The Lensbury
The Lensbury is a conference centre, hotel, and leisure facility located on the banks of the Thames in Teddington, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The Lensbury was founded in 1920, as a club for Shell employees and was known as the Lensbury Club, until the 1990s. In May 2019, it was sold by Shell to L+R Hotels. History Origins The Lensbury Club ("Lensbury Social and Athletic Club") was established in 1920, as a sports club for Shell staff in the United Kingdom – one of the driving forces behind its formation was Dutchman Henri Deterding, one of the original founders of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies, who was a fitness fanatic. Land was acquired in Broom Road, Teddington, for playing fields and within a year, there were active sections in Cricket, Rugby, Football, Rowing, Ladies Hockey, Tennis and Chess. Between 1920 and the beginning of the Second World War, significant additions to the Lensbury estate were made with property and land purchases on both sides of Broom Road. In 1933, the club merged with "Britannic House", a similar club operated by BP, and created a joint venture known as the "Lensbury and Britannic House Associated Clubs" – an arrangement that lasted for 30 years. In 1938, a new clubhouse was opened which comprised 162 bedrooms, a dining room, a ballroom and many other facilities. During the war years, club activities were suspended and Lensbury became a Shell office and some of the sports grounds were ploughed up to grow vegetables. Postwar years In the immediate postwar years, it took time for the Lensbury clubhouse to be free of its wartime role as a Shell office but by the early 1950s, most of the established activities, and many new ones, were in full swing again. By 1956, membership had reached 5,000 and there were 27 active sections. The arrangements with BP came to an end in 1962, and Lensbury became once again a facility exclusively for Shell employees (and those of the UK marketing joint venture Shell-Mex and BP Ltd). Many new sports and pastimes were introduced, including sailing, judo, ballroom dancing, and keep-it, and membership continued to rise, reaching 7,000 by 1964. Building of additional facilities for training courses took place in 1967 and the role of the Lensbury clubhouse as both a recreational and a training location was established. However, financial concerns began to be expressed in the difficult economic climate of the late 1960s and early 1970s and the club's structure changed so that it became a "members" club to be governed by members committees and supervised by trustees. However, Shell still saw the club unequivocally as a benefit for employees, and the Lensbury continued to receive a subsidy from Shell to help cover its costs. The club became, as a consequence, more arm's-length from Shell with the intention that Shell's subsidy would gradually reduce. 1970s and after In the 1970s, Lensbury had active sections in 47 sports and pastimes including tennis, hockey, volleyball,