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The Club originated as part of the Brentwood Cricket Club, which was founded in 1881. It was reported in the local “Weekly News” dated 29 April 1883 that a resolution had been passed that a portion of the County Ground be allocated for lawn tennis.
A quote from the Brentwood Cricket Club minute book of March 7 that year noted that:
“It was decided that a piece of ground be prepared for lawn tennis and that each subscriber of one guinea and upwards should have the privilege of taking a lady on the ground to play lawn tennis.”
The tennis section therefore started life on April 12 1883 with three courts and a sub committee was formed to oversee its running. Matters then proceeded until November 20 1885, when it was decided that the Tennis Section should separate from the Cricket Club and rent a portion of the County Ground for £15 per season.
In April 1889, the Tennis Club, under the guidance of the Horary Club Secretary, was re-amalgamated with the Cricket Club. The tennis section at this time was overseen by a committee of three. In 1904 a fourth court was added and the subscription was one guinea for gentlemen and half a guinea for ladies.
The affairs of the club then progressed happily for a number of years and by 1910 had six committee members. A notable event at this time was the start of the 'Mid Essex Invitation Tennis Tournament', which was held at Brentwood and continued annually until 1930.
In the summer of 1914 when the war commenced there were five courts in use, but between 1916 and 1919 the club apparently went out of existence and started again in 1920 when tennis was played on Sundays for the first time.
From 1924 to 1929 the Tennis Section flourished under the guidance of a dedicated committee (A Mrs Russell and Miss Hodge are documented as devoting much of their time to it.)
In 1933 the club became affiliated to the Essex Lawn Tennis Association. During this year a 'splendid tennis pavilion' was erected at a cost of £98 with 'changing facilities for both Ladies and Gentlemen'. It was sited where courts 5 and 6 are today, then subsequently moved to the position of the present clubhouse and then again to a position behind the present courts 7 and 8. It was eventually used as the juniors' clubhouse when the new clubhouse was built in the 1970s and was finally demolished in the 1980s.
On April 1 1955, when the Brentwood County Ground Club was formed, the Tennis Section ceased to exist as part of the Cricket Club after an association of 66 years. It did, however, remain within the overall County Ground Club umbrella, a structure that exists today. Since that change, the club has moved progressively from grass to shale to the present eight synthetic grass courts.
The present committee, under the guidance of the president Mr Ken Dawkes has been developing some progressive strategies for the 21 century and is responsible for some radical changes.