Sports Club Pavilion

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The History of the Sports Club Pavilin. by Ted Biggs (click Ted & Audrey Biggs for more about Ted)

It was built by J.W.Saunders & Son in 1936 on the recreation ground of Princes Risborough, donated by Mr. Ernest Turner to the Princes Risborough Parish Council as a King George V playing field.

The original building had a thatched roof, but in 1951 it had been vandalised to such an extent that the Princes Risborough Parish Council decided to cut their losses and advertised it for sale.

The Sports Club made an offer of £170 and this was accepted; the purchaser to remove and clear the site. On the Saturday in April after our offer was accepted, a strong party of members descended upon Princes Risborough with a tractor and flat trailer, loaned by Mrs. Bateman, and a lorry, loaned by Harold Rolfe. it the end of the day the building had been cut up into sections and transported to Lacey Green and the thatch burnt on the spot. The levelling of the concrete foundations took much longer.

About £220 of the money to finance the purchase and rebuilding of the pavilion was raised by members! loans. Then followed the more difficult task of re-building, by members in their spare time, but by the end of 1952, the building, now with a cedar | shingle roof, was usable and the electricity connected. Most members took a hand at this re-building and without wishing to single out individuals, I would like to mention some of the former members, who, for various reasons, are no longer residing in the | village. One thinks of Frank Chilton who was secretary when the pavilion was purchased, Alf Stevens and Mickey Dormer, who, along with our present Chairman, Bill Dell, did a lot of the carpentry.

The first extension was an 8' x 8' kitchen on the back, at which point we started providing Cricket teas. Later came the laying of water, pipe from the Speen Road, and the digging of the cesspit. Again, all the work was done by members, and I recall that much of the digging was done by Bill Smith, who now lives at Risborough. The cesspit was completed in about three days, the brickwork being done by floodlight, with Jack Dell and Ted Saunders laying bricks as fast as they could be thrown down to them. Harold May and Donald Lacey were prominent on the cement mixers.

The brick extensions, incorporating a second changing room, kitchen, Bar and showers were started in 1963, and formally opened in July 1964 by Mr. Morton Longley. Some of this work was sub-contracted, but most of the work was done by members. Again, private members loans provided the necessary funds.

Five years later the Clubroom was widened and the position of the entrance doors changed, but the general character of the. building remained unaltered. The cover drawing is intended to show the pavilion as it appeared after those alterations. The completion of the present extensions in brickwork, which has increased the floor area by about a third, doubling the size of the kitchen and Bar and providing an inside ladies cloakroom, has regretfully altered the appearance of the pavilion, but the old timbers had so deteriorated that it was no longer economical to build the extension in wood.

Some final touches and the furnishing have still to be done, but already some successful functions have benefited by the extensions, including a Tennis Supper, when forty people sat down to a most enjoyable meal and had a very pleasant evening.

Over the years, many, in addition to those mentioned, have put in hours of work painting, plumbing, fixing the cedar roof shingles etc., and their combined contributions have resulted in the pavilion, which was purchased for £170, now being insured for £15.000.