History

It all started with Rock & Roll…

Founded by the late rock and roll impresario Bryan Morrison, RCBPC, fondly known as ‘The Berkshire’, has been at the forefront of fashionable society since its opening in 1986. The Berkshire, near Windsor, stands out as one of the UK’s top-tier polo clubs and classic events spaces, boasting world-class sporting facilities, including seven pristine polo fields, the UK’s first all-weather polo arena, stabling to accommodate over 200 horses, two tennis courts, a croquet lawn and an esteemed polo academy.

‘Polo; a marriage of equine history and sheer rock and roll, that remains woven through our walls.’

Bryan was a distinguished businessman and music mogul in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, he had a hand in the careers of none other than Pink Floyd, The Jam, The Bee Gees, George Michael and many more. After unexpectedly becoming enthralled by the sport of polo and the accompanying lifestyle, he purchased a rundown estate with the vision and intent to convert the land into a lavish club that ran by its own rules. In 1986, just one year after he purchased the land, Morrison succeeded in the monumental task of converting the 220-acre estate into a fully functioning polo club with His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales opening the club as its first member.

Interestingly, the estate was originally the site of the Windsor Forest Stud, a former racing yard that, in its heyday, sent its best runners to the neighbouring Royal Ascot just one mile away. To this day, the stud’s signature race rail and gallops remain on the grounds as a reminder of their equine history. The marriage of the land’s prestigious horse racing history and Morrison’s rock and roll legacy has given birth to an unquestionably modern club that holds true to the wild, unpredictable and exhilarating spirit of polo.

Morrison has been widely credited with revolutionising and re-popularising polo, with the club serving as a crucible of change in the modern era of polo in the UK. In 2005, Morrison started a lifestyle clothing brand that reflects the excellence, authenticity and exclusivity of the ever-fashionable Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club. Bryan’s son Jamie Morrison, the club’s current Chairman, will ensure that RCBPC continues to be the vanguard of polo, leading with its current extensive expansion programme, which will provide two new state-of-the-art fields, amongst many more exciting developments.