Tennis is played at Petworth House by courtesy of the National Trust and of the Rt. Hon. Lord Egremont.
It is controlled by the Board of Directors, including a nominee of the National Trust, which is responsible
for the upkeep of the structure of the court, and of Lord Egremont, who owns the estate.
Lord Egremont is the President of PHTC, and there are nine Vice-Presidents, all of whom have given
distinguished service to PHTC over many years. These are N.W. Smith, D.J.E. Foster, B.L. Ellis,
J.R. Greenwood M.B.E., D.L., D.R. Brazier, Sir John Ritblat, M.E. Fairbarns, D.J.L. Godfray, and J.C. Francis.
PHTC has had six Chairmen since it was formed in 1960. The founder was Andy Dawson and he was
the prime mover in the reopening of the court in 1960. In 1962 he became the first Chairman and served
until 1974, when Eddie Harrison took over, serving until 1987. Then Captain Johnnie Coote became Chairman
through to 1993, succeeded by Jack Phelps to 1994. David Godfray then became Chairman and held the office
until he stood down in 2010. The Chairman is now Philip Robinson, and the Vice-Chairman is Robert Dolman.
The Board is made up of twelve Directors including the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, and it controls club
policy matters. Day to day management is in the hands of the Chairman, Andrew Falk (Hon, Secretary),
Julian Wilkinson (Hon. Treasurer), Lucy Hutchinson (Hon. Membership Secretary), and Carolyn Armstrong-Smith
(Hon. Fixtures Secretary). Other Directors are Simon Knight (the nominee of Lord Egremont and the National
Trust), Charles Fuente, Carole Muir, Andrew Page, Nigel Draffan, and Harvey Rawlings.
The Board is supported by Chris Bray (Head Professional) and Tom Durack (Senior Professional). Other
responsibilities are in the hands of Mike Steward who is in charge of maintenance, and Alan Chalmers who is
Hon. Editor of the Newsletter.
01 August 2010
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