The first Wimbledon Championships were held on 9 June 1877 and were advertised as a ‘lawn tennis meeting, open to all amateurs’ and played at Worple Road in Wimbledon, not far from the current home of Wimbledon Tennis. They will compete for a total of about $34.8 million in prize money, with the winners of the men's and women's singles competitions taking $2.4 million each. As it was not permissible for women to enter the tournament in 1877, the first Wimbledon champion from a group of twenty-two male competitors was twenty seven year old Spencer William Gore. The manor was then confiscated and became crown property until the reign of Henry VIII when it was granted to Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex. Of the other three, the Australian Open and the US Open are both played on hard courts and the French Open is played on clay.The accepted outfit of choice for Wimbledon players in the nineteenth century was plain white long-sleeved shirts and trousers for men and full-length corseted white dresses and hats for women. Wimbledon encapsulation the resilience and determination of The British public to enjoy national sport and entertainment throughout the summer.The Wimbledon tournament originated at the ‘All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club’ on Worple Road, Wimbledon. "It would be a sad day if we ever failed to play it on grass," says Barrett, who loves the surface because it "is never the same two days running, so you have to be able to adapt very quickly." Indeed even the ball boys and girls have left behind the traditional Wimbledon colours of green and purple and have sported navy and cream uniforms created by the American fashion designer Ralph Lauren since 2006.Whilst no tournaments were held at Wimbledon during 1915-1918 and 1940-1945 because of theThe history of the development of Association Football, or soccer as it is also known…In stark contrast to today’s sporting extravaganza, the first year of the Championships took place with very little fanfare. A club that will be coincidentally celebrating its 150th anniversary in a few months time. Later, during the 1970s and 1980s the town centre failed to compete with the bigger chains in Kingston and Sutton, part of the problem being that there was a shortage of locations for large anchor stores to attract customers. Wimbledon’s reputation as an affluent suburb started to grow, with new houses popping up in the 1850s south of the Ridgway with small cottages also built. In the 1851 census, there were a small base of just under 2,700 residents recorded, but the population grew by no less than 60% each decade up to 1901 during which time many villas and terraced houses were built along the roads from the centre towards Putney, Merton Park and Raynes Park.As well as this, SW19 also has an intriguing story behind it, interwoven throughout the history books. It was not until the 1920s and 1930s that the players, and particularly the female players, began to experiment with their clothing. The Championship Trophies left the grounds of Wimbledon for the first time in history when they crossed the pond to mark the launch of ESPN’s coverage. Vote Now!The Hunt for the Modern-Day Pirates Who Steal Millions of Tons of Fish From the SeasResearchers Say the Purpose of Sleep Shifts During the 'Terrible Twos'"Tradition is a very strong part of Wimbledon," says Barrett—a fact that accounts both for the tournament's charm and for the more unsavory bits of its history. If this seems incomprehensible, it is because "amateur" meant something very particular to the earliest organizers at Wimbledon: "the termWhy Sudan's Remarkable Ancient Civilization Has Been Overlooked by HistoryBut Barrett says he would be loath to see one Wimbledon tradition disappear: grass. Discover Britain provides your essential guide to the very best of Britain. We look back at the history of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, which bring this corner of southwest London to a standstill each year. The games were first broadcasted by radio within this year, and then, a decade later, the games were also broadcasted on national television. Grass is also the surface which provides the fastest game of tennis.