Page 6 - index

and from the Robin Hood, Penge, in summer, and were
faithfully recorded at considerable length in the sporting
newspapers of the time. Cross-country running,
particularly for adults, was an innovation in those far-
off days and the participators were for some time the
victims of considerable adverse criticism; their consistent
perseverance and consequent. fitness, however, soon made
it obvious that there was .some method in their madness,
and their numbers steadily increased.
A yearor; so after .the initial fixture the membership
had been considerably augmented, such names ·as W.
Morris, A. Oliver, A. H. Peniston, S. A. Bennett, W.
Rowland, J. T. Pridmore and J. Metcalf appearing in
addition to those already menticned, The last-mentioned
-now a Vice-President-is the present senior member of
the Club.
No great attention appears to have been paid to track
running. until 1873, when two Club meetings were held;
the first on Bennett's Field, Peckham, on May 31 ; and the
second, a much more ambitious affair, at Kennington
Oval on October 11. In spite of unfavourable weather,
The Sportsman records that the latter meeting •. was a
great success, there being a fair attendance and a large
number of entries." The report continues: •. Sport
throughout the day was very good, the 'Strangers'
mustering strongly, and some good finishes occurred
during the afternoon, the proceedings being further
enlivened by the band of the 10th Surrey Volunteers."
The programme' included open handicaps at 100 yards,
220 yards, Half Mile, One Mile and Two Miles, in addition
to a 440 yards Challenge Cup Race.
In the ninth year .of its existence tbe Club mOVEdto
B1ackbeath-as bas already been stated-and was re-
christened. The Green Man Hotel, already famous in
English history as a rendezvous of kings and other great
personages, then became the home of an athletic club
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