Cheshire GOLF History

The unification of the Cheshire County Ladies Golf Association (CCLGA) and the Cheshire Union of Golf Clubs (CUGC) in 2024 has brought together two organisations each having a history of over 100 years. The CCLGA was formed in 1907 following a proposal by the Ladies Golf Union that county associations be formed to facilitate inter-county matches. The Cheshire Union was somewhat later on the scene, formed shortly after WW1 in 1920.

It is clear that the real driving force behind the formation of the Union was Daniel Mylrea, who had been instrumental in establishing the Sale Golf Club. In October, 1920 he wrote to all clubs in the county asking if they would be willing to support the proposed county Union, and it is clear he received a very positive response.

Consequently, in November, 1920, at a meeting in Manchester’s Midland Hotel, the formation of the Cheshire Union of Golf Clubs was confirmed. There was an initial tally of 36 clubs which committed to join the Union, including Royal Liverpool, Wallasey, Leasowe, Bromborough and all of the clubs in the east of the county. Harold Janion, the renowned secretary of Royal Liverpool was elected as President, with Daniel T.Mylrea (Sale) Hon Secretary and Geoffrey Tweedale (Wilmslow) Hon Treasurer, both being driving forces in the Union’s inception. It was agreed that there would be a sliding scale of subscription fees, based on the number of members within a club, subject to a minimum subscription of one guinea.


The history of each organisation has been documented in two separate books. The CCLGA history  is now out of print but can occasionally be found on eBay and other online book sellers.
The CUGC centenary book is still available via the county office.

 

 

Harold Janion

1914-cclga-champs

Gladys Ravenscroft, Murield Dodd and Doris Chambers at the 1914 Cheshire Ladies Championship, Wallasey GC

Historical Archive

BUILDING A CHESHIRE GOLF DIGITAL ARCHIVE

While researching the CUGC history for the centenary book that was produced, we established a small online archive, primarily to share information for those involved in writing the book. The ultimate aim was to produce a comprehensive relational database covering all clubs, championships, team matches and players. This is a non-trivial project, as most of these records are in printed format and there is the challenge of managing over 2,500 images. We are, however, quite well advanced in this project, which is currently limited to CUGC. The intention is to include the ladies records, however work on this has not yet commenced.
You can access the archive here, but please bear in mind that this is very much a “work in progress”.
If you have any material that you think may be of interest to us then we’d be delighted to hear from you. Please contact our archivist Jerry Dixon: jerry@cheshiregolf.org.uk

You can view the archive here.

DID YOU KNOW?

– Cheshire, immediately prior to WW1, had 3 of the best lady golfers in the world: Gladys Ravenscroft (British and US Ladies Champion), Muriel Dodd (English and Canadian Champion) and Doris Chambers (Champion of India)
– The Cheshire Union were a driving force in the formation of the English Golf Union (now England Golf) in 1924
– Cheshire’s men were the first winners of the English Counties Championship
– A Cheshire player, Thomas Froes Ellison, won the first two English Amateur Championships
– Doris Chambers captained three Curtis Cup teams
– By 1935 Cheshire’s men had won the English County Championship, provided two double winners and a further winner of the English Amateur, plus a double semi-finalist