Meet Our Local Racquets and Fitness Club..

Amazing facilities for everyone.

FOUNDED IN 1881

A modern venue, steeped in history

The Northern is the longest established racquets and fitness club in the region, with a proud history of success in both tennis and squash. We’ve had some big names play on our courts, but we’re very much a grounded, welcoming club and love to share it with our local community.

Wimbledon of the North

Founded nearly 140 years ago, The Northern is one of the oldest lawn tennis clubs in the UK – in fact, one of the oldest in the world.

The Northern Lawn Tennis Association was set up in 1879, nine years before the National Lawn Tennis Association, with the object of staging a tournament to rival the new Wimbledon Tournament, launched just two years earlier.

The club was originally located in Old Trafford, eight miles from its current site, but as the century drew to a close, rapid industrialisation made tennis conditions difficult: “… new balls became black after only a few games and a collision with the stop netting caused a well-defined pattern of it to appear on one’s flannels.”

The Clubhouse was duly dismantled and re-erected in leafy Didsbury in 1909. In 1936, two squash courts were added and the North of England Squash Championship was held at the Northern for the first time in 1949.

A club for everyone

Community Engagement

PART OF THE DIDSBURY COMMUNITY SINCE 1910
After more than a century of high-level tennis and squash, the Northern has shields and silverware a-plenty.

But one of our newest – and rather unexpected – achievements had nothing to do with racquet skills at all. It was for flowers – a Gold Certificate from the North West Regional RHS as part of the Didsbury in Bloom entry for Britain in Bloom.

Our partnership with Didsbury in Bloom, and in particular local volunteer group The Friends of Parsonage Gardens, is just one example of the club’s commitment to being a good neighbour.

In the wider community, we work with the Lawn Tennis Association, England Squash and Manchester City Council to bring sporting opportunities to adults and children who would not otherwise have access to facilities such as the Northern’s.

Closer to home, we have worked with Christie Hospital to help patients recover their health through sport. And our schools programme inspires literally hundreds of children every year to take up tennis and squash, helping them to lead healthy and active lives.

We have a membership to suit you.

With 21 tennis courts, 6 squash courts, 2 padel courts, 2 well-equipped gyms, a spacious fitness studio and a comfortable lounge bar and eatery, The Northern offers competition-level sports and leisure facilities in a beautiful setting.

Conveniently located in the lively and fashionable South Manchester suburb of Didsbury, the Northern is only five minutes’ drive from the M56 and M60 motorways and we couldn’t be closer to the West Didsbury tram station.

Further details: https://thenorthern.co.uk/about/

Eddie – Sunday 5th April 2026. (Text supplied by The Northern Lawn Tennis Club and images by JP & Brimelow team).