EFA
Extract from 'Eton and Rugby Fives (1934)'
by David Egerton and John Armitage
David Egerton was a founder of the Eton Fives Association and a winner of the Kinnaird Cup, whilst John Armitage was a top Rugby Fives player and a member of the Jesters Committee. Each was responsible for their part of 'Eton and Rugby Fives', published in 1934 by Seeley, Service and Co Ltd for the Lonsdale Library (price 2s/6d).
Chapter Two - Eton Fives by David Egerton
Early 'Fives'
'Defense de Jouer a la Pelote'. So runs a warning to the sacrilegious who wish to take exercise under the lee of Bayonne Cathedral Pelota did not, I presume, have its origin amid the messy drainpipes of an ecclesiastical atmosphere; whereas Eton Fives most certainly did, and under a lenient ecclesiastical wing it has taken root, and developed to its present state. For many centuries the pastime of a few small boys, unofficial and unnoticed by the historian, it remains today a game for the few, its main enthusiasts being the schoolboy and the schoolmaster. That it has never caught the public eye and become popular must be ascribed to its complexity of rules, to its quaintness of court, and to the absolute necessity for four players to each game. (Let it be said at once that the singles game, as provided for in the rules published by A, C. Ainger in 1871 is not and has not been, considered worth playing, and consequently no mention of any singles games is made in the 1891 revision of the rules. But it is quite possible that a satisfactory form of singles game may be evolved in the future.) Notwithstanding, very considerable progress has been made in recent years and the number of available clubs and competitions is increasing rapidly.
Some form of Fives has existed from the very earliest days - amongst the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans alike. It is a far cry from these early games to the present-day Eton Fives. But Eton Fives is, like real 'tennis and pelota, a specialized development of older hand or racket games, and it is unnecessary for me to deal here with the history of small ball games at large.
Early 'Fives' at Eton
The game of Eton Fives has evolved more by luck than by good management, owing to a series of happy accidents. To hit a ball against a wall with the hand or a convenient piece of wood is instinctive to boys - no less at Eton than anywhere else. Fives must have been played in nearly all the bays of Upper Chapel. With one exception all these games were of the Rugby type, that is, games without a hazard, demanding only simple rules. Why the game we now call Eton Fives should have survived, we cannot tell. Let us put it down to the instrinsic superiority of any game which includes a hazard over any game which is not so fortunate.
All other Fives games have long been extinct at Eton, and this one alone has grown into a highly developed, if badly organized, game. But for centuries it existed at Eton quite unofficially, and had no importance in school life. It has been too insignificant to be mentioned by name in the College Chronicle or any other record previous to the late 'forties. But it is pleasant to assume that Thomas Gray, in his 'Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College' was thinking of Fives in these lines:
'What idle progeny succeed
To chase the rolling circle's speed
Of urge the flying ball?'
Bibliography
Hazlitt, of course, was not an Etonian, and consequently, if interesting in his praise of Jack Cavanagh, he is ignorant of other forms of Fives, and therefore useless for our purposes. Apart from casual references in the Eton College Chronicle (after 1840) we have no bibliography to which to refer, save A. C. Ainger's chapter in the Tennis, Rackets and Fives Volume of the Badminton Library, and the late E. B. Noel's article in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. (Noel was a Wykehamist.) Of these, the first is often irrelevant, and the latter is of necessity very compressed: both deal very summarily with the history of the game. The late Townsend Warner wrote an Essay on the game, together with some excellent hints for young players, the latter being reproduced with permission elsewhere in this book. In 1923 R. C. Clift wrote an excellent article, entitled 'How to Play Fives', which was published in the Rackets and Fives handbook in Spaldings' Sports and Athletic Library. I must also mention a few interesting, if scattered, paragraphs in the late F B. Wilson's book, Sporting Pie. This ends the bibliography, and leads to one of the main difficulties of Eton Fives: it must be learnt, and therefore it must be taught.Learning the Game
Few of the great players have attained their greatness uncoached. Any fool can take up a Squash Racket and ball, enter a court, and attain a reasonable state of proficiency enjoyable without any tuition whatsoever. This is not so at Eton Fives, and unless the beginner is well instructed from the start, it is likely that he will soon tire, and give up the attempt through sheer boredom and disgust. And it is this necessity for teaching, combined with a lack both of precedent and of a competent advisory and controlling body that has given rise to the many and varied styles obtaining at the different schools; for instance, the Etonian plays a slower and perhaps a more cunning game than the Salopian; the Harrovian volleys all he can; and the Carthusian hits very hard. Handbooks on cricket and football appear with alarming frequency; whether they raise the standard of play is open to discussion, but they do help to standardize the lines of teaching and the style of players. While no one wants to see every school play Fives in the same style - even supposing it were possible to prevail upon the innate conservatism of the public schools to alter so important a part of their mechanism as traditional style - yet I am certain that each has much to learn from the others. More handbooks would lead to more discussion, and discussion, I hope, to wider views throughout. Though this is perhaps beside the point.The Court
As we now have it, Eton Fives is a young game, but before dealing with its modern history we must include, for those unacquainted with the original setting of the game, some description of the court which gave rise to our present game. Jutting out from the north wall of the chapel is the main entrance. From it descends a flight of steps, running from east to west, and having a low buttress near the lower end, to serve as a hand rail. The pavement at the bottom of these steps formed the back or outer court. The small buttress formed the 'Pepper-Box'. The upper court consisted of three walls: the front wall, part of the north wall of the Chapel, and the side walls, formed by two of the great buttresses, all of which tower up above to a height of 70 or 80 feet - not that anything like the whole height of these three walls could ever be used in the game. The floor, which was a large step some five inches higher than the floor of the outer court, was paved with flag-stones, somewhat unevenly laid, and sloping up at an angle to the front wall. In the original court this angle was such as to make standing rather uncomfortable, and the game, I should imagine, difficult.A convenient sloping ledge, at a height of 4 feet 6 inches, formed the play-line, and another ledge about 2 feet from the ground formed an additional hazard. Finally, the famous Dead Man's Hole is nothing more or less than one of the drains which served to take away surplus rain-water. Yet it is this feature of the court, and deservedly, which has caught the eye of such journalists as have lavished on the game a paragraph or two of sporting gossip in the evening papers. (Not a year passes but someone, during the week of the Public Schools Handicaps, announces his discovered of this weird new game!) For in Eton Fives, as in real Tennis, it is the accidents of the court which provide the true greatness of the game, and its undoubted superiority over all games in which no form of natural hazard exists.
Equipment
A glance at the original court will show how difficult the game must have been, and would be now even given the great improvements made in modern equipment and balls. What type of ball was originally used we do not know; there are no records on this subject. The use of Fives gloves is a modern innovation, due in part to the hardness of the ball at present in use, and to the too-frequent damaging of fingers and knuckles against the many projections which go to make up the Eton Fives court. But lack of historical information compels me to make no attempt at a reconstruction of the game as played in, say, the seventeenth century.
Early 19th Century
The chapel court was in use until the first new courts were built in 1840. Certainly in 1825 the game flourished at a high standard, for Dr E. H. Lyttelton's father played on it in that year, and 'waxed eloquent on the skill required to return a ball from the far end of the "off wall", (lower step) while actually jumping off the steps' - i.e. the steps descending from the chapel entrance. In those days the difficulty seems to have been to return the ball at all, whereas in these times of fast covered courts, it is becoming increasingly difficult to kill the ball at all.During the first half of the nineteenth century, the game gradually became popular at Eton, perhaps because there were no other organised games of any kind. The number of people who could play Fives in any one court was of course very limited, and certain houses built more or less exact replicas of the chapel court. One of these, called the Pig-Sty, from its close proximity to a shed in which some of these malodorous animals were housed, survived in the sixties, and part of it is still to be seen. (They resembled perhaps the early courts at Highgate, though these have side walls to the lower as well as the upper court.)
Early courts
For the first great development in Eton Fives we are indebted to Dr Hawtrey, sometime Headmaster of Eton. In 1840 he decided to build the first block of Eton Fives courts - four in number. He, or some other component body, must have decided, with a stroke of genius, that, suitably adapted, a court modelled on the lines of the original court would prove a most ideal game for four people. For A. C. Ainger is wrong when he says that these four were an exact reproduction of the chapel court. We see immediately that the court - and thus the game - has been changed, not out of all recognition, but nonetheless to a considerable extent. The walls were built of sandstone, so as to reproduce the effect of the chapel walls. But the distance between the front wall and the 'PepperBox' was increased considerably, and the fall of the floor lessened by perhaps a half, two factors which made the game both easier and faster. Further, the side walls were made to project right out to the end of the back court instead of ceasing abruptly on a level with the 'PepperBox'. The 'Pepper-Box' itself was increased in height, reduced in depth, and made to project farther out into the court. Along the 'Dead Man's Hole' and the 'coping' on the front wall have remained unaltered. It is, therefore, on Dr Hawtrey's courts of 1840 that are founded all the courts of today, with very few alterations.
It is interesting to note that all the present courts at Eton, and all standard courts built elsewhere, are just 2 inches narrower, and 1 inch shorter than Dr. Hawtrey's courts. For, built as they were of sandstone, the surface decayed, and after a few years they had to be re-surfaced with cement, 1 inch being laid on all round. It is also improbable that the present rather dangerous step at the back of the court would exist but for the situation of Dr. Hawtrey's courts. They were built on gravel soil, but were subject to occasional flooding, and presumably in order to keep out the water, the courts were raised some 5 inches off the ground-level.
All these courts were naturally open to wind and rain (for it is only in the last twenty-five years that covered courts have been constructed) and all the floors fell away from the front wall towards the back of the court, in order to facilitate drying. This had obviously been the cause of the fall on the floor in the upper part of the chapel court, though the lower step had no fall on it.Such were the courts which gave rise to the modern game of Eton Fives. About the development of the game during the next twenty or, thirty years we know little, save that in 1847 eight more courts were added to the four courts of 1840.
Rules of the Game as Played at Eton
Certainly until 1877 the rules were only such as existed by word of mouth, and it was many years before the game spread outside Eton itself. As usually happens in the case of a game which includes many hazards, the rules, for what they were worth, were exceedingly complicated, and necessitated, as they do still in part, a vocabulary of their ownl - Words like ' Good 'Un', for a ball hit out of court, take some explaining.
In 1877, A. C. Ainger, "in conjunction with several clearheaded friends " as he himself styles it, found it incumbent upon himself to draw up and publish the Rules of the Game of Fives as Played at Eton. And these rules have sufficed for succeeding generations of Fives-Players until the publication of the Laws (Note the Change !) of Eton Fives by the committee of the Eton Fives Association in March, 1931'. A. C. Ainger's rules, excellent in their way, left much to the imagination and good nature of the players concerned, and probably he himself intended that they should be revised within a few years of their first publication. By 1931 they were found to be out of date in many points.
The Laws
The new laws were called laws at the instance of the late F. B. Wilson, who insisted, and rightly, that ' one of the great games' must have laws - rules are left to the more childish modern games. These new laws themselves are not by any means perfect, and will doubtless come up for revision again during the course of the next two or three years. But it must be owned that they have cleared up a large number of difficulties which existed previously,and further, they have one great advantage over A. C. Ainger's rules: they have practically eliminated ' local rules', once the bugbear (I have heard it called delight) of all who play Eton Fives on other than their own home courts. When the laws were being compiled, all the public schools were consulted, and invited to send in the peculiarities private to their own courts. In many cases it was discovered that the differences of rules, or of interpretation of Ainger's rules, entirely altered the complexion of the game.
The Game at Eton
At the time which we have been considering, Eton possessed the only courts in the world, but at Eton the game was fast increasing in standard and popularity, so much so that the number of courts was not sufficient for the needs of the school.
In 1870, A.C.Ainger with chararcteristic energy persuaded Old Etonians to subscribe sufficient money to build twelve new courts, and then by a happy inspiration 'saddled each house with the task of building a court for itself'. With experience successive courts improved rapidly in structure, and many of these early courts are still in use, and should continue to serve their purpose for years to come.Spread to other Schools
After 1870 the game spread rapidly. Many public schools, notably Harrow (c. 1870), Charterhouse, Highgate, and Westminster (1886), built courts. In most cases Old Etonians resident as Head- or Assistant-Masters were responsible for the building of these courts, but it was long before the game became popular. At Cambridge over a dozen courts were built between 1890 and 1900, and a large number of open courts were also to be found in country houses all over England. For the most part, however, these courts only resembled the true Eton Courts very haphazardly: in actual dimensions and angles there were large divergences from the accurate. Those who built courts, did not, it seems, realize the great differences bound to arise out of the smallest alterations in the size of the court. The obvious conclusion is that the speed and standard of play were not so high as is the case to-day. In truth it must be stated that one of the chief objections to Eton Fives has always lain in the wide variations to be found in different Eton Fives courts. To-day it is considered important to have all courts uniform, and accurate drawings and specifications are now available for all who wish to build Eton Fives courts.
First School Match - Eton v Harrow
At most schools the game did not prosper and was not considered worthy of any outside matches until 1885. In this year E. M. Butler, captain of Fives at Harrow, received a challenge from Freeman Thomas (now Lord Willingdon, Viceroy of India, one of the greatest players of all time) then Keeper of Fives at Eton, to an Eton fives match, one pair aside. Naturally Butler and his partner, B. R. Warren, were no match for the Etonians. But though Harrow in general paid little or no attention to this visit of the Etonians, yet it undoubtedly gave birth to a new keenness, and entirely revised the ideas of the game then in force at Harrow. For, having been shown the way Fives was played at Eton, the standard of Harrow's play started to rise very rapidly. The date February 12, 1885, is a very important stepping-stone in the history of Eton Fives. A tradition started on that day still exists - for Eton still plays all its more important Fives matches one pair aside.
Other Early School Matches
Soon afterwards matches began to be played among such schools as Charterhouse and Uppingham. No school, however, could hold a candle to Eton until the late G. Townsend Warner returned to Harrow as an assistant master in 1891, and took on the teaching of Fives. Townsend Warner learnt his Fives at Cambridge, where he was a contemporary of E. M. Butler and Lord Willingdon. From Lord Willingdon both Warner and Butler learnt much, and on returning to Harrow they imparted all they knew to their pupils. The result was a great step forward in Harrow Fives. In 1900 the late F. B. Wilson and R. H. Crake defeated Eton both at home and away for the first time. In 1904, 1905, 1906, E. H. Crake (brother of R. H.) and R. E. Eiloart beat Eton both at home and away with the loss of only 3 games in six matches - a remarkable feat. Even so, this pair at their best were never able to extend Townsend Warner and Butler. Indeed, this pair was only once beaten during the whole of their match-playing career as Harrow masters, and that once by a pair of Charterhouse masters.
It is, then, owing to A. C. Ainger at Eton, and both Townsend Warner and E. M. Butler at Harrow, that the standard reached a very high peak at both these schools. Amongst other schools where the game was well played were Shrewsbury, Charterhouse, Westminster, Highgate and Uppingham. And later there were many others such as Repton, where it was introduced by the late Lionel Ford, then Headmaster, and the City of London School. Even Rugby had two or three courts, but the game never caught on there. But between 1890 and 1900 Eton Fives was at the height of its popularity and prosperity.
Outbreak of the Great War
And so the game flourished until the outbreak of the Great War. But except for a few Old Etonian enthusiasts who built themselves courts at their country houses, Eton Fives was confined for the most part to schoolboys and schoolmasters; whereas it should make a most excellent form of exercise for the middle-aged. In London the only court to be found outside the schools was in the open at Queen's Club - and this was occupied all too rarely. Oxford contained but a single court, which belonged to Merton College, and many of the Cambridge courts were gradually falling into decay. Lord Kinnaird, F. B. Wilson, and Ralph Straus had often played when they were up, but after their day, it was no longer fashionable.
Formation of Old Boy Clubs
The War did its best to kill Eton Fives, notwithstanding a much-used court at St. Mary's Hospital at Sidcup in Kent. After the War, Fives was in a sorry state. During the War the public schools had had little time to play Fives, and few active pre-war players remained. Its revival, however, was rapid, and the next few years showed the birth of a new and keener set of Fives players, people who were not content to have finished their Fives-playing days when they left school. The formation of Old Boys' Fives clubs did much to satisfy their needs. Indeed, the greater part of the Eton Fives played outside the schools to-day is played by the Old Boys' clubs. Much gratitude is due to W. E. Gerrish, who started and ran the Old Westminsters Fives Club for many years, and also to J. G. King, the moving spirit of the Old Etonian Fives Association. Both clubs played matches far and wide, and the Old Westminsters even sent sides touring all the schools and Fives courts to be found in the country, all of which gave a most useful start to the revival of the game.
Old boys of other Eton Fives playing schools soon followed suit and formed similar Fives clubs. To-day there are at least a dozen clubs of this kind.
Early Competitions
Much has also been done to promote competitions. In 1924 Lord Kinnaird gave a challenge cup to be competed for by the Old Boys' Fives clubs, and though it lapsed for a couple of years after its inception, the building of the covered Fives court at Queen's Club in 1927 set it well on its feet once more. The number of entries increases practically every year. In 1931 the Kinnaird Cup regulations were revised and the: title of the competition was altered to (Amateur Championship for the Kinnaird Cup), thus giving it a larger showing of importance.
Public Schools Handicaps have taken place at Queens Club since 1929, and the improvement in the standard of play has been consistent and noteworthy.
In 1932 a new competition, called the 'Queen's Club Competition', and run on the lines of the Bath Club Cup at Squash Rackets, was started between the Old Boys' clubs. While the need for such a competition was obvious, the success of it still remains to be seen.To the Future
Such briefly is the history of Eton Fives. Though much has been done since the War to set it in its proper position amongst other ball games, equally much remains to be done. If the present plans for the improvement of courts and conditions of play are successful, then the game should enter on a period of prosperity hitherto unforeseen.
M.R.F.
Extract from 'Eton and Rugby Fives (1934)' by David Egerton and John Armitage
Created 19th February 2003 by Mike Fenn
efa@etonfives.co.uk