Collection PHA - Polytechnic Harriers Athletic Club

The philanthropist Quintin Hogg (1845-1903) was convinced of the health-giving and character-building qualities derived from organised sport, and saw it as an integral part of the work of his foundation, the Youths' Christian Institute, and its successors the Young Men's Christian Institute and Polytechnic Institute, later Regent Street Polytechnic. Hanover United Athletic Club - for cricket, football, rowing and swimming - originated when the Institute had premises in Hanover Street. After the Institute moved in 1882 to Regent Street, formerly home of the Royal Polytechnic Institution, a harriers (running) club had its inaugural meeting in 1883. The club was known as the Polytechnic Harriers. Hogg provided 27 acres at Merton, where athletics took place. The Polytechnic's 40-acre Memorial Ground at Chiswick, bought by public donation following Hogg's death in 1903, opened in 1906.

The first big open meeting was held in 1888 in conjunction with the Polytechnic Cycling Club. The Harriers organised the first inter-club competition in 1893, and began to publish their Gazette - discontinued in 1902 because all events were reported in The Polytechnic Magazine. By 1914 the Club had established 11 world records, and at its peak in 1929 the Club had over 800 members.

In 1908 Club was invited to organise the trial race for the marathon, which was to be introduced into the Olympic Games in London in 1908. The race, the first to be run in the UK, was run over 23 miles from Windsor Castle to Wembley Park. The Olympic event was also planned by Jack Andrew, secretary of the Harriers. The race began at Windsor Castle and ended at White City Stadium over a distance of 26 miles and 385 yards (added so that the event could finish in front of the royal box). Runners were escorted by members of the Polytechnic Cycling Club. Poor British performance in the Olympics led the Harriers to organise an annual international Polytechnic Marathon, beginning in 1909. The Kinnaird Trophy inter-club meeting at Chiswick was also first held in 1909.

When Regent Street Polytechnic became the Polytechnic of Central London in 1970, relations with the sports and social clubs - which had been an integral part of Quintin Hogg's vision for the Polytechnic - were redefined as part of the new constitutional arrangements. The Harriers became legally separate but retained some links with the Polytechnic Institute. The expense of mounting major events placed an increasing strain on the club. The Polytechnic Institute did not have the resources to modernise the Quintin Hogg Memorial Ground at Chiswick, and by the late 1970s the lack of an all-weather running track prevented the Harriers from hosting major events. The Club left Chiswick to become the Kingston AC and Polytechnic Harriers.