| Highland Championships | |
| Type: | Defunct |
| Tour: | ILTF Circuit |
| Founded: | 1896 |
| Location: | Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland |
| Venue: | Atholl Palace Hotel |
The Highland Championships (informally called the Scottish Highland Championships) was a men's and women's grass court tennis tournament first established in 1896 as part of the Atholl Hydropathic Open Lawn Tennis Tournament.[1] Also known as the Bell's Highland Championships for sponsorship reasons (1974–1981).[2]
The championships were first held at the Athole Hydropathic tennis courts, Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland. The tournament was staged annually as part of the ILTF Circuit until 1981.[3]
In 1878, the Atholl Hydropathic was opened. In August 1896, the hotel established its first lawn tennis event, the Atholl Hydropathic Open Lawn Tennis Tournament of which the Highland Lawn Tennis Championship Trophy was played for as part of the gentleman's singles programme.[4] It was part of the Scottish Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) circuit from inception. In 1913, the venue's name was changed to the Athol Palace Hotel. The championships were temporarily suspended during both the first and second world wars. It continued to be held annually as part of the official international ILTF Circuit from 1913. At the 1930 championships 149 players entered the tournament for play.[5]
In 1974, the Scottish whisky company Arthur Bell & Sons Ltd. decided to sponsor the event under the brand name the Bell's Highland Championships. That year, 14-year-old Judith Erskine (future mother of grand slam champion Andy Murray) won all three titles of the Bell's Junior Championship of the Highlands.[6] It ran until 1981,[7] when it ceased to part of the international worldwide tennis circuit. The tournament continues to be staged at the same venue today, now known as the Highland Tennis Championships,[8] or Tennis Championships of the Highlands. The tournament is currently administered by Tennis Scotland.
In 1874, the Perthshire architect, Andrew Heiton was commissioned to design a Scottish baronial-style hydropathic establishment, with accommodation.[9] In 1878, the building was officially opened and named the Athole Hydropathic.[10] In 1913, its name was changed to The Atholl Palace Hotel.[10]
(incomplete roll)
| Year | Champions | Runners-up | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ↓ SLTA Circuit ↓ | ||||
| Highland Lawn Tennis Championship Trophy | ||||
| 1897 |  Harry Sibthorpe Barlow |  Clement Cazalet | w.o. | |
| 1899[11] | Sydney Lawrence Fry | Rupert Hamblin-Smith | 6–1, 6–3, 6–4 | |
| 1900 | Alfred Aitken Thomson | Richard Millar Watson | w.o. | |
| Highland Lawn Tennis Championships | ||||
| 1901 | Sydney Lawrence Fry (2) | James Cecil Parke | 6–1, 6–4, 1–6, 6–2 | |
| 1903 | E.G. Whittle | C.H. Moss | 6–1, 6–3, 4–6, 6–2 | |
| 1905 | W.E. McKechnie | T.B. Pollard | 6–4, 2–6, 6–4, 6–2 | |
| ↓ ILTF Circuit ↓ | ||||
| Highland Championships | ||||
| 1938[12] | Alfred Eustace Fannin | 6–4, 3–6, 8–6 | ||
| 1940/1945 | Not held (due to World War II) | |||
| 1947 | David M. Duncan | S.H. Allan | 6–2, 7–5 | |
| 1948 | John Stewart Ross | G.W. O'Connor | 7–5, 7–5 | |
| 1949 | John C. George Savile |  Arthur J. Gould | 8–10, 6–2, 6–0 | |
| 1950 |  Tadeusz Slawek[13] | John C. George Savile | 6–1, 6–1 | |
| 1951 | Tadeusz Slawek (2) | R.H. Thomson | 6–3, 6–1 | |
| 1952 | Tadeusz Slawek (3) | A.G. Potter | 6–0, 7–5 | |
| 1953 | A.L. Graeme | N.J. Gibson | 6–4, 4–6, 6–2 | |
| 1954 | John R. Maguire | D.B. Dempsey | 6–3, 6–1 | |
| 1955 | Brian Douglas Ford[14] | J.J. Carmichael | 6–1, 6–2 | |
| 1956 | D.B. Dempsey | 6–0, 6–3 | ||
| 1957 | D.B. Dempsey | A. Bloomfield | 6–3, 6–2 | |
| 1959 |  Aaron S. Black | D.C. Burrows | 13–11, 6–1 | |
| 1960 | D.B. Dempsey (2) | Aaron S. Black | 2–6, 11–9, 6–0 | |
| 1961 | D.B. Dempsey (3) | Ken Riley | 6–3, 4–6, 6–1 | |
| 1962 | John Blizard [15] | 6–3, 6–0 | ||
| 1964 | J.C. Reynolds | T.C. MacNair | 6–2, 6–2 | |
| ↓ Open era ↓ | ||||
| 1972 | 6–2, 6–2 | |||
| Bell's Highland Championships | ||||
| 1975 | Hugh Thomson[16] | 6–3, 6–0 | ||
| 1976 | Graeme Notman[17] | Ken Revie | 6–3, 6–2 | |
| 1977 | Jasper Cooper | Robbie Rockwell | 4–6, 6–2, 6–4 | |
| 1978 | K. Reynolds | Peter Littlewood | 6–3, 6–3 | |
| 1979 | K. Reynolds (2) | J. McKechnie | 6–4, 6–3 | |
| 1980 | Mark Powell | Keith Kordula[18] | 6–3, 6–2 | |
| 1981 | P. Priest | N. Carmichaell | 6–3, 6–3 |
(incomplete roll)
| Year | Champions | Runners-up | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ↓ SLTA Circuit ↓ | ||||
| Highland Lawn Tennis Championship Trophy | ||||
| 1897 | Jane Corder | 6–3, 6–3 | ||
| 1899 | 6–2, 3–6, 6–2 | |||
| 1900 | Ruth Dyas Durlacher | 6–4, 6–3 | ||
| Highland Lawn Tennis Championships | ||||
| 1903 | Alice Maud Ferguson | Minnie Hunter | 6–3, 8–6 | |
| ↓ ILTF Circuit ↓ | ||||
| Highland Championships | ||||
| 1922 | Mary Gray Welsh | Mary Thom | 6–1, 9–7 | |
| 1928 | Winifred Mason |  Olga Webb | 1–6, 6–1, 6–3 | |
| 1929 | Winifred Mason (2) | Geraldine Beamish | 6–0, 6–4 | |
| 1933 | Joan Hartigan | 6–2, 6–2 | ||
| 1934 | Esna Boyd Robertson (2) | Kathleen Robertson | 6-2, 6-0 | |
| 1935 | Esna Boyd Robertson | 6–2, 6–1 | ||
| 1936 | Madge Slaney | 6–4, 6–3 | ||
| 1940/1945 | Not held (due to World War II) | |||
| 1948 | Helena Czolowska | Betty Lombard | 6–2, 7–5 | |
| 1950 | Mrs C.M. Mitchell | Chloe Rhodes | 6–4, 2–6, 8–6 | |
| 1952 | E. Vlandy | 6–0, 7–5 | ||
| 1953 | Beryl Bartlett | Helena Czolowska | 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 | |
| 1961 | Ann McAlpine | Sally Holdsworth | 6–1, 6–4 | |
| 1962 | Alison Stroud | 7–5, 6–3 | ||
| 1967 | Margaret H. O'Donnell | 6–4, 7–5 | ||
| ↓ Open era ↓ | ||||
| Bell's Highland Championships | ||||
| 1975 | Joyce Barclay Hume (2) | 6–8, 6–0, 6–3 | ||
| 1976 | Joyce Barclay Hume (3) | Jill Cottrell | 6–3, 7–5 | |
| 1977 | Jill Cottrell | Marjorie Love | 1–6, 6–1, 6–2 | |
| 1978 | Jill Cottrell (2) | E. Armstrong | 6–1, 6–4 | |
| 1979 | G. Armstrong | Eleanor Lightbody | 7–5, 6–8, 6–3 | |
| 1980 | D. Boothman | L. Ristic | 10–8, 6–2 | |
| 1981 | L. Reid | D. Boothman | 6–4, 6–1 |