Royal Chester Rowing Club to represent city at Queen’s Jubilee Pageant on the Thames

ROYAL Chester Rowing Club has been honoured with an invitation to take part in the Queen’s Jubilee Pageant on the Thames on Sunday.

More than 1,000 boats will muster on the River Thames in preparation for The Queen to take part in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, a floating celebration of Her Majesty's 60-year reign.

Royal Chester has had the honour of being invited to represent Chester and participate in this historic event.

The largest public event of the Diamond Jubilee weekend and potentially the largest live public event ever held in London, the formal river procession will be between 2pm and 6pm from above Battersea to below Tower Bridge.

The flotilla will pass under all 13 Central London river crossings, from Battersea Bridge to Tower Bridge, and will take at least 75 minutes to pass any given point.

The city of Chester through Royals will be represented in the pageant by two explorer quad sculls, the crews being made up of juniors and veterans – Jane Sweeney, Vicky Sweeney (aged 13, Christleton High School), Georgina Elliott (aged 13, of Queen’s School) and Emily-Ann Westoby (aged 15, of Queen’s) with Jo Hinnigan coxing; and John Hinnigan, John Tweed, Tony Sweeney, Gregory Jones (aged 13, of Neston High School) and Peter Jarvis coxing.

Royal Chester is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the country, it was first proposed when Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837.

The scheme to form the club received a further impetus from the celebrations in Chester in honour of the Coronation of Queen Victoria, on June 28, 1838.

Within a fortnight The Chester Victoria Rowing Club was formally organised at Chester Castle on July 9, 1838, when the name of the club was adopted.

Royal Patronage was granted to the Club in 1840 and the title of ‘Royal’, was conferred at the end of June, just in time for the new ‘Royal Chester Rowing Club’ to compete at Chester Regatta.

Today, the club makes rowing accessible to everyone in the community and is a hive of activity with more than 300 members including thriving women’s and junior’s sections.