The New Pavilion

During the winter of 2002-2003 the pavilion having stood for 43 years was finally replaced with the structure you see today which has a history all of its own as it originated as a holiday home log cabin!

The current structure had functioned in this way since the early 1970s on a site owned by the Forestry Commission in North Yorkshire. Following modernisation of the site some 30 of these log cabins were decommissioned and were sold on and then advertised for sale in the Farmers Weekly. The advert was spotted by the cricket club chairman, Howard Smith. and Andy & All Nuttall were dispatched to Yorkshire on a cold wet December day to investigate the possibility of purchasing one of the cabins for use as a pavilion.

The cabins had been housed on a disused airfield dating from WWII situated at Wombleton. near Scarborough. When we got there in the early evening it had become somewhat misty and it was quite a sight to come across the 30 deserted cabins at the end of a runway. A lot of imagination was required to visualise it standing in a Wiltshire field 300 miles away on a hot August afternoon. It was decided, however, with a bit of modification it would suit the purpose and so started weeks of planning, cajoling and hard work before the cabin was delivered on the back of an articulated lorry which had it been a foot wider it would have required a police escort! This was avoided due to the fact the front edge of the roof had been ‘trimmed’.

The old pavilion which had been standing since 1959 was only being held up by the roof and so not a lot of effort was required to knock it down and it now forms part of the footings that the new structure is placed on. One of the most important functions of the old pavilion was storage of the ground equipment and so a new shed had to be purchased for that purpose.

Modifications were carried out to the inside of the building to remove the beds and open up the inside to form two changing rooms. The kitchen area was moved and the waterworks were plumbed in. This marked a huge step forward for the club being the first time we had a flushing toilet and a shower. Plans are afoot to make further improvements to the kitchen area, enlarge the smaller changing room and one day to have electricity. For the moment, however, it is cold showers only!

The number 58 and name ‘SwarthHowe’ you see on the side of the pavilion is the only reminder of its previous incarnation, as that was its identity when it was a holiday home.

A. and A.N
February 2004