The Devonshire Club

Remembering the famous old East London fight hall

THE Devonshire Club holds a special place in British ring history, although little has been written about it. The Devonshire was the brainchild of Joe Morris, a manager of such fistic stars as Teddy Baldock and Dick Corbett. Morris had the chance to buy the lease of an old church in Devonshire Street, Hackney, which he decided to convert into a dance hall and boxing arena. He recruited a syndicate of three others, including the then-largely unknown Ridley Road fishmonger Jack Solomons, who was of course destined to become Britain’s leading promoter.

The venue opened its doors to boxing on October 21, 1934, but initially its shows flopped. With strong competition from other, better-established halls, such as the Whitechapel Pavilion and the Blackfriars Ring, it was difficult to tempt fans through the door. Doubting the Devonshire’s future, Joe Morris and the other two partners sold their shares to Solomons, whose instinct told him it was only a matter of time before the venue became a paying proposition.