The land on which the current club stands was purchased by members of Halliwell Road Methodist Church back in the 1920s and it provided for three shale courts, a bowling green, and a clubhouse.

Today the Club has two shale courts and a pavilion building. The Club members decided to change the name to Barrow Bridge Tennis Club in the early 2000s, yet affiliation to the then Halliwell Methodist Church on Harvey Street, Bolton was maintained.

Halliwell Methodist Church amalgamated with other Methodist Churches to become The Triangle Community Methodist Church in 2014.

In comparison with other clubs in the town the Club is relatively small, with a current membership in of 32 members.

As well as social tennis, the Club provides for competitive tennis. We have five teams in the Bolton Sports Federation Summer Tennis League - two men’s doubles teams, two mixed doubles teams and a ladies doubles team. Each doubles team consists of six players with a total of 9 sets played per match. In the mixed doubles there are three men and three ladies per team. Sadly, the Club no longer provides a junior tennis team, the last time being in 2017.

Information about the Bolton Sports Federation Tennis League can be found at www.bsftennisleague.co.uk

At the end of each summer season the twenty five clubs that make up the Tennis League are given the opportunity to nominate who they would like to see win the BSF Crystal Award for that season. The Award is for the ‘most sporting club’ and the winner is announced on the night of the Annual Dance and Presentation of Trophies event, which this year was held on 8th September at the Last Drop.

It is with great pleasure to announce that we won the Award this year!

The above picture shows our long standing Committee member and former Treasurer, Robert Broughton, with the Award, together with a picture of the Award itself.

This year’s summer tennis season started the week commencing 24th April and ended during the week of 14th August.

Here is a summary of our teams’ performance:

Men’s A team (Division 4 – seven teams)

The Men’s League is made up of 8 Divisions, consisting of 58 teams. Disappointingly, we finished sixth (second bottom), on 7 points. Consequently, we are likely to be playing Division 5 next season. This is the first time since the 2015 season that the Men’s A team will have been relegated to a lower Division.

Men’s B Team (Division 8 – six teams)

This year the team finished fourth, which is an improvement on last season. We missed out on finishing second when we lost our last match 4 sets to 5 sets against Markland Hill E, who in turn finished joint second with Meadow Hill B. The Men’s B team is hopeful of promotion next season.

Mixed A Team (Division 4 – seven teams)

The Mixed League is made up of 6 Divisions, consisting of 42 teams.

This year we finished third, equal on 18 points with Markland Hill C and Elton Vale, but lost out on promotion by sets difference only. Nevertheless, it was an excellent season, with the team winning nine matches from the twelve played. Consensus is that Division 4 is an appropriate level for the Mixed A team.

Mixed B (Division 6 – seven teams)

This year the team finished in fifth place with10 points, the same number of points as last season.

Ladies team (Division 2 – six teams)

The Ladies League was formed in 2021 and we have entered had a team ever since. The Ladies League is made up of 2 Divisions and consists of 13 teams.

This year we finished fifth (second bottom), the same as last year. Player availability was an issue at times this season.

The Club is hopeful that for the 2024 Summer League season we are able to enter five teams. We have enough interested players for two men’s team and two mixed teams, but the formation of a ladies team may be an issue. The formation of a joint ladies team with two other Clubs is an option currently being considered by our Committee.

Further information:

If you are interested in giving tennis a try or would like to join the Club, please contact any of the following for further information:

• Stephen Maslivec, Chairman/Secretary 01204 847229, or 07526 442 653 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Simon Darby, Treasurer 07713 729 681 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Bob Broughton, Committee Member 01204 699245