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Club History

St Albans Chess Club [1, 2] was established on Thursday 28th March 1878 when twenty-six players, who had responded to an advertisement placed in the Herts Advertiser, met in the Council Chamber of St Albans Town Hall.

By the Autumn, the club was meeting regularly on Thursday evenings at the Albion Hotel, Victoria Road. Friendly matches were soon arranged against other clubs.

The first such match was against Luton, held on 14th November 1878 at the Queens Hotel [3] in Chequer Street. The visitors won with the score 9 - 6, and the following month St Albans won the return match 9-11.

A list of principal officers who have served the club is given below. Prior to the appointment of a Treasurer in 1977, club finances were managed by the Secretary.

President Year   President Year   President Year
H.F. Lindley 1878 - 1907   Sir E.T.A. Wigram Bt 1922 - 1930   J. Simmons 2005 - 2011
E. Townson 1907 - 1909   E.J. Fairchild 1930 - 1954   Dr J.N. Fraser-Mitchell 2011-
E. A. Cumming 1909 - 1914   W.H.M. Phillips 1954 - 1955      
E.T.A. Wigram 1914 - 1916   H. Green 1955 - 1974      
E.J. Fairchild 1916 - 1918   A.W. Torry 1974 - 1982      
E.R. Mitchell 1918 - 1922   J.A. Leake 1982 - 2005      

 

Hon. Secretary Year   Hon. Secretary Year   Hon. Secretary Year
G.F. Gibbs 1878 - 1885   A.W. Torry 1946 - 1974   P. Hayward 2010 - 2011
J. Rogers 1885 - 1893   E.S. Judge 1974 - 1977   I.K. Cross 2011 - 2016
F.B. Gibson 1893 - 1897   J.A. Leake 1977 - 1981   A.B. Ellis 2016 - 2019
E.R. Mitchell 1897 - 1912   R.R. Claret 1981 - 1984   R. Collopy 2019 - 2021
E.C. Harris 1912 - 1919   C.A. Turner 1984 - 1985   C. Pines 2021-
W.A. Conway 1919 - 1920   P.V. Lattimore 1985 - 1986      
L.F. Allengame 1920 - 1929   C.A. Turner 1986 - 2000      
G.F. Ramsay 1929 - 1932   Dr J.N. Fraser-Mitchell 2000 - 2005      
F.W. Daniel 1933 - 1943   Dr I. Gooding 2005 - 2007      
E.J. Palfrey 1943 - 1945   Dr M.J. Lexton 2007 - 2010      

 

Treasurer Year            
C.A. Andrews 1977- 1987            
A. McMahon 1987 - 2012            
S. Narbeth 2012 - 2021            
J. Gemmell 2021-            

 

Congress Organiser Year            
P.V. Lattimore 1983 - 1984            
R.R. Claret 1984-            

 

Notes

1. The Herts Advertiser local newspaper, available at Hertfordshire Archive and Local Studies, published an account of the chess club's inaugural meeting (1878) and regularly reported on its activities.

2. The oldest minute book still in the club's possession covers 1931-1986. It includes a very brief summary of the club events from 1897.

3. The Queens Hotel, 8-10 Chequer Street, closed down in the 1980s during the Chequer Street Development when Maltings shopping centre was created. The building dates from the 1820's when it opened as the Turf Hotel, see: Talking Buildings - Hidden Histories of St Albans