History of the club

Ramsgate Croquet Club was formed in 1983 by Dennis and Eileen Shaw, based at the Montefiore Gardens, Ramsgate.  The Club moved to its present location on the Royal Esplanade, on Ramsgate’s Westcliff, in 1987.

The area along Ramsgate’s Royal Esplanade is a conservation zone and the buildings, including our clubhouse, are  Grade II listed.  The whole area was developed in the 1920’s following the art-deco style and consisted of tennis courts, bowls lawns and a bandstand, plus an open play/events area known as “the Government Acre”.

The present croquet lawns were originally developed  as the public tennis courts, although in the 1960’s and 70’s some of the grass tennis courts were replaced with hard courts and other areas turned over to pitch and put and crazy golf.

When the club moved to the site in 1987, the lawns were roughly levelled so that croquet could be played.  About the turn of the century, 3 of the 4 lawns were laser levelled and an irrigation system installed.  Some 20 years later, they are still considered to be amongst the finest lawns in the country and many national and international tournaments have been played here over the years. Major tournaments continue to be played here each year.