The Boat Race 1836

[1] Although Cambridge agreed to compromise to race on any stretch of the Thames between Westminster and Richmond, no agreement was reached until 1836.

This year, both universities issued a challenge to one another, and arrangements for the event were made in a meeting at the Star and Garter pub in Putney on 16 June 1836.

[2] According to a journalist for The Morning Post, there was disagreement over the length of the race, with Oxford preferring a short course of a mile and a half, while Cambridge opted for the same course as the previous year.

[8] Sports writer Gordon Ross described the race as "a very hollow affair" in which Cambridge "completely outclassed their rivals".

[19] Drinkwater noted that the quality of rowing "was a good deal criticised by the watermen and amateurs of the Tideway".

[12] According to the reporter for The Morning Post, "the Oxonians never stood a shadow of a chance, although they looked bigger men".