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General First nameLestocq Robert
LastnameErskine
GenderMale
CountryScotland
Date of birth1857-09-06
Place of birthEdinburgh, Scotland
Date of death1916-05-29
Place of deathLlandridod Wells, Wales


About

Lestocq Robert Erksine was born on 6 September 1851 in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. He was the fourth of the twelve children – five sons and seven daughters – of Claudius James Erskine (1821-93), who was born in British India to a Scottish father and an English mother, and was later a member of the Indian Civil Service, and Emily Georgina Erskine (née Reid; 1827-99), who was also born in British India. Claudius Erskine and Emily Reid married each other on 18 March 1847 in Bombay.

Lestocq Erskine married Julia Freeling (b. 1855) on 19 January 1876 in All Saints’ Church, Paddington, London. She was the daughter of Charles Rivers Freeling and Emma Amelia Freeling (née Luard). Emma was the third wife of Charles. When the Census of England and Wales was taken on 3 April 1881, Lestocq and Julia Erskine were living in the market town of Shipley, West Yorkshire, with their daughter, Muriel Christian Erskine (1876-1974). The same census lists Lestocq Erskine’s profession as Member of the London Stock Exchange. Julia Erskine died in London in December 1888 at the age of only 33.

Lestocq Erskine was one of the 21 players who took part in the first Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships tournament held on the original ground at Worple Road, Wimbledon, from 9-19 July 1877. He reached the quarter-finals before being beaten by the eventual runner-up, William Marshall, in straight sets. The following year Erskine reached the final of the all-comers’ event at Wimbledon, where Frank Hadow, the eventual champion, defeated him in three sets. In 1879, Erskine played at Wimbledon for the third and last time, winning one match before losing to the Reverend John Hartley, the eventual champion, in a very close five-set match.

In May 1879, partnering Herbert Lawford, Lestocq Erskine won the inaugural edition of the Oxford University Men’s Doubles Championship, initiated by the committee of the Oxford University Lawn Tennis Club (OULTC), located in Norham Gardens in that particular university city. This event was a precursor to the Wimbledon men’s doubles championship, which would first be held in 1884. The final of 1879 was played over the best of seven sets, with Erskine and Lawford defeating George Tabor and an F. Durant, 4–6 6–4 6–5 6–2 3–6 5–6 7–5. Lestocq Erskine appears not to have entered any lawn tennis tournaments after 1879.

Lestocq Erskine later went into partnership with a number of other stockbrokers. According to the Post Office London Directory of 1900, the company L.R. Erskine & Co. had offices located at 5 Copthall Court in the City of London. In 1907, Lestocq Erskine purchased Binfield Manor, a large property located in the village of Binfield, Berkshire. He had a strong public spirit and, in a bye-election in 1910, unsuccessfully contested the seat of Horsham in West Sussex for the Liberal Party. At the general election held in January 1911, he contested the same seat for the same party, again unsuccessfully.

Lestocq Erskine still owned Binfield Manor in Berkshire at the time of his death on 29 May 1916 in the town of Llandrindod Wells in Wales at the age of 58. He left the sum of £148,743 in his Will.

Media


Archive statistics Career1877 - 1879
Tournament wins0
Matches15
Match wins11


Tournaments Wimbledon - 1879 Grand National Tournament - 1879 Wimbledon - 1878 Wimbledon - 1877