Travelling around the country attending various functions, I have visited a number of clubs that have seen their centenary’s come and go. Some of them have changed course location, and even changed their name, in those one hundred years. This lead me to wonder whether we at John O’Gaunt Golf Club could argue that, as we celebrate our sixtieth anniversary at this location, the club is in fact much older.
Back in 1991, the then Club Captain Mr Brian Tansley found that his year in office coincided with the centenary of golf being played in this area. He thought it would be a good idea to celebrate the centenary of golf in Biggleswade, by recreating the nine holes of golf on the south of Biggleswade common, the old course layout of the Mid Beds Golf Club.
During Brian’s investigations into the history of golf in the area there came to light a paper written in 1981 by one F. C. LEVITT, a past Club President of John O`Gaunt Golf Club and founder member of the Mid Beds Golf Club. The following is a summary of that paper, and other relevant information acquired from the Biggleswade History Society, and Biggleswade Chronicle which also began life in 1891.
Resulting from a meeting of the local gentry on November 28th 1891, golf started in this area. A club was formed and known as the North Beds Golf Club, and a course was laid out in the area Furzenhall Farm. Some of the most prominent people in the area backed the plan, including at that time the speaker of the House of Commons Sir Robert Peel, who was the club’s first President. Sir Robert Peel struck the first ball on a frosty morning in December 1892. The club lasted until 1916. The last note in the minute book read that members should be advised to collect their effects from the club house (which was a wooden shed with a corrugated roof), and added at the bottom “ here endeth the Biggleswade golf club”.
Mr Levitt relates that, in about 1927/1928, he and a Tom Moore still knocked a few golf balls around the common, from the Potton Road end of the common. It was as he puts it “a too good a game to be lost to the Town and District”, and very soon quite a number of people were talking about the possibilities of continuing golf in the area.
Notices were sent out to interested people of an intended meeting to discuss the possibilities. Some 60 people turned up, so a start was made. The only site available was Biggleswade Common with the entrance off the Potton Road.
The Fen Reeves were approached with little success, but some canvassing and repeated requests wore them down and permission was granted.
Another meeting was held and about 60 to 70 men and women agreed to support the club.
A 9 hole Course was laid out at the south end of Biggleswade Common with frontage to Potton Road. The Clubhouse (the wooden shed) was moved from Furzenhall to its new site at Potton Road.
The club became known as the “Mid Beds Golf Club”, and golf continued to be played on the common until c.1947.
During the Second World War, the War Department put three of the holes under the plough, and put ditches on the other six so that aircraft could not land, these ditches were put in areas so that they could be used as hazards on the golf course.
Towards the end of the war members of the Mid Beds Golf Club became interested in a property known as Sutton Park, previously owned by the Burgoyne family and originally by John O’Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. It had been requisitioned and used by the Army throughout the war and was possibly coming onto the market. The property had been known for its immaculate drives, gardens and lawns, but unfortunately along with the mansion the estate had suffered great dilapidation.
(The park was designed by a Humphrey Repton, a contemporary of Capability Brown around the late 1700`s. His designs where renowned for their avenues of lime trees, the avenue is still there in part, starting at the Sutton Crossroads and heading down towards the Greenkeepers compound, the site of the second house which was burnt down in 1820, the first now being where the 17th green stands now).
In about 1947 the Estate was bought in its dilapidated state for the princely sum of £5000, with money, which had been obtained from running all sorts of fund raising activities, such as dances etc.
A Holding Company was formed to arrange finance for Sutton Park and to invite members and others to take out shares, which many did. The Holding Company therefore owned the property consisting of the house and 145 acres. They allowed the club to develop the course and partly repair and alter the house. The first nine holes of the course were designed by a Mr W G Groves, a scratch golfer from Leighton Buzzard. The second nine holes were designed by Mr Hawtree, who subsequently designed the Carthagena Course.
Mr Levitt in his paper, said that the naming of the club caused some conflict amongst the committee at that time. It was only after much deliberation and argument that the committee decided, in view of the John O`Gaunt connections with Sutton Park and the House of Burgoyne, that the club should be named “The John O'Gaunt Golf Club”. (Would it have kept its name of Mid Beds G C if the opposition had won?)
It appears that today we still have the same problems as they had back in the 1950's, experts were called in to advise on how to make good golf greens out of meadow grass! Simple - Spiking, top dressing and feeding came back the answer.
Mr Levitt concludes by saying that being a past President and an Honorary Life Member he was able to look back and think of the club with no axes to grind and that in his opinion it was a wonderful and plucky venture that was undertaken. In the early days of John O'Gaunt Golf Club, golf etiquette was drilled into members and was very largely observed. But, sad to say, little notice is taken of etiquette nowadays. The world and the people in it have changed.
To this day we still play for trophies which were played for on Biggleswade common and bear the inscription of “Mid Beds Golf Club”, the Captains Cup (1935), the Coronation Vase (1937) and the Presidents Cup (?).
So are we John O'Gaunt Golf Club, 60years old, or are we Mid Beds Golf Club with a name change making us about 80 years old?
Those of you that are reading this are probably aware that our Hon. Sec. Ken Robinson, has been running the John O`Gaunt Seniors blogsite since April 2006, and I am sure you will agree a fine job he has made of it too.
