Can you imagine a world without tennis? Where the game of kings, the royal tennis, played in the heart of London, had faded away, leaving only a whisper of history and a forgotten plaque? This is the story of a lost tennis court, a place where shadows of elegant rackets and the echo of the ball bouncing against the walls linger, but the court itself is gone.
The Royal Tennis Court stood in what is now Orange Street, off Haymarket. Built in the 17th century, it was once a fashionable spot where the elite gathered to play. For more than 50 years, it was the headquarters of English tennis. King Charles II was a loyal player, and the court even hosted exhibition matches attended by the great and the good.
But history is an ever-changing landscape. Puritanism and the French Revolution both played a role in the decline of royal tennis. The court faced the threat of being converted into a theatre. In the end, it was demolished between World Wars I and II. A plaque commemorating the naming of James Street in 1673 was salvaged from the wreckage. It was placed high on the wall of the office block that now stands on the site.
So, stand where the court once stood, in Orange Street, and glimpse the plaque high up on the wall. Imagine the elegant players in their finery, the excited crowd, the echoes of the game. They are gone, but their story, their legacy, lingers on in this place.