Whilst many of the large mansions in the locality had their own tennis and croquet lawns for family use, a number of Clubs were in existence at the turn of the century. An important club with superior facilities - The Tivyside Lawn Tennis amp; Croquet Club was established by the local gentry in June 1878. The ordinance survey map of 1888 shows a tennis ground located south of the South Lodge of Cilgwyn Mansion and it is possible that this was the first home of the Club. The gentry played on Tuesdays, the ladies often retiring to the Lamb Hotel (now the Rugby Club) for tea.

The Town Club
The Tivyside Advertiser has many reports of matches played against local clubs by a Newcastle Emlyn Tennis Club during the late 1800s through to the first World War. However the first memories of an organised town club are from the late twenties when the Club formed an association with the gentry's 'County Club' and used their Adpar facilities regularly.

The Heydays
The records from the 1930s show much activity by the town Tennis Club both during the summer season and the winter months. The fixture lists for this period show matches played against other clubs, quite often far a field, with varying degrees of success - 1938 being a low with 11 matches played, 1 drawn and 10 lost!

Lampeter College, Llanybyther(sic) New Quay, Landilo(sic), Llandyssul, Cardigan, Trimsaron, Cross Hands, Goodwick, Aberayron(sic) and Aberystwyth were all regular opponents. Membership was buoyant and a round of social activities such as tournaments, whist drives, and concerts were also arranged. Membership averaged 28 senior members and 10 juniors during this time, the subscription being 15/- for ladies and £1-1s. for men.

In the late 1930's grants were made available through the King George V Playing Fields association for the provision of recreational facilities. The children's playing field, a bowling green and tennis court were laid on land beyond Church Lane, Newcastle Emlyn.

The War Years
In the late 1930s the Town Club was beginning to experience financial constraints. With the outbreak of war a number of male members were called up. Special tournaments were held and the entrance fee proceeds sent towards war distress funds. By 1943 the impact of the war and the decline in membership was such that the Town Club also could not maintain the grounds. The town hard court was used on three days a week for £10 the season.

Post War
After the war, in addition to using the municipal town court, a court had been constructed behind Garden Cottage, Adpar Hill in a copse commonly known as Y Croci - land belonging to the Fitzwilliams family. Tennis was played here and in town until the mid 50s but interest waned. The lack of facilities made matches and tournaments difficult to organise. The Club disintegrated.

In 1961 the Club was briefly resurrected by the local Young Liberals with Mary Griffiths, the pharmacist's wife as its Chairman. Little information exists for this period. In the mid 1970s new attempts were made by a group of enthusiastic town tennis players to re-form the Club.

Another ten years or so passed - some local youngsters were playing in Cardigan to gain experience and skill. Spurred on by the need to provide tennis facilities particularly for the youngsters of the area, another group set to work to raise money to re-form the Club and re-lay the grounds.

Sitting on the border of the two counties the Club was renamed the Newcastle Emlyn amp; Adpar Tennis Club. Specialist contractors were brought in to lay two new tarmac courts in 1988. The courts were officially opened in 1989 by the mayor Marion Jones. Membership was rising and the Club was financially sound; affiliation to the Emlyn Sports Club was granted in 1990.

In 1991 a qualified tennis coach, Barbara Bean moved from England to Brongest and was invited to become the Club coach. By August of that year she was training youngsters with the aim of forming South Ceredigion 'squads'. Talented youngsters included Michael Jones-Evans, Chris Jones-Evans, Jason Stephens and Dafydd Owens. In 1966 Barbara Bean retired to Devon - her enthusiasm and commitment to the Club ensured its continuing success during this period.

The Millenium Project
The life of a tennis court is eight to ten years - and by 1998 it was clear that the two courts on ground leased from Carmarthenshire County Council needed re-surfacing. Membership was good and the Committee decided to lease additional adjacent waste ground in order to build a third tennis court.