Halton is genuinely a place for everyone.

We are located on the border of Hertfordshire & Buckinghamshire – ideally placed for anyone living within a 20 minute radius, such as the following nearby towns & villages: Wendover, Tring, Chalfonts, Chesham, Amersham, Chesham Bois, Gerrards Cross, Beaconsfield, Aylesbury, Stoke Mandeville, Great Missenden, Princes Risborough, Weston Turville, Aston Clinton and Haddenham.

We pride ourselves on the warm welcome we give to everyone who comes to the Club, reflected in our ethos here at Halton:

Each talented, each different, but all valued.

We offer all the benefits of a large commercial tennis centre, set in a tranquil area with superb facilities including 16 courts (10 outdoor and 6 indoor), 3-court indoor Mini zone, a superb health and fitness club and Clubhouse Café & Bar.

In addition, we are probably the most family friendly club in the country – so while the kids enjoy a lesson or game of tennis with their friends, you can relax with a coffee and newspaper in our lovely Rothschild Clubhouse. Whether you want to stretch yourself at a competitive level, escape from the winter weather with some indoor tennis, or visit to use the gym or meet friends for lunch, Halton is a great place to stay fit and healthy.

Halton Tennis Centre (HTC) operates as a non-profit making charity that reinvests its surplus to improve our services and facilities every year. Over 50 people currently work at Halton – a mix of part-time & full time, employed & self-employed, making us one of the largest local employers and a positive contribution to the local community. Our people are our strength, and we invest much time and energy in training – our small office team alone have a combined service of over 50 years!

HTC is a Limited Company with a small group of shareholders (set up in 2006). We are overseen by a board of directors, responsible for the creation and delivery of the Halton blueprint and all legal & compliance matters.

The day to day management team are:

Gill Roe – Head of Finance
Luke Williams – Head of Operations
Olly Taylor – Head of Facilities
Sam Kilhams – Head of Gym & Well Being
Roy Knight – Head of Club Tennis & Pickle
Mike James – Director/Founder of Everyball Tennis Academy

We look forward to welcoming you soon. For all enquiries or to book a visit please contact the office.

The Tennis Centre has an intriging history – starting out life as a cricket pitch and pavilion in the early 1900s. The earliest images we have of the site date back to its beginnings such as the wonderful photo above showing our Rothschild pavilion and lawns and the team photo below.

Early history and the Royal Air Force

The site was given to the RAF, around 1919, along with Halton House and all the surrounding land by the owners (the Rothschild family) for use as a training camp during World War I.

In 1929, the cricket pitch was replaced with grass tennis courts for use by the Officers of RAF Halton. As a self-sufficient base, the RAF had a large farm and numerous greenhouses located just behind our current stand and a large vegetable patch where our current air domes are located. The canal was also in use by boats trading goods, and a large turnaround area for them was once located in the area behind the air domes. It was later moved towards Weston Turville, due to the large number of mosquitoes that resulted, and the turnaround filled in.

Halton has been home to Royal Air Force Tennis since those early days. In addition to matches and training sessions throughout the year, each summer sees the RAF Championships held here, before the RAF team head to Wimbledon to take on the Army & Navy in the annual Inter-Service Championships.

Halton Village Lawn Tennis Club

In the 1950s, due to falling player numbers, all ranks were allowed to use the facilities and then, in 1983, local civilians were also welcomed to play; the Halton Village Lawn Tennis Club (HVLTC) was born with about 100 members. The first airdome was erected by the RAF in 1979, to provide year-round tennis, and was the first of its kind in the UK; read a vintage magazine article from 1980.

Our outdoor courts have also had a few different lives – the 2 hard courts by the clubhouse were ‘shale’, the old fashioned messy red clay surface, until the mid-1980s when they changed to the tar macadam we have today. The other 2 hard courts suffered badly from moss, and in 2004 were changed to artificial grass. The 6 courts directly outside the clubhouse have been grass (1929 – 1985), artificial grass (1985 – 1995), acrylic (1995 – 2002) and currently are artificial grass once again.

Halton Tennis Centre

Following a fall in use by the RAF in the late 1990s, and pressure on finances, in 2001 it was decided to create a partnership between the RAFLTA and HVLTC (previously just a tenant), to try and create a sustainable future. The Halton Tennis Centre (HTC) was created to encompass both sides of the Club, with a 99 year lease enabling us to have security of tenure for the first time in our history, and invest in a long term future.

Many of our members, both RAF and civilian have long associations with Halton, and over the years have given generously of their time and expertise. In 2007, a number also supported the Centre with loans to help us complete a major facilities project which included extra indoor courts, 3 court mini zone, 2 outdoor courts and a comprehensive Health & Fitness Club.

1913  Halton was a Rothschild Estate and was made available to the Royal Flying Corps

1918/19  The Estate was purchased by the British Government for the nascent RAF at the end of WW1 for £112,000

1927  The site was restyled and became the Officers’ Lawn Tennis Club (OLTC) – the RAF Championships have been held here ever since

1963  The OLTC was renamed the RAF Halton Tennis Club

1978  The Club became the official RAF Home for Sport (Tennis), named The RAF Tennis Centre

1979  1st indoor bubble (or air dome) in the UK (costing £80k) was erected with a carpet surface (now acrylic)

1980  The Mr Lo Changing Rooms were built with a £30k grant (now the fitness suite)

1982  Halton Village Tennis Club became a lodging civilian club welcoming local players for the first time and the 6 grass courts were replaced with 1st generation artificial grass

1983  Halton Village Lawn Tennis Club (HVLTC) officially begins

1993  After 14 years the air dome had a new 2nd skin

1997  Blue acrylic courts replaced the 6 artificial grass courts

2000  It came to light that RAF Halton, in 1997, had handed back the tennis centre site to the Defence Estate as an encroachment, explaining the lack of maintenance to the crumbling site for 3 years

2001  HQ Personnel & Training Command was responsible to pay the running costs with public money, however they refused and decided to close the site

2002  The RAF LTA became the owners of the site under a 5 year lease from the Defence Estate and RAF Tennis & the Village Club created the HTC umbrella organisation with 5 founder members: John Walker (HVLTC), Nicholas Leighton (HVLTC), Paul Hughesdon (RAF), Thomas Wood (RAF) and Damian Gange (RAF). 4th generation artificial grass courts replaced the failing outdoor blue acrylic courts

2003  The RAF Tennis Centre Site was re-wired, while the fledgling health & fitness club opened in old ladies changing room!

2006  In its centenary year celebrations the Clubhouse received a new £15,000 roof, the RAF Central Fund purchased the RAF Tennis Centre from the Defence Estate for
£255,200 and the site was renamed Halton Tennis Centre

2007  LTA High Performance Centre status achieved – one of only 2 clubs in the UK

2008/09  2nd indoor air dome built with 3 artificial clay courts and a separate 3-court ‘Mini Zone’ for kids, the first of its kind in the UK

2009  The Gym at Halton launches in its own bespoke building

2011  Outdoor Mini Courts introduced

2012 The outdoor fitness facility was created

2013  Introduction of new outdoor 3-court Mini Zone for kids

2014  Skills Zone multi-sport area launched, while the gym saw its training machines upgraded. 5th generation artificial grass courts (tiger turf) replaced the worn 4th generation, and artificial clay (Llano Grand) replaced the tarmac courts. The year also signalled the beginning of our ‘Project Zero’ carbon neutral programme at HTC

2017  The 3 bed flat, new dormitory and Clubhouse kitchen were upgraded throughout

2020  COVID Pandemic

2021  Start of the financial recovery post the COVID pandemic. New physio suite introduced

2022  Installed LED Lighting throughout the site, including the air domes and outdoor floodlights

2023  Installed new super-efficient engines installed in both domes to reduce energy consumption by 50%

2024  Installed 72 solar panels on the gym roof to achieve self-electricity to run throughout the site. Installed batteries to store the excess. Pickleball introduced!

2025  New Lease! To be continued!