The club was formed in 1835, but rowing at the college predates the club’s foundation. A boat from the college was involved in the earliest recorded races between college crews at Oxford in 1815. A number of college members have rowed for the university against Cambridge University in the Boat Race and the Women’s Boat Race.
About Jesus College Boat Club (Oxford) in brief
Jesus College Boat Club is a rowing club for members of Jesus College, Oxford, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. The club was formed in 1835, but rowing at the college predates the club’s foundation. A boat from the college was involved in the earliest recorded races between college crews at Oxford in 1815, when it competed against Brasenose College. A number of college members have rowed for the university against Cambridge University in the Boat Race and the Women’s Boat Race. The college boathouse, which is shared with the boat club of Keble College, is in Christ Church Meadow, on the Isis. It dates from 1964 and replaced a moored barge used by spectators and crew-members. The aim was to become the lead boat, known as Head of the River. Neither the men’s nor the women’s 1st VIIIs have earned the title of “Head of the river”, which is gained by winning Eights Week. The races would start at Iffley Lock and finish at King’s Barge, off Christ Church Meadows. Flags hoisted on the barge would indicate the finishing order of the crews. In early races, some rowers wore high hats while others, including the Jesus crews, wore Tam o’shanters in college colours ; crews from Jesus College wore these until at least 1847. The early records of the club have been lost, but there are references to a Jesus College boat in material that survives from the early 19th century.
Rowing in eights began at Eton, where there is a record of the school owning three eights by 1811, and then progressed to Oxford. There were few rowers, and races between fours tended to attract more interest than races between eights. Students would row to the inn at Sandford-on-Thames, a few miles south of Oxford, and race each other on the way back. The first record of an inter-college race, between Jesus College and Brasenosed College, dates from 1815. These may have been the only two colleges who had boats racing at that time, and the BrasenOSE boat was usually victorious. The last college barge had been purchased from a Livery Companies of the City of London in 1911. It is now a floating restaurant further down the Thames at Richmond, and for some years was painted in the college colours of green and white. Crews would set off one behind the other, the trailing boat trying to catch, or ‘bump’ the boat ahead. The bumping boat would then drop out and the next day’s race would start ahead of the bumped boat. In 1822, crews from Jesus and brasenose raced each other to become Head ofthe River. One Brasenoses rower apparently caught a crab slowing the boat, but rowed on regardless.
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