Ham Polo Club, London's last polo club, marks 100 years beside Ham House

Between Richmond Park and the River Thames, overlooked by the historic Ham House, lies a corner of London where the thunder of hooves is still part of summer. Ham Polo Club was founded in 1926, and 2026 marked its 100th year.

The club began life as the Ham Common Polo Club. Its first chairman was Loftus Storey, and the original ground lay next to his home, Brown Gates House, on Church Road, Ham Common. After play paused during the Second World War, Billy Walsh helped revive the club in 1946 and went on to manage it until 1982. In 1947 Ham won the Roehampton Cup at the first post war English polo tournament.

The club moved to its present home off Petersham Road in 1950, and in 1954 the Ham House orchard was turned into a polo field. In 1970 the club bought the freehold of its land, largely thanks to the efforts of its then president, Sir David Brown.

Today Ham is described as one of the oldest polo clubs in the UK and the last surviving club in London. It is also the last remaining satellite club of the "Big Three" historic London clubs, Ranelagh, Hurlingham and Roehampton.

Polo is played at Ham between May and September. The club's flagship events are the Summer Tournament, the Roehampton Trophy and the Billy Walsh Tournament, and it has around 70 playing members alongside several hundred social members. Playing membership is limited, while social, academy and junior memberships are also available.

For those who want to try the sport themselves, the club runs a Polo Academy, offering a way into a game that can look daunting from the sidelines.

The club is also a sociable place off the field, with a clubhouse that hosts parties and events beyond the playing season, including a Halloween party this year.

Watching a match at Ham, with the trees of Richmond Park in the distance and Ham House across the fields, is one of the most unexpected and memorable ways to spend a summer afternoon in London.

Ham Polo Club is on Petersham Road, Richmond, TW10 7AH. For the season calendar, memberships and the Polo Academy, visit hampoloclub.com.