Nestled among the houses on River Road in Maidenhead lies Maidenhead Rowing Club, a club with one of the longest histories in the country. Building upon early rowing traditions from as far back as 1822, the Club was founded in July 1876 by the then Duke of Westminster, shortly after a meeting at the Bear Hotel (now a Wetherspoons, believe it or not).
Its first club house was on the south Berkshire side of Maidenhead Bridge with club colours of maroon and gold, later changing to dark blue and primrose before the current Brunswick green and white. The first squads were comprised of many former Oxford rowers, including former Oxford University Boat Club president, William Henry Grenfell, a hugely accomplished rower who served as president of the Club and kept up his love of the sport even whilst working as a member of Parliament.
The club first competed at Henley Royal Regatta in 1878, before going onto have some incredibly successful runs, especially over a century later in the 1980s, winning the Double Sculls, Queen Mother and Brittania Challenge Cups between 1981 and 1986. The club has produced many notable rowers over the years, such as Eric Sims, Rob Williams, and Jack Beaumont, and continues to produce juniors who go on to compete for Team GB at Coupe de la Jeunesse, as well as U23 and senior international contests.
The Club still continues the tradition of its annual Maidenhead Summer Regatta, the first iteration of the which occurred only three weeks after the inaugural Henley Royal Regatta in 1839, with two crews, the Albion Club of Henley and a mixed local crew of the Lady of the Lake and Star Club competing against each other for a silver cup worth 25 guineas.
Today, Maidenhead’s masters, senior, adaptive and junior squads are going from strength to strength. Together, the squads offer a great mix of serious or more relaxed rowing for all ages and abilities, including a recreational squad and a development squad.
The senior men, having started the year 23/24 season with only four members, has now grown to 22 active rowers in the 25/26 season. They have switched their focus to sweep as part of a five-year Henley Royal Regatta plan, which has seen them send their first eight in 15 years to the 2025 Head of the River Race (HoRR), climbing from a start position of 309 to 225, before going on to win band two eights at Peterborough Regatta, their first victory in over 20 years. They are now targeting the top 150 at the 2026 HoRR.
Similarly, the senior women had a total refresh in 2024, with a new captain, vice-captain, and coach. Every squad member won at least one, and some even up to six, races over the course of the 24/25 season, with 60% of race results ending in a first or second place, consistently beating (or getting very close to) other crews aiming for Henley Women’s Regatta. Having coached at every level from learn-to-row to Olympic cycles, the new senior women’s coach, Nigel Smith, has, according to the Captain Ella Holgate, “given the squad the structure we needed and improved all of our rowing massively”, helping push the squad from strength to strength.
Maidenhead also has a highly accomplished adaptive rowing programme, captained by Georgia Carmichael, which competes at various levels and has many accolades to their name already. This past year, two of the biggest highlights from this squad were two athletes being chosen for full-time training with the GB para-rowing squad, and two more aiming to compete internationally this season. There were also many successes at local regattas, winning titles at the Marlow Town and Maidenhead, where all members took home victories.
As well as achievements in racing, the squad is facing and overcoming many personal challenges, such as Ben Gallagher taking on the Big Row Challenge with Love Rowing, and another member completing a five-kilometre row to support multiple sclerosis (MS) awareness. Maidenhead Regatta has become an important adaptive rowing event, with more entries than ever before. Squad captain Georgia says the aims for the next year are a focus on “building the squad and welcoming more members” and preparing for further GB trials. With this momentum, the squad will surely continue to build upon its great successes the upcoming season.
Last but certainly not least, the Maidenhead juniors have started the 25/26 with intent, aiming to build on the successes of last season, which included third place at the Schools’ Head of the River Race (SHoRR) reaching the semi-final at Henley Royal in the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup, and successful Henley Royal qualification in the Fawley Challenge Cup, with one crew member going on to represent GB in the men’s double at the Coupe, winning a gold and a silver medal.
There were also a whole host of A-final results and medals across all age groups at the 2025 National Schools’ Regatta and British Championships, as well as representation and medals at the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta (JIRR). The current junior coaching program at the club was established by rowing legend and former Olympian Fred Smallbone, and currently benefits from the combined experience of club alumni coaches Stephen Hughes (a multiple HRR winner who also competed and won at Coupe, multiple World Championships, and the Rowing World Cup), Victor Kleshnev (a multiple HRR finalist and telemetry expert, who earned a sports scholarship to Harvard and has competed for GB at both World and European U23 level), as well as Isobel Sellers. Now a Leander Club athlete, Isobel is a true local success story, having rowed with Maidenhead as a junior from the age of 15 and going on to win the WJ15 single at Brit Champs for the club in the same year. She then made the final of the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup at HRR in 2021, won 16 BUCS medals over three years at Durham University, and represented GB at the U23 World Championships in 2023. Last season, she competed for Leander, was a finalist in the Wargrave Challenge Cup at HRR, and won at U23 GB trials and Ghent International Regatta.
All in all, Maidenhead is a thriving club with high aims for the season ahead – a name we should continue to watch out for on the local, national, and international circuits.
