HISTORY OF BRITISH GYMNASTICS

German Carl Voelker sets up an outdoor gymnastic school near Regents Park London. Unfortunately, it does not survive beyond 1830, but the later formed Primrose Hill Gymnasium supported by the Ministry of Parks has better success.

Above – The Primrose Hill ‘Gymnasium’ circa 1825

Doctors De Betou and Ehrenhoof advocate gymnastics as physical medicine and set themselves up as ‘gymnastics practitioners’ in London.

Uppingham School in Rutland is the first public school to have a purpose-built gymnasium.

Above – The Uppingham School Gymnasium in 1859

Archibald Maclaren, a pupil of European gymnastics, starts to teach gymnastics at the newly completed indoor gymnasium at Oxford. Twelve British soldiers are sent to Oxford University to learn the art of gymnastics, including the horizontal bar and parallel bars, under the direction of MacLaren. The twelve ‘apostles’ as they are known, were there to teach gymnastics to the army. Later, many army instructors found their way to the public schools where gymnastics became part of the curriculum. It was about this time that the Army Gymnastics Staff was established.

Above – The Oxford Gymnasium in the Illustrated London News circa 1860

Above – The Twelve Apostles sent to learn the art of gymnastics from Archibald Maclaren in 1860

The German Gymnastics Society is established in London

The Northampton & County Amateur Athletics Club is formed. This is the oldest gymnastics club in Great Britain and is still operating at the time of writing in 2023.

The first-ever National Olympian Games are held at the German Gymnasium at St Pancras. John Hulley, along with Dr William Penny Brrok and  Ernest George Ravenstein were instrumental in setting up these games. Hulley’s plaque can be seen near Albert  Dock Liverpool. The gymnasium hosted rope climb, fencing and other gymnastics for the Games.

The Birmingham Athletic Club, with a gymnastic group, is formed.

There is evidence of women taking part in gymnastics in the UK as shown by the engraving of a class at the German Gymnasium in 1870.

Above – 1870 Women’s class at the German Gymnasium.

The Orion Gym Club established in 1868 holds its first annual display.

Above – Programme of first Orion display 1870

The Birmingham Athletic Institute (B.A.I.) sent a team of men to the German Turnfest in Frankfurt on Main. They claim to have taught the German athletes the use of Indian clubs and the art of boxing.

Austin Fleming Jenkin writes ‘Gymnastics’, a book that provides gymnastic terminology for the nation. This would prove to be a must-have for coaches until the 1930s. Jenkin must have had considerable influence in these times; he became President of the AGA from 1892 to 1903, and it is reported that thanks to Jenkin, the AGA Championships for men were inaugurated a few years later.

AF Jenkin portrait from 1890

‘Gymnastics’ – book 1906 edition

The National Physical Recreation Society holds the first National Team Challenge Shield. This national gymnastic trophy is a first within the British Isles. The NPRS sends a message of supremacy to the AGA, thus creating a 10-year war between the two associations. The AGA had threatened to ban any gymnast participating in NPRS events so there is no mention of NPRS on this notice.

The first edition of a magazine called The Gymnast is published in October. It is subtitled, A Monthly Journal for Gymnastics and Athletics. By 1893 it was called The Gymnast and Athletic Review.

The Open Scottish individual Championships for men, the first national championships in the British Isles, the Scottish Shield, takes place for the first time along with the club team event for men.

Above – Scottish Shield

The Birmingham Athletic Institute gymnasium on John Bright Street is opened.

Above – The BAI gymnasium in John Bright Street in 1892

Frederick J Harvey’s London gymnastics team competes in the National Physical Recreation Society’s Challenge Shield. The London team comes 2nd to Aberdeen. A year later, Harvey represented England internationally. He is the director of the Exeter Hall Gymnasium in London and the author of numerous books on gymnastics. His great-grandson has a variety of his medals, one of which is a medal from the 1900 Expose Universal Paris, the Olympic Games. Were there other individual gymnastic events going on at the Paris Olympics?

Above – A portrait of FJ Harvey

1903 copy of the FJ Harvey Horizontal and Parallel Bars, Rings and Horse Gymnastics Exercises book

Frederick J Harvey competes in the 9th Deutsch Turnfest held in Hamburg. He comes back with a medal which is still part of his family’s archive.

The Gymnast & Athletic Review Notice of the 3rd National Championships. At this time AGA is still the AG&FA as the advert in The Gymnast & Athletic Revue testifies. The medal shown also confirms the association with fencing. However some time later the liaison with fencing was dropped.

Above – The Gymnast & Athletic Review Notice of the 3rd National Championships

Above – 1898 AG & Fencing medal with permission from Stephen Mottershead