History of Uley Playing Field and Pavillion
On 20th February 1945, a Uley and Owlpen Welcome Home and Peace Memorial Fund Committee was set up and chaired by Mr. Edwin Mills. It was encouraged by central government and its purpose was to celebrate the safe return of servicemen and women.
Fundraising efforts included Women's Institute whist drives, a British Legion dance, Uley primary school held a sale of work and the Home Guard supplied some surplus funds. There was a house to house collection, a mile of pennies and raffles. Sporting events included tennis, a gymkhana, s horse show and a motorbike hill-climb.
The fund was registered with Gloucestershire County Council with words to cover the provision of a suitable memorial, as well as the provision for the "immediate needs of any of the returning servicemen and women." The proposal for a playing field was made straight away, but at a second meeting, Mr. Murray-Browne was strongly in favour of a house for the District Nurse. There was strong opposition to this and it was rejected. On 27th March, the playing field project was approved unanimously.
Those who returned from the conflict were also canvassed and given a choice of a cheque, a dinner or a playing field. Again, the playing field was the preference. In the end, several dinners were held as people returned. Lady Stamer presented beautiful certificates that she had illustrated and these were presented to the families who had lost a loved ones and to the soldiers who had returned. One of these framed certificates came to light in recent years at an auction and this is now in the hands of the Uley Society.
Initially, a field behind Raglan Way was purchased (The Tops) as a site for the playing field, but it proved too small and was eventually sold on. A field in front of Newbrook Farm where football was played was also considered. This was owned by Miss Lloyd Baker, who owned much of the land in the village, but she did not wish to sell. It took until 1959 to acquire the present 6 acre site in Shadwell! This was purchased from Mrs. Hill for the price of £1000. The field was sloping and had to be levelled.
The original committee was dissolved and the Uley and Owlpen Playing Field Management Committee was born. A pavilion was added in at a further cost of £1000, bringing the total spend for the project to £2804 10s.0d. Tributes were paid to the original chairman, Edwin Mills, who had been there from the start and Bryan Harris was elected to the new committee.
A great deal of voluntary labour was required to make the site fit for purpose and much help came from Elliott Bros. Builders, along with members of the cricket and football clubs. All the helpers signed a piece of paper, emptied George Holloway's tobacco tin wherein they placed the signed paper and buried it in the foundations! Nowadays, we would call this a time capsule!
During the time of Reverend Curwen Rawlinson's tenure of office, it was decided to plant 13 trees with plaques around the edge of the field as a memorial to the fallen of the village. The field was named 'The War Memorial Playing Field.' The Reverend Rawlinson led a service of dedication with a brass band playing.
Fundraising for the new Uley Pavilion
By 1999, the original pavilion building was showing its age and there was a drive to get it replaced. That same year, Wayne Fisher started a Village Lottery in order to begin fundraising. Over the next 10 years, some £50,000 was collected!
In 2010, a small fund raising group chaired by Penelope Chapple launched 'The 2012 Project'. An architect from Thornbury (Eric Cartwright) agreed to design a new pavilion along traditional lines, but with state-of-the-art amenities. Local builder Mike Pain took on the task of construction with initial estimates suggesting the project would cost £150,000
Construction of the new pavilion
The old pavilion was demolished in November 2011. Sadly, the time capsule buried beneath it 50 years previously in George Holloway's tobacco tin did not come to light! Excavation revealed that the ground beneath the site was a great deal softer than expected and a large volume of concrete was required for the foundations. Bad weather slowed progress and prices continually rose. There was also the addition of new ideas, e.g., to incorporate a sauna, all resulting in the cost of the project increasing to £205,000. In order to cover the increased costs, the fund raising committee got to work again and generous contributions were made by many, including a heartening response from many Uley villagers. Most notable donations were received from Gloucestershire Environmental Trust, Sport England - Places People Play (part of the Olympics legacy) and the Football Association. The names of all donors are recorded in the Club Room. Other names associated with the project were Cecil Ash, Muriel Paish, Duff Hart-Davis and Tom Williams.
Work began on the new pavilion in December 2012 and work was completed in 2013. It was officially opened in May 2014.
Source: Janet Wood, Mrs Hoyle (secretary), Bryan Harris
Links to news articles relating to the new Uley pavilion project:
https://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/10755408.uley-pavilion-open-to-public-after-years-in-the-making/
https://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/11176571.uley-pavilion-to-celebrate-official-opening/
Written by Jo Steele
Fundraising efforts included Women's Institute whist drives, a British Legion dance, Uley primary school held a sale of work and the Home Guard supplied some surplus funds. There was a house to house collection, a mile of pennies and raffles. Sporting events included tennis, a gymkhana, s horse show and a motorbike hill-climb.
The fund was registered with Gloucestershire County Council with words to cover the provision of a suitable memorial, as well as the provision for the "immediate needs of any of the returning servicemen and women." The proposal for a playing field was made straight away, but at a second meeting, Mr. Murray-Browne was strongly in favour of a house for the District Nurse. There was strong opposition to this and it was rejected. On 27th March, the playing field project was approved unanimously.
Those who returned from the conflict were also canvassed and given a choice of a cheque, a dinner or a playing field. Again, the playing field was the preference. In the end, several dinners were held as people returned. Lady Stamer presented beautiful certificates that she had illustrated and these were presented to the families who had lost a loved ones and to the soldiers who had returned. One of these framed certificates came to light in recent years at an auction and this is now in the hands of the Uley Society.
Initially, a field behind Raglan Way was purchased (The Tops) as a site for the playing field, but it proved too small and was eventually sold on. A field in front of Newbrook Farm where football was played was also considered. This was owned by Miss Lloyd Baker, who owned much of the land in the village, but she did not wish to sell. It took until 1959 to acquire the present 6 acre site in Shadwell! This was purchased from Mrs. Hill for the price of £1000. The field was sloping and had to be levelled.
The original committee was dissolved and the Uley and Owlpen Playing Field Management Committee was born. A pavilion was added in at a further cost of £1000, bringing the total spend for the project to £2804 10s.0d. Tributes were paid to the original chairman, Edwin Mills, who had been there from the start and Bryan Harris was elected to the new committee.
The original pavilion building
Photo credit: David Sykes
A great deal of voluntary labour was required to make the site fit for purpose and much help came from Elliott Bros. Builders, along with members of the cricket and football clubs. All the helpers signed a piece of paper, emptied George Holloway's tobacco tin wherein they placed the signed paper and buried it in the foundations! Nowadays, we would call this a time capsule!
During the time of Reverend Curwen Rawlinson's tenure of office, it was decided to plant 13 trees with plaques around the edge of the field as a memorial to the fallen of the village. The field was named 'The War Memorial Playing Field.' The Reverend Rawlinson led a service of dedication with a brass band playing.
Fundraising for the new Uley Pavilion
By 1999, the original pavilion building was showing its age and there was a drive to get it replaced. That same year, Wayne Fisher started a Village Lottery in order to begin fundraising. Over the next 10 years, some £50,000 was collected!
In 2010, a small fund raising group chaired by Penelope Chapple launched 'The 2012 Project'. An architect from Thornbury (Eric Cartwright) agreed to design a new pavilion along traditional lines, but with state-of-the-art amenities. Local builder Mike Pain took on the task of construction with initial estimates suggesting the project would cost £150,000
Construction of the new pavilion
The old pavilion was demolished in November 2011. Sadly, the time capsule buried beneath it 50 years previously in George Holloway's tobacco tin did not come to light! Excavation revealed that the ground beneath the site was a great deal softer than expected and a large volume of concrete was required for the foundations. Bad weather slowed progress and prices continually rose. There was also the addition of new ideas, e.g., to incorporate a sauna, all resulting in the cost of the project increasing to £205,000. In order to cover the increased costs, the fund raising committee got to work again and generous contributions were made by many, including a heartening response from many Uley villagers. Most notable donations were received from Gloucestershire Environmental Trust, Sport England - Places People Play (part of the Olympics legacy) and the Football Association. The names of all donors are recorded in the Club Room. Other names associated with the project were Cecil Ash, Muriel Paish, Duff Hart-Davis and Tom Williams.
Work began on the new pavilion in December 2012 and work was completed in 2013. It was officially opened in May 2014.
The replacement pavilion in 2013
Source: Janet Wood, Mrs Hoyle (secretary), Bryan Harris
Links to news articles relating to the new Uley pavilion project:
https://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/10755408.uley-pavilion-open-to-public-after-years-in-the-making/
https://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/11176571.uley-pavilion-to-celebrate-official-opening/
Written by Jo Steele