It’s not every day you serve an ace on the same ground once umpired by a Duke. But at Pythouse Tennis Club, the past plays as gracefully as the present, ghosts of Edwardian elegance mingling with the scent of freshly cut grass, and a crisp forehand slicing across centuries of charm.

Tucked deep in the golden folds of south-west Wiltshire, Pythouse has got to be one of the most beautiful local clubs in all of England - a place where lineage, legacy, and a perfectly judged lob have always gone hand in hand.

It's where Exeat's founder Laura played tennis as a child with her father, and today where she hits with her coach. 

From Private Lawn to Grand Tradition

In its earliest days, Pythouse wasn’t a club at all, but a private playground for the Benett family and their guests, complete with a cricket pitch (once described as “the best south of the Oval”) and formal tennis lawns where ladies in floor-length dresses pirouetted across the baseline.

Old photographs still hang in the clubhouse, capturing the quintessential Britishness of elegant matches and long summer days. One even shows the Duke of Somerset himself, umpiring a match in the 1930s with due gravitas, lending a royal air to the rural idyll.

It’s said that Pythouse formally became a tennis club after the First World War, though entry remained highly selective. Membership was subject to approval by the formidable Mrs Evie Benett, who generously welcomed farmers and retired army officers, but drew the line at “trade.” Society had its rules but thankfully today that ridiculous snobbery is long gone.

Her son Vere Benett, heir to the estate, tragically died of TB contracted during the war in the early 1920s, and the Benetts no longer needed such a grand sporting setup. Financial pressures followed, as did death duties, and the house and grounds were offered for let. A brochure from the period grandly proclaimed the tennis tournament as “a warm-up event for Wimbledon.” We like to think that some truth clings to that claim!!

Mid-Century Glory

Following the death of Evie Benett in 1956, Pythouse passed into the hands of Sir Anthony Rumbold, father of the present owner, Sir Henry Rumbold, and a new era began.

By the 1970s and 80s, the club was the place to be seen, boasting two hard courts, six grass courts, two squash courts (home to ranked players, no less), and a swimming pool with changing rooms. It was a vibe!

Letters survive from that era, bemoaning everything from the boldness of au pairs to lax dress code enforcement (quelle horreur!), and new members were required to appear before a committee for final approval. It was tennis, with tradition.

Yet, as society evolved and women pursued careers beyond the committee rooms, the club’s reliance on volunteer management proved unsustainable. By 1986, the club had sadly collapsed.

Restoration, Revival & Quiet Renaissance

But Pythouse was never destined to stay silent.

In the 1990s, American actor Clarke Peters, star of The Wire leased the club and funded restoration work, breathing life back into the courts with a transatlantic flair.  Then there was even talk of the storied London celebrity watering hole The Groucho Club taking it on (the locals had something to say about that!!), however in 2014, under the guidance of Sir Henry Rumbold, an exciting new chapter began.

The site was lovingly redeveloped: two new courts were built, a charming all-purpose clubhouse erected, and Pythouse reclaimed its place as one of England’s most beautiful hidden gems for racket sports.

Today, the five-acre site blends elegance with nature. Set beside wild meadows, walled gardens, and views that stretch lazily across the Wiltshire countryside, it’s a place to come and play, think, to breathe, to belong.

With love from Wiltshire,
EXEAT