The Oriel Square tennis court was a real tennis court that was located in Oriel Square, central Oxford, England. The Liber Albus mentions the Oriel court being in Vinehall Lane in 1577. The only active court left in the city is in Merton Street.
Charles I played tennis here with his nephew Prince Rupert in December 1642 and King Edward VII had his first tennis lesson here in 1859.
The court survived until 1923, when it was used as a lecture hall by Oriel College, though it may have seen earlier use as a theatre. The site is now the location of Oriel College's Harris Building, used for student accommodation, a seminar room and lecture theatre.
Famous quotes containing the words square, tennis and/or court:
“Mark you the floore? that square & speckled stone,
Which looks so firm and strong,
Is Patience:”
—George Herbert (1593–1633)
“I know some of my self-worth comes from tennis, and it’s hard to think of doing something else where you know you’ll never be the best. Tennis players are rare creatures: where else in the world can you know that you’re the best? The definitiveness of it is the beauty of it, but it’s not all there is to life and I’m ready to explore the alternatives.”
—Martina Navratilova (b. 1956)
“Of all things in life, Mrs. Lee held this kind of court-service in contempt, for she was something more than republican—a little communistic at heart, and her only serious complaint of the President and his wife was that they undertook to have a court and to ape monarchy. She had no notion of admitting social superiority in any one, President or Prince, and to be suddenly converted into a lady-in-waiting to a small German Grand-Duchess, was a terrible blow.”
—Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)