Puttenham Golf Club

Club History

The site at Puttenham Golf Club has a rich history as the town’s roots can be traced back to the Bronze Age with Rodsall Manor mentioned in Domesday Book. The village has Saxon origins while the Church of St. John the Baptist is a Norman build.

In July 1858, Queen Victoria stood on Frowsbury Hill (now the Club’s 2nd Tee) to review a Royal Field Day, where 20,000 British troops were assembled in her honour that was commemorated in stone for that date. In 2008, 150 years on, Prince Edward, The Earl of Sussex came back to the site of that famous moment and unveiled a plaque in honour of where the Queen once stood.

In 1882, due to overcrowding in the village, a local cemetery was established between what is now the right of the 1st and 18th fairways and is home to a number of Commonwealth War Graves.

The Golf Club was established in 1894 after General Sir Frederick Marshall KCMG wrote to Mark Smallpiece, Lord of Puttenham Manor, asking if he would allow a group of Army Officers, Charterhouse School Masters and local businessmen to form a golf club on his land at Puttenham Common thus, Puttenham Golf Club was born.

The Clubhouse has seen many iterations with the last major redevelopment commemorated in 1983.

To read the full history on each landmark date please click on any of the timelines below.

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The Domesday Book - 1086

The Domesday Book

1086

Puttenham was referred to in the Domesday Book of 1086 and was called Reddesolham or Rodsall. Its domesday assets were owned by the Bishop of Bayeux and were: 1 plough, 2 acres of meadow, woodland worth 4 hogs. It rendered £2 per year to its feudal overlords.

Frowsbury Hill - 1858

Frowsbury Hill

1858

Queen Victoria famously visited the site that was to become Puttenham Golf Club when she stood on Frowsbury Hill (now the 2nd Tee) on a warm summer’s day on July 7th, 1858 to take the salute of 20,000 members of the British Army during a Royal Field Day. The Queen and Prince Albert can be seen on the top left of the painting above.

Frosbury Hill present day is now the 2nd tee below.

2008

On 8th July 2008, the Club commemorated this event in style when Queen Victoria’s great, great, great grandson, His Royal Highness Prince Edward the Earl of Wessex, attended a day of celebration and unveiled a plaque on the very spot where his ancestor had stood 150 years earlier. Puttenham Golf Club can therefore make some small claim to Royal connections.

Puttenham Cemetery - 1882

Puttenham Cemetery

1882

Tucked between the 1st and 18th fairways is another key piece of Puttenham’s heritage, the Puttenham Cemetery. Established in 1882 which is modern by Puttenham standards, the cemetery sits within a landscape steeped in history as the village dates back to Bronze Age times. It was created to ease the overcrowding of the nearby local churchyard at St. John the Baptist Church, which lies only 500 yards away.

The cemetery might be small, but it carries significant local history as it’s the final resting place for four soldiers from the Great War, including Lance Sergeant Frederick George Burningham and Corporal Ernest George Harmsworth. The graves, along with several terra-cotta memorials, give the cemetery a touching, personal atmosphere. Originally funded by the sale of parish land, the site once featured a mortuary chapel (pictured in the background below circa 1902) and was later expanded in the 1950s.

Puttenham Golf Club - 1894

Puttenham Golf Club

1894

On 8th October 1894, General Sir Frederick Marshall KCMG (pictured above in advance of the Zulu Wars) wrote to Mark Smallpiece, Lord of Puttenham Manor, asking if he would allow a group of Army Officers, Charterhouse School Masters and local businessmen to form a golf club on his land at Puttenham Common. The fact that General Marshall was a special favourite of Queen Victoria at the time probably helped sway his judgement and, thus, Puttenham Golf Club was born, with the General quickly established as President.