Egham Regatta is a rowing regatta on the River Thames in England which takes place at the end of June on the reach above Bell Weir Lock near Egham, Surrey. The regatta is run from Wraysbury Skiff and Punting Club and the Runnymede Pleasure Grounds on the outskirts of Egham.
The regatta was inaugurated in 1909 and was affiliated to the Skiff Racing Association in 1913. It was suspended during World War I and had a chequered existence until it re-commenced in 1955 as a purely rowing regatta. In 1978 skiffing and punting were reintroduced making it the only regatta in the country that still provides racing for rowing, skiffing and punting.
Egham Regatta has a short sprint course of about 650 metres upstream from a stake boat start. The regatta is the last on the River Thames before Henley Royal Regatta and provides sculling events for juniors in singles, doubles or coxed quads. It caters for competitors of all levels and ages from the relative newcomer upwards.
Coordinates: 51°25′44″N 0°32′53″W / 51.429°N 0.548°W / 51.429; -0.548
Egham /ˈɛɡəm/ is a town in the Runnymede borough of Surrey, in the south-east of England. It is part of the London commuter belt and Greater London Urban Area and has its own railway station. It adjoins, narrowly, junction 13 of the M25 motorway and is centred 19 miles (31 km) WSW of London. It can be considered a university town as it has on its higher part, Egham Hill, the campus of Royal Holloway, University of London. Not far from this town at Runnymede Magna Carta was sealed.
Egham predates 666 AD when Chertsey Abbey was founded with many square miles of land, which included that of Ecga's Ham, one of the very oldest surviving charters (detailed records) of the country.
Egham appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Egeham. It was (as mentioned) held by Chertsey Abbey and kept by that institution after the conquest when its assets were: 15 hides; 12 ploughlands, 120 acres (0.49 km2) of meadow, together with woodland, 'herbage and pannage' worth 75 hogs. It rendered one of the largest sums in Surrey to its feudal overlords per year, £30 10s 0d.