It is no secret that the British left a huge footprint on Kenya and its other colonies after their long period of reign. Kenya has several places that still have a rich evidence of the same. Some of these places include the Karen Blixen Museum, Lord Egerton’s Castle and the Gorgon Castle. Although most of the British Settlers either died or went back to England, their stories still live on in these venues. Adding to this list is the Njoro Country Club. A place that has an abundance of wealth but has slowly disappeared in time. Here is everything you need to know.
Location
Njoro Country Club is located in Njoro County, less than 4 kilometres from the Egerton University Main Campus gate. The exact coordinates are linked above.
History
The Njoro Country Club was founded in the early 1900’s as a stopover and meeting point for travelling White Settlers. This need came up as a result of the building of the Kenya-Uganda Railway tracks. The British moving across the country via railway would stop here to rest and refresh before continuing with their journey. Later on, it progressed into a recreational centre with a vast golf course, polo field, a racecourse and a small training airstrip. Other later additions included a ballroom, tennis court and cricket field.
What to do and see
Visiting the club will give you a great insight about the olden times in Kenya before independence. The managers and staff of the club are all descendants of former workers and occupants of the region and thus tell fascinating stories about the venue. You can therefore:
- Learn through verbal relay, of the establishment and development and later decline of the clubhouse after the departure of the white settlers. One interesting tale is about an Englishman with a misguided sense of humour who named two of his cows after the then president Jomo Kenyatta and his second, Moi. When the president learnt about this during one of his visits, he ordered for the immediate deportation of the settler.
- Go down memory lane looking at the few preserved records and photos of the club’s frequenters and visitors including the now Queen Elizabeth, her father, the last Emperor of India and other Land Barons like Lord Delamare and Lord Egerton.
- Appreciate the old British architecture of the clubhouse including the old-fashioned bar, piano, pool table and wooden floors.
- Visit the lush green fields now used as a golf course and partly for agricultural activities.
- See the once busy airstrip that welcomed dozens of small aircrafts a day from all over the country and continent.
- Learn about the clubhouse doubling as a military base for the British complete with bunkers and hidden bombs.
Although the country club still gets visitors who are mainly golfers, the management would like to turn the clubhouse into a tourist attraction given its rich history. Visiting it would help in making this a reality. Let us know what your experience at the Njoro Country Club was like.
