Coral Beach & Tennis Club

The Club in its present form dates back to 1948, but the oldest structures on the property were built before 1650.

The Smith family of Bermuda has owned the land for ten generations. Captain Christopher Smith sailed from England in 1624 on the “Return” and, finding Bermuda an agreeable place, decided not to.

Nowadays, it is difficult to associate wars and piracy with this peaceful place but, in Norwood’s first survey of Bermuda in 1626, the property is marked with the symbol of a cannon.

The early settlers were resolved to defend their island against the Spanish. Nearly two centuries later, two mobile guns were mounted to keep Napoleon at bay. They were never used. The restored “West Elbow Bay Battery” is located on the cliff above the beach. “The Mobile Gun Emplacements” are a few steps further uphill.

In more recent years, the name of the Club has been associated with tennis wherever the game is played. In 1939, the first two ‘Bermuda Clay’ courts were laid down (now Har-Tru). A few months later, the invitation tournament was held. It is interesting that the winner of the men’s singles, W. Donald Mcneil, in the same year, won the United States Lawn Tennis Championship at Forest Hills. The first lady champion, Miss Gracyn Wheeler, defeated Mrs. Sarah Palfrey Cooke who later won out at Forest Hills.