[2] Even at the outset of rowing at Trinity in the 1830s, Pycroft records in his memoirs an incident in which a scholar named Thomas Lewin "had thoughts of joining the boat, but received a hint that it would not do";[2] because members of the boat club were known to be uproarious, riotous and generally interested in having a good time while they studied.

[citation needed] In 1838 Trinity join the records, which can still be seen in the college's boathouse, and moved up three places over the week's rowing from eighth to fifth.

John Cox and Edward Breedon both rowed in the sixth boat race on the Westminster to Putney course in 1842.

The run of great rowing continued until 1865, which marked the beginning of a disastrous few years of racing at Trinity.

However, the period at the head was matched with a similar stretch of dominance at the top of Division One, just a few months before the start of World War II in 1939.