was in good shape, with many leading players, including the then Prince of Wales, taking part in tournaments. During the 1939–45 conflict, the famous Ivy Lodge ground was ploughed up for the war effort. It was not until April 1952, when a meeting was called by Earl Bathurst and his brother, the Hon. George Bathurst, that it was unanimously agreed to re-form the Polo Club, now called Cirencester Park Polo Club.

Twenty-five players immediately announced their intention of playing. The Ivy Lodge ground was reclaimed and reseeded, and chukkas were played each Wednesday and Saturday. Soon more players came forward, as did non-playing members, and there was tremendous enthusiasm.

Lord Vestey and his brother Mark, both of whom served as Chairman, were great supporters of polo at Cirencester. Their teams, Stowell Park and Foxcote, dominated the high-goal scene in the 1970s, winning all the major trophies. Between 1973 and 1980, they held the British Open Championship on no fewer than six occasions. To conclude a golden decade of high-goal successes, another local team, Alex Ebeid’s Falcons, were champions in 1981 and 1983.

Many top British players have been associated with Cirencester Park, notably Gerald Balding, described in the club’s original account as “one of the most outstanding Polo players of the 20th Century”, and Julian and Howard Hipwood, both captains of England who learned their polo at Cirencester as members of the VWH Pony Club. When the Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII, played polo at Cirencester Park in the 1920s, he was the first member of the Royal family to do so.

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, played in many tournaments during the 1960s. King Charles III, then Prince of Wales, participated in tournament polo and many charity matches. The original account also names Princes William and Harry in connection with charity games at Cirencester.

The original history records Mark Vestey’s three children as regular players. Other highly successful teams included Urs and Guy Schwarzenbach’s Black Bears and the Hanbury family’s Lovelocks.

The original account describes a playing membership of well over 100 and an expanding collection of grounds: Ivy Lodge, Peddington, Meadows, Sweethills, Coombe Farm, Savannah, Marks’s Field and Upper Field, together with grounds at Aston Down and a practice ground at Jackbarrow on the Miserden Estate. Coombe Farm, Savannah, Marks’s Field and Upper Field were recorded as additions since 2008.

Club facilities described in that account included a Clubhouse with bar and restaurant, changing rooms, grandstands within the members’ enclosure at Ivy Lodge, and smaller stands on the Meadows and Peddington grounds. Aston Down was described as irrigated, with a grandstand and bar/tea tent. One side of each ground was reserved for members’ car parking.

At the Ivy Lodge and Meadow grounds, parking between the two grounds provided easy access to the pony lines, where dozens of ponies were tended to by their grooms.