3 hours ago Mar 31, 2026HTBS

A Confusion of Claspers

Newcastle’s High Level Bridge on the River Tyne, the starting point for many famous professional sculling races.

31 March 2026

By Ian Whitehead

In February this year I asked curators at North East Museums (formerly Tyne and Wear Museums) if they were interested in acquiring any Tyne related items from the River and Rowing Museum Collections (RRM). I was pleased to find that an expression of interest had already been sent to the RRM but a throwaway remark, “why did they all have the same names!” set me thinking.

I could immediately bring to mind two pairs of Tyneside-born rowers with the same names that have caused confusion among rowing historians, including me. In the first part of this article I will explain how to distinguish between the “Old” and “Young” Harry Claspers.

“Old” Harry

Birth: 1812, Dunston (Gateshead)

Rowing career: 1837 -1867 – Famous oarsman, boatbuilder and coach. Almost all references you come across will be about “Old” Harry. He was based on the Tyne all of his life.

A young “Old” Harry Clasper sculling on the Tyne, perhaps in the boat he built for his race against Coombes in 1844. There is no hint of the High Level Bridge, or even the start of construction, which suggests a date prior to 1846. Height 5 feet 8 inches: Weight 9st 4 lbs. Note Harry’s parting on his right and his position, which is typical for sculling with a fixed seat.
Studio portrait of “Old” Harry Clasper in his rowing costume with a rudder from a four. It was probably taken to mark Harry’s seventh victory as stroke of the winning four at the Thames Regatta of 1859, when the veteran was 47 years old. Note that Harry’s parting is still on his right. (Gateshead Libraries)

 Death: 13th July 1870, Ouseburn (Newcastle)

“Young Harry”

Birth: July 1858, Elswick (Newcastle). He was the youngest son of “Old Harry” and was only 12 years old when his father died in 1870.

Rowing career: 1872 – 1885. “Young Harry” was based on the Thames for all his career, living firstly in the household of his older brother John Hawks Clasper. He was a fine sculler, but small, 5’ 5” tall, and weighing only 8 stone 7 pounds when he rowed his last race. This was on the Tyne against Robert Patrick of Gateshead in September 1885. Previously Young Harry had been beaten on the Thames by William Spencer and Messenger, who were both bigger men. Patrick was also a lightweight, weighing in at 8 stone 11 pounds (Newcastle Journal 8th September 1885). The match was for £60 and the light-weight sculling championship of England (The Grantham Journal 12th September 1885). Harry became a Queen’s Waterman in the same year. He later trained crews at home and abroad, notably in Berlin and Budapest (Newcastle Chronicle 22nd July 1925).

“Young Harry” with moustache and a parting on his left, sitting in a single scull. He is in the forward position, ready to take a stroke, with his knees up to his chest. It is a position typical for the use of a sliding seat. It’s a good portrait of “Young Harry” but unfortunately the museum webpage that I found it on doesn’t mention him! It is all about “Old Harry” and his eldest son John Hawks Clasper. But perhaps that proves that my attempt to distinguish between the Harrys is long overdue. (https://roeimuseum.nl/harry-clasper/)
“Young Harry” is sitting second from left in the front row. He became a Queen’s Waterman in 1885 so although this photograph has no year date it must have been taken after the death of Queen Victoria in 1901. He is wearing a hat, so no parting is visible, but the moustache is still very much in evidence and the ears match those in the earlier cabinet portrait. The online catalogue record shows “Old Harry’s” birth and death dates, but there is no doubt that this is a photograph of “Young Harry” .

Death: Around December 1931 – “W. Coles, who coached Bert Barry (Barnes R.C.) when he beat M. Goodsell (Australia) in the World’s Sculling Championship at Vancouver, in 1928, has been appointed to the vacancy in the ranks of the King’s Watermen due to the death of Harry Clasper.” (Southwark and Bermondsey Reporter 8th January 1932)

I hope I have provided some tools to distinguish between the two Harry Claspers. “Young Harry” was a fine sculler who was just too small to take on the bigger men, but he deserves to take the credit for his achievements and not have them assigned to “Old Harry” his much more famous father.

In the next instalment I will look at how to distinguish the Tyne oarsman, Robert Chambers, from another Tyne oarsman, Robert Chambers, (no relation).

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