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1845 1846 1849 March 1849 December

NB Chiswick Bridge was not built till 1933
Barnes Railway Bridge was built in 1848/9 (There was no boatrace in 1848)
Hammersmith Bridge had been built in 1825 and was replaced in 1887
Putney Bridge was the old bridge of 1729, replaced in 1886


The Westminster end of the previous course had become so busy with commercial traffic that a new course had to be found. And so for the first time what we know as the boatrace course from Putney to Mortlake was used. A distance of 4 miles 374 yards. This remained the course for all subsequent boatraces.
In 1846, 1856 and 1863 the course was rowed DOWNSTREAM WITH THE EBB TIDE.
All other races including 1845 were rowed UPSTREAM WITH THE FLOOD TIDE.


The Boat Race Course as on a map of 1832

PUTNEY TO MORTLAKE the course from 1845:
You will notice above only one bridge, the Hammersmith Suspension Bridge.
Start above the old Putney Bridge
The old Putney Bridge was built in 1729 and replaced in 1886 -

Old Putney Bridge, Manskirch
Old Putney Bridge, Manskirch

In 1856 Putney Aquaduct was built just above Putney Bridge and removed in 1886.

Under Hammersmith Old Suspension Bridge:
The Old Hammersmith Suspension Bridge was built in 1825 and replaced in 1887 -

Hammersmith Suspension Bridge 1828 © MOTCO
Suspension Bridge, Hammersmith. W. Westall A.R.A. delt. J. Baily sculpt.
Published 1828 by R.Ackermann, 96 Strand, London.

Via the site of Barnes Railway Bridge (1848/9):

To a finish at Mortlake. It is unclear to me where the original finish was. Mortlake Church was specified.
But Mortlake Church is at the Southernmost part of the bend before the modern finish, 600 yards below Chiswick Bridge (1933) at the Southernmost part of that bend.
The modern finish is at the stone level with the Ship Inn on the LEFT bank 200 hundred yards below Chiswick Bridge.


Substantial changes on the course will be noted under the relevant year.

7: 1845, Saturday, 15th March

In 1845 CAMBRIDGE WON by 30 seconds in 23 minutes and 30 seconds. Oxford 2, Cambridge 5

In 1845 the weather was terrible. No greater contrast could have been found from the 'glorious hot summer weather' of the previous year. The temperature on the day of the race was 20 fahrenheit (-8 centigrade). There was considerable floating ice in the river (though with clinker boats this was not the problem it would have been in later years). However the following day the temperature fell and there would have been too much ice to race.
OXFORD ROWING -

The following notes in the president's book are interesting:
'We came up to town on Friday morning, and rowed over the course about half-past five, preceded by a made-up crew with Shadwell coxswain to show us the best line to take. Our time, as the tide was rather slack, was twenty-three minutes as Shadwell observed, "tidy."

We dined together afterwards and slept in town, arriving again in Putney on the following day about one o'clock. At two we made our last training meal on mutton chops and sherry.'

And again: ' For the Cambridge gentlemen a boat had been prepared by Messrs. Slade, termed an " outrigger," on a new principle introduced by the Claspers of Newcastle, being 60 ft. long and only 2 ft. 10 in. wide.' However, they thought it unsafe to row in her with so little practice.

Neither crew had been able to achieve an impressive training regime.

Francis Tuke, Oxford stroke and President wrote of the 1845 race -

The word ‘Off’ being given by Mr Searle, we dashed off with a slight lead, which we bettered for some distance.
About Finch’s however the Cambridge boat came up to us and though we pulled ‘all we knew’ began gradually to gain on us, at last being so impolite as to get clear ahead of us and dispense with our company.
The cold was now intense and several of our men complained that they could with difficulty hold their oars, much less their way with the Cambridge boat.
However at Hammersmith Bridge we began to row up to them and faint hopes were raised that they were done.
This however did not seem correct, for after passing the bridge they kept on gaining, though slowly, in spite of several long and strong spurts which we put on – coming in winners by about eight lengths.

Alas! Alas!! On turning round we found that the Oxford Rooms boat did not make its appearance, to which we had entrusted our jackets etc and a more bitter, cold and miserable row never could have been experienced than we had down to Putney against a head wind, strong tide and floating ice. Right glad we were to arrive at Mrs Avis’s and many a long pull did we take at the warm beer after our freezing.

In the evening we dined with the Cambridge men and mustered in all forty six.

Ah yes men were men in those days! - row a boatrace course and be beaten and then turn round and row back all the way against the tide in 12 degrees of frost! However it does spell out that there was more heroism than athleticism going on.

In the Grand at Henley in 1845 CUBC defeated OUBC by more than 2 lengths in 8m 30s


 OXFORD 1845st. lb.  CAMBRIDGE 1845st. lb.
BowM Haggard10. 3 BowG Mann10. 7
2W Chetwynd-Stapylton10.12 2W Harkness10. 0
3W H Milman11. 0 3W S Lockhart11. 3
4H Lewis11. 7 4W P Cloves12. 0
5W Buckle13.12 5F M Arnold12. 0
6F C Royds11. 5 6R Harkness11. 0
7F M Wilson12. 3 7J Richardson12. 0
StrF E Tuke12. 2 StrC G Hill10.11
CoxF J Richards10.10 CoxH Munster 9. 2

8: 1846, Friday, 3rd April

In 1846 CAMBRIDGE WON by 3 lengths. Oxford 2, Cambridge 6.

The Course was what we know as the boat race course, but rowed downstream on the ebb tide.

Oxford were coached by Arthur Shadwell who made the memorable point -

Internal fat is the great enemy of good wind!

There really is no answer to that - at least his crew had no answer.
.
OXFORD ROWING -

This was the first race in outriggers. The boat was built with the stroke on the opposite side to what was usual on the Thames. It was painted as usual dark blue inside. A waterman, Noulton, received £20 for training the crew.

'The lusty strokes of the crew threatened downright destruction to their frail veneers.'

So, the first Boat Race in which outriggers were used. The ratio between the inboard and outboard parts of the oar is crucial to efficient rowing. The use of outriggers meant that this was not set by the width of the boat. Clearly, all other things being equal, the wider the boat the slower it goes. So using outriggers cleared the way for finding the optimum hull width.

Boat Race finish, 1846
Boat Race finish at Putney, 1846
Cambridge won by three lengths - clearly the artist was more interested in getting both boats in the picture

 OXFORD 1846st. lb.  CAMBRIDGE 1846st. lb.
BowH S Polehampton10. 9 BowG F Murdoch10. 2
2E C Burton11. 0 2G F Holroyd11. 1
3W U Heygate11. 8 3S T Clissold12. 0
4E H Penfold11. 8 4W P Cloves12.12
5J W Conant12. 4 5E Wilder13. 2
6F C Royds11. 9 6R Harkness11. 6
7W Chetwynd-Stapylton10.12 7E P Wolstenholme11. 1
StrW H Milman11. 0 StrC G Hill11. 1
CoxC J Soanes 9.13 CoxT B Lloyd 9. 8

The Bentley Ballads - [ Note the downstream course ] -

THE CAMBRIDGE AND OXFORD BOAT RACE For 1846.
BY EVERARD CLIVE

THE morning breeze of early spring
Ripples the river with its wing;
And men who roost in London, wake
A somewhat hurried meal to take:
Then up the Thames they speed.
For this is the appointed day
When Oxford oars-men must essay
The laurel wreath to wrest away,
That now is Granta's meed.
Awake, arise — we must be bound
To see the gallant strife e'er noon;
They start where Mortlake's waters flow,
And down to Putney piers they row.

Oh well I call to mind the time
When I was in my boating prime,
When such a match as this to view
I used to join some eight-oars' crew;
Or, doomed in solitude to float,
Could sport at least a wager-boat.
Now, as the Oueen in Hamlet saith,
I'm getting fat and scant of breath.
So at mine ease to watch the race,
I in a steamer take my place :
'Tis nine o'clock: we're all on board,
The bottled porter safe is stored,
Cigars are lit of various sizes
And cheerily their odour rises,
As high the thin smoke curls;
The engines champ, the wheels begin
Their spattering, fizzing, seething din,
Merrily up the Thames we spin.
("Childe Harold" is the boat we're in,
She's chartered by the Searles).

Flat Chelsea, on thy Reach's tide
The racing shouts are heard no more,
No more contending cutters glide
Along thy dank and dismal shore.
Still, as we pass thy banks of dirt,
Full many a former desperate spirt
Comes back upon my mind.
No more, no more of reminiscence,
Our steamer's paddles swiftly hiss hence —
Soon Fulham's left behind.
The Crabtree's past, and Chiswick's bower,
And now we puff near Mortlake's tower,
And as we gain the chosen scene
A merry sight it is I ween.
Steamers are there, with jovial freight,
Rowers of various skill and weight
In pair-oar, four-oar, six, and eight;
And funnies small, and barges great
That almost stop the way.
And horsemen on the shore are there,
And carriages with ladies fair, —
'Twere worth a morning's snooze I swear,
One glance at their array.

And lo upon the glorious tide
A glorious shape appearing,
The Cambridge boat in all the pride
Of conscious swiftness steering.
As if the beauteous thing enjoyed
The racing strife and glee,
She putteth out her light-blue oars,
And glideth gracefully.

From Trinity her capain came,
Her number seven did the same,
And two, and three, and four,
As bow and six two Johnians strive,
And Magdalen sends as number five
A stout and stalwart oar
Oh, proud was every Cambridge heart
Their sinewy frames to scan.
And blithe and hearty was the cheer,
That, as the starting-place they near,
Along the waters ran.

And gallant was that rival bark
Whose hues of blue so deep and dark
The Oxford colours showed.
A manlier and an abler crew,
A bark more light and fair to view
Ne'er upon Isis rowed.

Now fairly marshalled for the strife
The eager rivals lie ;
Thrown back in row the light oars quiver
Over the surface of the river

In keen expectancy.
Each tongue is hushed; with throbbing heart
Each watches for the sign to start:
'Tis given — the mooring lines are slipped,
With light half-stroke the blades are dipped,
Like greyhounds from the leash set free,
The boats spring simultaneously,
And dash along the tide.
By wave and shore the shouting throng
Follows their fleet career along,
While still with hope and courage strong
They struggle side by side.

And swift and swift, with rapid lightness
The flashing oars dip evenly,
Alternating their feathery brightness
With sweeping strokes — By Chiswick, see,
With unabated speed they glance;
The light-blue bows are in advance,
And "Cambridge" is the cry.
Still pressing on with desperate burst
Through Hammersmith our men are first,
As if in Victory.

But no — again abreast we view
The "darkly beautifully blue";
The goal is full in sight;
The Oxford holds her own once more.
Say ye who betted six to four,
If odds like these were right ?

Speed, Cambridge, speed. Thy champion's pride
In fiercer struggle ne'er was tried:
Quick! quicker forward on the feather!
Pull the good stroke out well together!
One effort more for honour's meed,
The bridge is near — speed, Cambridge, speed!
Again she claims her pride of place,
Again she heads the breathless race,
Close pressed by her unflinching foe, —
Gallantly to the end they go.
The arch is shot, the strife is o'er,
And Cambridge has one laurel more.

I rhyme not for the seedy elf,
Who cannot fancy for himself
How pealed the cheering from the crowd,
And little cannons thundered loud —
How, as the crews the shores regain,
The corks popp'd high; and bright champagne
(From which as long as oarsmen train
With other things they must refrain),
Refresh'd with its immortal rain
The thirsty soul that drinks amain,
Then gasps for breath, and drinks again —
How sweetly Mrs. Avis smiled,
How some rejoiced, and some were ryled,
And how we hope as good a crew
Will come next spring from either U-
-niversity for us to view,
At Putney, Hammersmith, or Kew.

1847: No Boat race.
Oxford won the Grand at Henley against Thames Club.

1848: No Boatrace.
Oxford again won the Grand at Henley against Thames Club.

Reasons given for the absence of boatraces involve dark mutterings about professional watermen and betting. But we are told that 'arranging a race over the championship course had not been possible'.
Could this have been a consequence of the building of Barnes Railway Bridge? It was planned in 1847, constructed in 1848 and opened in 1849.

1849: The newly built Barnes Railway Bridge -

Barnes Railway Bridge 1849
The newly built Barnes Railway Bridge, 1849


The modern profile of the bridge was completed in the 1890s when another bow string girder bridge was added on the downstream side.

9: 1849, Thursday, 29th March

In March 1849 CAMBRIDGE WON by one minute in 22 minutes. Oxford 2, Cambridge 7.

There were two 1849 boatraces, in March and December.

In this first 1849 race Cambridge boated a crew consisting entirely of Trinity College men.

Cambridge were much the fitter crew and may also have had a boat advantage. The Cambridge boat was built by Searle, 62 ft 9 in long with a maximum beam of 2 ft 2 in. It was a one-streaked outrigger which was reported to ‘run beautifully through the water’.
The Oxford boat was built by Hall and it was said that it ‘lifted at the stern and hung fire on the feather’.
Tom Egan said the Oxford boat 'did not carry them and buried bodily amidships at every stroke'

The race was a good one over the first half. Cambridge won the toss and chose Middlesex. Oxford went away off the start and by the Star and Garter were ahead by about half a length.
Round the Fulham bend and up the Crab Tree reach there was a well fought battle, and at Hammersmith the advantage was effectively the same.
But then, despite the fact that Oxford had the advantage of the Surrey bend, they began to show signs of exhaustion, but held on pluckily along Chiswick reach, though at the Eyot, Cambridge had pulled up and were now level.
Shortly after this the Dark Blues collapsed completely and from there on Cambridge moved further and further ahead to the finish.

Tom Egan said -

The Oxford crew were beaten by lack of condition, but as long as their physical powers of endurance lasted they maintained a gallant lead. At Chiswick Eyot they shut up and Cambridge went by. Nothing could be more praiseworthy than the unflinching pluck and superb condition of the latter, though nothing is more regretted than the want of it in the former. Their rowing was perfection, and that alone, in spite of their boat, ... bore them along in triumph for at least two miles.


 OXFORD 1849 Marchst. lb.  CAMBRIDGE 1849 Marchst. lb.
BowD Wauchope10. 4 BowH Proby 9.13
2J W Chitty11. 2 2W J H Jones10.13
3H H Tremayne11. 5 3A de Rutzen11. 8
4E C Burton11. 0 4C J Holden11. 8
5C H Steward12. 0 5W L G Bagshawe11.10
6A Mansfield11. 8 6W H Waddington11.10
7E J Sykes11. 0 7W C Hodgson11. 2
StrW G Rich10. 0 StrJ C Wray10.12
CoxC J Soanes10. 8 CoxG Booth10. 7

10: 1849, Saturday, 15th December

In December 1849 OXFORD awarded the race on a foul. No time taken. Oxford 3, Cambridge 7

After their disastrous March 1849 race Oxford challenged Cambridge to a re-row.
Cambridge gallantly made the mistake of accepting.
Oxford made sure they were fit this time.
But Cambridge, with six of the victorious March crew, did not take their training seriously.

Oxford won the toss and took the Middlesex station on a wretched day with a strong westerly wind and squalls of rain. Cambridge got away quickly and rapidly went into a lead which they held along the Putney reach.
Cambridge cox George Booth, swung across in front of Oxford in the area of Craven Steps to gain the advantage of the corner. Oxford made an immediate spurt and Cambridge made an effort to go back to the Surrey station, but as they did so Oxford bumped them and temporarily stopped rowing. Before Oxford were under way again, Cambridge had moved ahead by something like 3 lengths and at Hammersmith the light blues had extended their lead to 4 lengths.
However Oxford now showed their greater fitness and as Cambridge begun to tire they were gradually pulled back and at the finish, Oxford were overlapping Cambridge by about a third of a length.

The umpire immediately awarded the race to Oxford under the then Regulations for Rowing Rule IX -

It shall be held that a boat’s own water is the straight or true course from the station assigned to it at starting; but if two boats are racing and one fairly takes the other's water by a clear lead, it shall be entitled to keep the water so taken to the end of the course; and if the two boats afterwards come into contact, while the leading boat remains in the water so taken, the boat whose water has been so taken shall be deemed to have committed the foul; but if they come in contact by the leading boat departing from the water so taken, the leading boat shall be deemed to have committed a foul.

So it was probably George Booth's fault, either for trying to take Oxford's water when he was still too close, or for forgetting the rule that once he had taken it he should not have "departed the water so taken".

The rule was soon changed. ( See 1872 )

 OXFORD 1849 Decemberst. lb.  CAMBRIDGE 1849 Decemberst. lb.
BowJ Hornby11. 8 BowA Baldry10.10
2W Houghton11. 2 2H E Pellew11. 0
3J Wodehouse11. 7 3A de Rutzen11. 8
4J W Chitty11. 9 4C J Holden11. 8
5J Aitken12. 1 5W L G Bagshawe12. 0
6C H Steward12. 2 6H J Miller12. 0
7E J Sykes11. 2 7W C Hodgson11. 3
StrW G Rich10. 2 StrJ C Wray11. 0
CoxR W Cotton 9. 0 CoxG Booth10. 8

Click for Hammersmith Bridge  
 
 
 
Boat Race in 1850s