Early History

Early History

A meeting was held at The County Hotel, Carlisle on Tuesday 16th December 1924 to consider the formation of “The Cumberland County Ladies’ Golf Club”. There were eleven ladies present and the proposal to form the Club was carried. Mrs Saul was elected as Captain and Rt. Hon. Mrs Donald Howard, Countess of Carlisle, was elected President of the Club.  The annual subscription was set at 10/- (around £20 in today’s money) Vice-Captain, Vice Presidents, Hon. Secretary/Treasurer along with Delegates, representing Seascale, Penrith, Carlisle, Cockermouth, Silloth and Keswick, were appointed. Each year the Committee met 3 times with an Annual General Meeting (AGM) usually held in November or December. In addition a Delegates Meeting was normally called around the same time of year as the AGM.

The first Cumberland Ladies’ Championship was held at Silloth GC on Tuesday 21st April 1925.

In January 1925 the Rules of the Middlesex County Golf Club were adopted with the necessary alterations. In October 1928 Westmorland joined and the name was changed to “The Cumberland and Westmorland Ladies’ County Golf Association. At the AGM in October 1928 it was agreed that each Club in the County pay an Affiliation Fee to the County and was set at 2/6 (around £5 in today’s money)

By the end of 1929 the number of Delegates representing Clubs in the County had grown from 6 to 10.

Inter County matches were now a regular fixture in the calendar and involved Yorkshire, Durham, Northumberland, Cheshire and Lancashire competing for the “Northern Counties Championship”. This continues today under the guise of County Match Week with each County hosting the competition by rota.

The Committee Meeting held on 6th February 1939 was to be the last meeting prior to the outbreak of World War 2 (WW2). Following the end of WW2 a meeting was held on 20th September 1946 to “consider the future of the County Association”. It was agreed that the County Association be reformed. However, with no funds it was agreed that the Hon. Secretary write to all Affiliated Clubs asking them to hold an event of some kind in aid of the County funds. By January 1947 a Committee had been formed and Club Delegates appointed. At their first meeting a programme of County Meetings and Championships was drawn up: Spring & Autumn Meetings, Championships (a 3 day event), Inter-County matches and Cecil Leith Trophy Matches.  It was decided to send a typed list of fixtures to each club.

County funds were still very low and so the idea of a Raffle was discussed.  Raffle tickets were printed, 150 books of 20 tickets, and distributed to all clubs affiliated in the County. After costs a total of £70.00 was raised which is the staggering equivalent of £2,185.00 in today’s money (January 2019)

In November 1980 this became “The Cumbria Ladies’ County Golf Association” as we know it today.

So much of what was put in place back in 1947 still forms the basis of what the County Association does today.