With the Wimbledon season upon us, the good folk at Bideford and District Community Archive have been looking into the origins of the Atlantic Racquet Centre.

From 1946, friends and enthusiasts played as a Tennis Club on the Council owned courts in Golf Links Road in Westward Ho! but as time went on it was clear that a dedicated court was needed to allow the Club to develop. A generous local resident made available a plot of land in Avon Lane, specifying that it was to be used for tennis courts and a pavilion. With the help of grants and loans, work commenced on the scheme and, as funds were scarce, the pavilion was almost single-handedly built by club member Herbert Geen, a retired builder. The Club officially moved to its new home on 19 May 1974. The Westward Ho! Tennis Club was consistently the major membership club in the North Devon area in terms of its facilities, junior provision, and social activities as well as its performance. In the mid-1980s, a payment was made which released the Club from a restricted covenant which required it to offer the land back to the original owner’s executors. 

Over the years, the Club enjoyed many successes, entering men’s and ladies’ teams in the North Devon League, and winning both Men’s and Ladies League and Cup competitions on many occasions as well as the Houldsworth Cup. An annual ratings tournament, recognised by the Lawn Tennis Association, was started in May 1988 and has run successfully ever since. 

Atlantic Racquet Centre, as it now is, began as a dream when the members of the Club voted to expand and explore options for building a large-scale racquet and fitness centre for the Torridge community. Planning permission was finally approved on the Caddsdown site. Using the funds from the sale of the old Club site plus injections of funding from local and national bodies, a group of dedicated and committed volunteers led and delivered the project. The first earth was dug in late 2014, and in April 2015 Atlantic Racquet Centre opened with 6 outdoor tennis courts. In December 2021 the ground floor of the new building, incorporating a gym, changing rooms and reception level, was completed, and progress continues. The ARC remains a volunteer-led community business and charity. 

The old Westward Ho! Tennis Club site is now a residential close off Avon Lane.