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Post cards from the past - The Polytechnic Rowing Club 1905 - Quintin Boat Club 2020

25.08.2020

Improvements to the Quintin Boat Club (QBC) continue, works include updating the fabric of the building, providing improved facilities for the members and creating a modern up-to-date Club House that will enable QBC to grow the membership and deliver out-reach programmes for the local community. It is interesting to note that although some things have changed over the last 115 years, the basic construction and design of the Club Rooms remain the same. AST* architects together with the QHT Trustees were very keen to maintain the integrity of the Arts and Crafts influenced building, in keeping with the harmony of Thames-side buildings.

The first postcard is from 1905 and was sent by a Max Kern, (second from left of the front standing row marked ME), a member of Regent Street Polytechnic, who received occasional mentions in the Poly Mag from 1904 to 1908 and was of German or Bohemian descent, showing that the Poly has always garnered its student body from across the globe. The second photograph is presumed to be around 1910-1914. This is the only known photo of the side of the original boathouse and contrary to the impression given by photos of the boathouse front, it shows that the original boathouse was not all wooden. The brickwork and handrail on the steps up to the boatman's flat are exactly the same as in the present day, as is the brick shed just below and to the right of the boatman's front door – implying that these parts were incorporated into the present boathouse and that the original building wasn't completely demolished when it was rebuilt in 1924.

To view further QBC photographs please follow this link.

http://www.quintinboatclub.org/gallery/image.php?ref=2301