The Old Brentwoods' Club by R.H. Clements (1924-30)
The Old Brentwoods’ Club by R.H. Clements (1924-30)
- Part I of a Short History
- Part II of a Short History
- Part III of a Short History
We have to go back more than 60 years from now to trace the first beginnings of thought and action which ultimately resulted in the acquisition of the superb Clubhouse and grounds we presently have at Ashwells Road, Brentwood.
The first mention of an Old Brentwoods’ Club was made in The Chronicle of July 1931 when L.H. Duniam Jones (1895-97) in a letter to the editor wrote “some OB’s seem to think that more might be done in the way of extending the activities of the Society”. After making a number of suggestions he went on to say “Why not form an Old Brentwoods’ Club, limiting members to those who are eligible for membership of the Society, and make membership of the Society qualification for membership? It could be made the headquarters of the Cricket, Football, Athletic and other Clubs as well as a congenial meeting place for all OBs.” Verb Sap. Coming events cast their shadows before.
In 1934 the membership of the Society was slightly less than 1,000 and its main activity and support was the Old Brentwoods’ Football Club, whose only home pitch was rented from Brentwood Cricket Club. Its ground was commonly known as the County Ground which accommodated a cricket square bounded on one side by a hockey pitch, and on the other by the football pitch, whose touchline was extremely adjacent to the edge of the square. The facilities for football were very basic and in The Chronicle of September 1970 the new President Roy Pailthorpe (1917-19) recalls “the spartan conditions under which OB football was played in the thirties on the County Ground, a stark contrast with the facilities of today's footballers. Two large coppers, filled by hand with water boiled elsewhere, served as the after-match bath and the cramped changing accommodation consisted of what is now, more appropriately, the groundsman's hut”.
In that same year Chelmsford became the headquarters of the Essex C.C.C. and Brentwood was allocated a regular Festival Week which was universally called “County Cricket Week” (lasting until 1964). At the end of 1934 dreadfully wet weather led the Brentwood C.C. to forbid the use of the football pitch (as they were perfectly entitled to do particularly having regard to the cricket square) on four consecutive occasions. On the last of these occasions the ban was not advised until the players had arrived on the ground. One of those players was Archie Thurner (1921-25), the Team Secretary, whose untiring efforts and enthusiasm had conjured up three elevens (soon to be increased to four). He had always had the idea of the OBs having their own ground and the on-site cancellation caused him very nearly to explode and to address the players with the question “Why can't we have our own ground?” As a result and guided by Stanley Dunlop (1912-15) Archie, Stanley and John Will (1920-30) visited the Secretary to the Society, Harold Parrish, who said that he would approach the Headmaster (q.v.) and early in 1935 Freddie Parmenter (1908-15), who acted as Solicitor to the Society, advised Harold that he had ‘had a talk with the Head’ and heard of two likely sites and that it might be possible to acquire say 20 acres of either of them. It was manifestly clear that the cost would have been far beyond the reach of a Society with so few members and the matter died a natural death. End of chapter but not end of story.
The Old Brentwoods' Cricket Club had become affiliated to the Society in 1932 and was a peripatetic touring side which no doubt would have welcomed a home ground and home fixtures and this also underlined the vision of Duniam Jones. Cast your bread on the waters …
It is sometimes said that ‘everything comes to him who waits’ and it came to pass that early in 1937 word reached the Headmaster that a playing field used by the School in the last century was for sale. James Fisher Hough (known as ‘Jimmy’ to every single pupil who attended Brentwood School during his period as Headmaster from 1914 to 1945) had a deep-seated love of the School and its OBs. He was one of the School’s greatest benefactors and here surely was an opportunity not to be missed. In May, 1937, Jimmy Hough wrote to Harold Parrish that “the old School field down Sawyers Lane is for sale. It is excellently drained and was used by the School 70 years ago and again from about 1880 to 1903. Can you get your football capitalists to put up the money?” Local residents were naturally anxious that the ground should not be built on, and Jimmy went on to say: “Now see what you can do about it, for it is a good chance for the Football Club to get a more convenient ground”. The ground was certainly well-placed as it was little more than a stone’s throw from the centre of the town. Harold did as he was bid, set to, and wrote countless letters while Jimmy approached the larger subscribers to the Memorial Hall Appeal. (The Hall was completed in 1924.) The promises extracted were so encouraging that in September, 1937, Jimmy Hough wrote to Harold Parrish suggesting that he should write to the prospective vendor making an offer leavened by the hope that the price might be reduced by a guarantee that the land would be kept as a playing field. This would conform with the desire of the vendor that the field should be sold for an open space.
The Chronicle of December, 1937, records that at the Annual Dinner on 29th October Harold Parrish, in reply to the toast of the School and Affiliated Clubs, said: “The Society was going from strength to strength” and that he hoped that “soon a scheme would be formulated for the purchase of a sports ground for the various clubs”.
This was followed by a report at the A.G.M. on 4th December and, under the heading “SPORTS GROUND”, the Hon. Sec. announced “that owing to the very great generosity of Robert Neville (1871-73) a Sports Field Fund had been opened and it was hoped that the old School playing field in Sawyers Hall Lane (6.75 acres) would be acquired in the near future”. The meeting agreed that no general appeal should be made until the transaction of acquiring the field was completed. (The balance sheet of the Society at 31st October 1937 showed an entry “Sports Field Fund £500” which was the donation by Robert Neville.)
The Chronicle of April, 1938, proclaimed “SPORTS GROUND FOR THE SOCIETY.” “Further to the brief announcement in the last issue, we have pleasure in announcing that the acquisition of a Sports Ground has become a fait accompli, the old School playing field in Sawyers Hall Lane having been purchased early this year for the sum of £4,225. It will be remembered that Robert Neville generously started the Fund with a donation of £500 and our good friend Mr Hough has given £500, and in addition to this generous gesture has undertaken to cover the purchase price, free of interest, for three years”. Sentimental reasons alone dictated the desirability of acquiring the old playing field but it was manifestly clear that a lot of money would be required to provide for the ground to be properly laid out and the erection of a pavilion worthy of the site.
The first list of subscribers contained nearly 60 names including eight OBs who were at School in the last century, the senior of them being R. Neville (1871-73) whose donation has already been mentioned. In the context of “a ground with memories of football, cricket and sports days” by sheer coincidence there appeared in The Chronicle which announced the purchase, an article by F.C. Hill (1861-65) headed “BRENTWOOD SCHOOL IN THE SIXTIES” in which, inter alia, he wrote “The School playing field of those days was situated at the rear of a factory in Ongar Road and here cricket and football teams played their matches. At cricket, in addition to local sides, we played schools, Felsted and Forest included”.
The initial response to the Appeal was excellent and it encouraged the General Committee to put money into the ground by way of planting a holly hedge and ornamental trees round the ground, levelling the playing area, top-dressing it and sowing fast-growing seed. This work was carried out under the supervision of Mr P.A. Bayman who had executed a survey of the ground, prepared plans and estimates and negotiated with the Local Authority. The Society owed him a debt of sincere gratitude and he crowned his generosity with the gift of a very fine tennis pavilion which he erected on the ground and altered it to our wishes. Mr P.A. Bayman was the father of Lewis Bayman (1916-23) who was also involved in the development of the ground and who in later years was to devote an enormous amount of his time, knowledge, expertise, ability, enthusiasm and encouragement towards the creation of the ultimate and priceless asset of the Society at Ashwells Road (q.v.).
Plans for the pavilion and Clubhouse were drawn up and provided for a very large central hall with kitchen and service bars adjoining, a billiard room, a card room, two single changing rooms for visitors and one double one for home sides, the necessary baths and showers, and a flat for the resident groundsman and clubhouse attendant. Unhappily the Munich crisis of October, 1938, and the clouds gathering over Europe led to support for the Appeal tailing off towards the end of 1938, and early in 1939 it was decided to put any building work on hold. The plans for the Clubhouse and pavilion which were drawn by an architect in June 1938 are still extant but, alas, it was not to be. The events of September, 1939, put a stopper on everything and it was to be a long time before a clubhouse of any sort graced Burland Road. The Cricket Club was still only a touring side and when in the fullness of time, thought was given to the provision of a cricket square, it transpired that the site proposed for the pavilion and Clubhouse would have taken up too much ground to allow for cricket boundaries of conventional size.
The Football Club ‘forsook’ the County Ground in August 1938 and took up residence at Burland Road for the 1938/39 season but their tenure was short-lived and by 1940/41 “owing to our ground being closed for the duration of the war” they were back at the County Ground thanks to the kind hospitality of Brentwood Cricket Club. They remained there until they returned in September 1952 to play their old friends and enemies the old Chigwellians, in a match specially arranged.
A report in The Chronicle stated that “The field passed into the possession of the Brentwood Urban District Council in 1941 under an arrangement between them, the Society and the War Agriculture Executive Committee, by which the Council will hold the field as a playing field until such time as the Agricultural Committee release from the plough an equivalent area of the Council's playing fields taken for cultivation in place of our own field. The national effort was thereby benefited to the extent that the more suitable ground was ploughed, the Council has the advantage of a better and well sited playing field, and the Society avoided the undoing of the expensive and considerable work spent in levelling the field which would have followed on the order to plough”.
So farewell until we meet again in 12 years’ time.
Early in 1952 the playing field returned from its exile, but not in the condition which it had been when reluctantly it was relinquished at the beginning of the war. The administration and care of this very valuable asset of the Society had been foremost in the minds of the General Committee, and after much deliberation it was decided in principle that an Old Brentwoods' Sports Club be formed. Arising from that decision, the first step was to appoint a Committee charged with the responsibility of taking over the ground and attending to its maintenance and upkeep until then. Accordingly the following item is recorded in the Minutes of a meeting on 19th March 1952:-
“PLAYING FIELD. (Management Committee). After discussion it was proposed by R.G. Tanner-Smith and seconded by F.G. Bell that a Committee should be constituted thus:
- Stanley Dunlop (1912-15) Chairman
- A.H. (Tubby) Clements (1924-30) Secretary
- Kenneth Hind (1917-24) Treasurer
- Jack Hooton (1917-23) General Committee nominee
- Stanley Page (1928-31) Football Club representative
- Guy Edsall (1917-19) Secretary to the Society with power to co-opt”
On 14th May 1952 the title “Old Brentwoods’ Sports Club” was approved by the General Committee and placed in cold storage until the Inauguration Meeting on 3rd April 1954.
The Management Committee was faced with a gargantuan task and set to with a will. There was only one football pitch and the small tennis pavilion by the main gate plus bags of scrubland with a miscellany of odd bushes dotted about the place. The Management Committee wasted no time and at its first meeting on 11th May 1952 Freddie Skeate (1929-34) was co-opted. It was reported that representatives of the Committee had on April 19th met representatives of Brentwood and Warley F.C. which held a tenancy which expired on 10th May and which had made the tennis pavilion usable as changing rooms by installing electric lighting throughout together with an Ideal boiler, one cold water and two hot water tanks and two galvanised baths. They were willing to leave these installations behind together with a players’ lavatory which they had erected and requested a cash offer for them. All other items were to be cleared away and the ground vacated by May 31st. The meeting resolved to recommend to the Society, that it was desirable that a building be erected on the ground as soon as possible, equipped with lighting and main drainage and that finance separate from the Society was essential.
The care and maintenance of the playing surface had to have continuous attention, but the Club's then only cutting equipment was a 30” mower previously purchased by the Society which could not possibly cope with the acreage in question. Thanks to an early loan from the Football Club, cutting was carried out by a contractor and also, later on, arrangements were made with the School for occasional cutting by their gang mowers in exchange for the use of the pitch week. There was only one football pitch and in between times it was kept cut by volunteers doing it the hard way with the 30” mower.
Negotiations were soon under way to procure a building suitable for use as a Clubhouse. In view of the abrupt termination of the 1938 Appeal before it had hardly got off the ground, there was no question of a purpose-built Clubhouse, but on July 9th the General Committee authorised the purchase, out of general funds, of an R.A.F. sectional wooden hut supplied through the good offices of Peter Griffiths (1938-47). The hut would, on delivery, have to be re-erected and Ron Scrivener (1919-27), a local builder, said that he would do it free of charge. The hut was a mere shell and it was apparent that considerable extra work would be necessary to create a Clubhouse sufficient to our needs including repairs to the roof, floor, outside and inside walls and glazing so as to provide a structure to provide for kitchen, bar, toilet and washing facilities, plus electricity supply and drainage facilities. Planning permission and exemption from Development Charge had been obtained following which plans had to be submitted to the Local Authority for a building licence to cover the needed additions. Once all the hurdles had been overcome, the Management Committee resolved that, as a token of their keen appreciation of his generosity, the contract for all additional work should be awarded to Ron Scrivener who, in the event, increased his munificence by making very modest charges for it. The hut was paid for in September 1952 but the preparation of plans and the subsequent obtaining of the necessary permissions and licences took up a lot of time, and it was not until 1954 that the Clubhouse was fit for occupation.
September 13th 1952 was a red letter day, for on that day the Old Brentwoods’ Football Club came back to Burland Road and the event was marked by a match between the OBs and their old friends and enemies the Old Chigwellians to celebrate the occasion. The return of the Football Club led the Management Committee to agree that the time was now opportune to begin the preliminaries regarding the formation of a Sports Club proper, and the first task was to formulate a set of rules. Ken Hind did a splendid job in preparing a working draft of specimen rules which were tidied up by the Committee at its meeting in March 1953 and approved by the General Committee of the Society in May 1953. With the prospect of a Clubhouse in the offing, the Committee entered into preliminary negotiation with the Licensing Authority and turned its attention to the question of raising money. To this end it was agreed that a letter signed by the Chairman and the Secretary should be sent to every member of the Society calling for active support by way of subscription to the Sports Club. The proposed subscriptions had been carefully tailored so as to encourage immediate recourse to cheque books because the need for money was urgent if the whole project was to be a success. The letter was despatched on 2nd July 1953 and, mirabile dictu, at its meeting on 23rd July 1953 the Committee (only 21 days later) elected no less than 87 paid up members of whom 37 were life members. One of the very first, very naturally, was L.H. Duniam Jones (1895-97) whose vision in July 1931 was on the way to fruition. Subscriptions were:
- Life Member £5.5.0
- Annual Member £10.0
- Annual Country Member £5.0
There was an inspired editorial in The Chronicle of August 1953 and although it may be old hat and past history it is more than worthy of reproduction in full for its sense and content. The Editor, Eric Leyland (1922-29), wrote:
“The Society of Old Brentwoods, already flourishing and active in so many spheres, has now achieved a new objective - the provision of a Sports Ground and Clubhouse. Members will know that we have been aiming at this target for a long time; they will all by now have received a circular setting out the facilities provided and the subscriptions which it has been decided are adequate for its financial maintenance”.
“Elsewhere in this issue is a short paragraph appealing to members of the Society to support the new venture; but it is in fact so important a venture that the appeal is worthy of emphasis here”.
“As the circular sent out to Old Brentwoods states, an important milestone in the history of the Society has been reached; it is not, however, the milestone which marks the end of the road. The road which the Society long ago began to lay will, we trust, have no end, for like Robert Louis Stevenson we all seek to add more miles to the tally of the miles left behind - miles of achievement. The milestones are reached and passed, but ever there are others lying ahead and the miles gained must be consolidated”.
“The new Sports Club, the fruit of an ambition held by the vast majority of Old Brentwoods and the hard, competent work of those of the zealous who have devoted so much time, labour and money to its fulfilment, now requires the active support of all members of the Society. That support will entail not a thousandth part of the energy willingly provided by those who have made the venture possible. Certainly it is not too much to ask that all members shall become paying members of the Sports Club. It is vital that as many as possible shall enrol as members”.
“The subscriptions are remarkably low. For half a guinea Annual Membership can be obtained, for five guineas Life Membership. With excellent good sense the Committee has agreed upon a reduced Country Membership. It is difficult to believe that any member, however far away from Brentwood he resides, will not secure five shillings' worth of value from the Club facilities during the course of a year”.
“Undoubtedly the subscriptions have been drafted on the assumption that most OBs will become members. Adequate as the subscriptions may be for the provision of a sound financial basis if the majority of OBs join, it is evident that they cannot be adequate in bulk if, so to speak, there is no bulk. Brentwood School has a tradition of service, to its members, to its objects and to the country. The Society of Old Brentwoods, bough of the tree, continues that tradition. Without devoted service from all its members it could not have reached so flourishing a condition. Now we add to our laurels by providing this Sports Club with all its present facilities and the ambition to add to them as the years pass. It is unthinkable that adequate support will not be forthcoming from Old Brentwoods everywhere. That is all that is needed to justify the faith and the courage of those who have worked so hard”.
“Our reputation stands high amongst similar societies; indeed there is not one more virile or providing more facilities. This latest venture must enhance our reputation as well as offering members great advantages. It is confidently expected that by next Old Boys' Day it will be reported that membership adequate to ensure financial stability has been attained”.
“In the first paragraph of his article the Editor referred to ‘a short paragraph elsewhere in this issue appealing to members of the Society to support the new venture’ and this related to a brief paragraph from the Secretary in which he mentioned the circular which all members had received and went on to say that "the destiny of the Sports Club is now in their hands. In this context ‘INCIPE’ has a clear and direct message for us. Let us all, therefore, obey our School Motto to the letter and make a good beginning”.
The words urging support for the proposed Club did not fall on stony ground and by the end of September 1953 membership had increased to 137 and the cash generated by subscriptions enabled a start to be made on the purchase of equipment necessary for the maintenance of the playing surface beginning with tractor and roller. The Clubhouse was expected to be completed early in 1954 and this generated considerable activity involving thought being given to the creation of a cricket square, the installation of gas, water and electricity supply and a telephone plus a small quantity of tables and chairs, bar requisites and kitchen equipment, and, very important, the registration of the Club with the Clerk to the Justices. All of which led to the convening of the Inaugural Meeting of THE OLD BRENTWOODS' SPORTS CLUB for 3rd April 1954 which was a rather wet and windy day. A goodly crowd of onlookers was present when Stanley Dunlop, the Chairman of the Management Committee, introduced to them Stuart Macfarlane, the then President of the Society, to whom fell the pleasant duty of performing the opening ceremony. After speaking a few well-chosen words the President severed a rope of cords in the Club colours and then, most fittingly, invited Jimmy Hough to be the first person to set foot inside.
Stanley Dunlop chaired the meeting at which 91 OBs were present. The first business of the meeting was the adoption of the Rules which had already been circulated to all the members of The Society. The next item was the Secretary’s Report, extracts from which are printed below because, as stated in The Chronicle in May 1954, "we feel sure there is much therein disclosed regarding past benefactors, of which those who already know might well be reminded those who do not know should be made aware", and this includes the extreme expression in 1946 of Jimmy Hough's love and affection for all Old Brentwoods:
"We see today the fulfilment of a scheme which was the germ of an idea in 1937, was expounded in 1938 and but for the events of 1939 would probably have been completed by 1941. Although the present building is on a very much reduced scale we do feel that we have kept faith with those early pioneers whose foresight and acumen made it possible for us to enter into possession of this magnificent ground and to lay plans for its development”.
“We are honoured to have here today some of those pioneers and it must afford them deep satisfaction that the seed which they sowed some 17 years ago has borne such handsome fruit and that the venture has had the success which, to quote from The Chronicle of April 1938, ‘the faith and idealism of a few men so richly deserve’”.
“We have Mr Hough, whose legendary generosity in all matters concerning the School and the Society was in abundant evidence in this project. He it was who first heralded the news that the ground was up for sale and suggested that the Society should purchase it. Apart from a handsome initial donation to the Appeal Fund (of which he was the Treasurer) he very generously undertook to cover the purchase price, free of interest, for three years. The unhappy events of 1939 cut the Appeal short leaving a large sum due to Mr Hough and members will know that by a characteristic gesture in 1946, in view of the fact that the Society had donated £500 to the War Memorial Appeal, he released to the Society the deeds of the ground free of all debt due to him”.
“We remember the late Mr Percy Bayman who matched his great enthusiasm for the scheme with a vast amount of work. Not only did he undertake the supervision of the clearing of the ground, the preparation of plans and estimates, but he also presented the tennis pavilion which stands just inside the ground. Lewis Bayman, his son, continued in his father's tradition and of late has given us considerable help”.
“Then there is Freddie Parmenter who not only made a substantial donation but also undertook all the legal intricacies relating to the purchase. And, of course, Harold Parrish who was Secretary to the original Appeal and who was for so long almost synonymous with the name of the Society. He is a great fund-raiser and in 1938 and 1939 got through a prodigious amount of work in the painless extraction of money from all and sundry. He was responsible with Mr Hough for raising approximately £4,000; a magnificent effort which has a direct bearing upon today's proceedings becoming a reality”.
“As a mark of our esteem and appreciation for the work of these and other benefactors it is our intention to recommend to you that honorary life-membership be conferred upon them”.
The Chairman informed the meeting that Mr Hough had agreed to accept nomination as the first President of the Club and he, the Chairman, was most happy to propose his election. The announcement was greeted with a storm of applause and the resolution was declared to have been carried by acclamation.
Election of Officers:
- Chairman - C.S. Dunlop
- Hon. Secretary - R. H. Clements
- Hon. Treasurer - R. H. Hepworth
- Committee - A.H. Thurner and S.R. Pailthorpe
- Hon. Auditor - W.J. Dymott
- Honorary Life Members
- Mr J. F. Hough
- Mr F. Parmenter
- Mr H. Parrish
- Mr L.A. Bayman
- Mr A.R. Scrivener
The Secretary thanked all members present for coming along and witnessing “one of the greatest hours of the Society on a ground which the feet of our forerunners first trod nearly 100 years ago”. The business of the meeting being concluded, the Chairman presented to Stuart Macfarlane a memento, in the form of an engraved silver ashtray, of this great occasion.
The members then gravitated towards the Club bar and a cry went up for the presence of the Secretary of the original Management Committee. Upon arrival at the counter the Chairman presented him with an engraved pewter tankard - the gift of himself and all his colleagues of that Committee - and its contents were, by popular directive, ‘downed in one’.
And so the child had been conceived and born, but it would need much nursing and loving help and care in its infant years, as it had been born without a silver spoon in its mouth and its godparents in the shape of the Club Committee would have to roll up their sleeves and get down to some really hard work and endeavour. For the ground itself to be an economic proposition it would need to be fully employed all the year round; on Inauguration Day we had a Clubhouse without any floor covering, no cricket square or water supply thereto, or for that matter, no resident Cricket Club, no heating, no gang-mowers, no groundsman, no storage sheds, no sight-screens, no sisis etc. Funds were very scarce and a few days before the Club was opened there was only £478 in the bank, soon to be increased by the results of a Garden Party and a Derby Draw. It is interesting to record that bar takings for the first four months were the princely sum of £327 and the profit £77.
Cricket at Burland Road was an obvious necessity, and at its first meeting after Inauguration Day the Committee co-opted Peter Griffiths (1938-47) and Brian Carter (1930-38), two keen and very competent cricketers, with the remit that they should keep the Committee informed of developments regarding an Old Brentwoods’ Cricket Club. Matters proceeded apace and, at a meeting at the Clubhouse on 28th September 1954, the Old Brentwoods’ Cricket Club was formed with a target date of two elevens in 1956.
At the first Sports Club A.G.M. in October 1954 the Secretary was happy to be able to report that “catering for our visitors is well taken care of and so far this season an average of 50 persons have been provided with a hot meal after football every Saturday”. During the latter half of 1954 floor covering and Clubhouse heating were attended to and an effective Club was beginning to take shape. We were on our way.
Cricket
Piped water supply was laid on to the cricket square to which constant care and attention was being given in the hope that 1955 would see the first cricket at Burland Road. This was indeed the case, and the opening match was on 8th May 1955 against a strong Essex County XI in aid of Ray Smith’s Testimonial. Jimmy Hough undertook the official opening of the Cricket Club by cutting a tape stretched between the wickets and the first ball was bowled by John Barber (1944-55). 1955 had perforce to be a formative year but the 1956 season saw the Cricket Club running two sides on Saturday and one on Sunday which was a remarkable effort and a tribute to the pioneers who worked so hard. In his report to the A.G.M. in 1955 the Secretary declared that “It is, I know, invidious to mention names, but I do feel that I should give you three”.This remains his view and here they are: “Firstly, Peter Hughes (1937-42) who, although he was already carrying the sufficient burden of Secretary of the Football Club, cheerfully undertook the responsible task of formation Secretary of the Cricket Club. His quiet efficiency and calm demeanor coupled with a happy facility for the written word make him a pearl of great price and we are truly grateful to him for his unselfish efforts. Then there is Peter Griffiths (1938-47), the fully-wound mainspring and driving force of the Cricket Club. His boundless enthusiasm and determination have been equalled only by the untiring efforts he has put into the project, and I know that he will not deny that something has been attempted and something has been well and truly done. And last but not least, Brian Carter (1930-38), the Captain. Brian is the acknowledged champion of brighter cricket and his influence and example were just what was needed to ensure the full enjoyment of this great game by players and spectators alike”.
Courageous Decision
The advent of cricket brought its problems, not least of which was the broadening of the bar rota to 16 helpers, but it also meant that it would be open at least every Saturday during the year and bring in some very essential funds. Another problem was the maintenance of the playing area, particularly the cricket square, and perforce the Club had to advertise for a part-time groundsman, and in August 1955 one was engaged with particular instructions as to the care and maintenance of the cricket square and the preparation of wickets and attention to the football pitches in winter.
This was a bold and courageous decision in view of the financial position. As the first members were elected in July 1953 the terminal date for the Club accounts was set for July and accounts for the first full year, to July 1955, showed:
| INCOME | Subs and donations | 562 |
| Bar profit (Sales 1093) | 203 | |
| Proceeds from functions | 153 | |
918 | ||
| EXPENDITURE | Ground maintenance | 186 |
| Repairs | 32 | |
| Rates and insurance | 83 | |
| Gas, electricity, telephone | 76 | |
| Administration expenses | 21 | |
| Sundries | 43 | |
| Depreciation | 126 | |
| 567 | ||
| SURPLUS | 351 | |
918 |
1956 saw continued progress. It is worth recording that in March we were pleased to allow the A.F.A. the use of our ground for the final of the Essex A.F.A. Junior Cup and that our ground had been recommended by another club as being quite the best for the purpose. At the A.G.M. in that year the Secretary was prompted to say that the early anxieties and the heavy work were behind us and the Club could look forward to a period of consolidation. The sporting progress of the Club continued, essential items of equipment were gradually acquired and early in 1959 it became apparent that, whatever financial stress it might bring, a full time groundsman would have to be acquired in order to keep the playing area in peak condition. An appointment was made in April.
The players themselves contributed a great deal to the success of the Club and it is worth repeating an extract from the Secretary’s report to the A.G.M. in October 1959.
“The cricketers have had the rare enjoyment of a summer beyond the dreams of avarice and it is pleasing to record that although they had decided to cut out all but a very few Sunday games so as to give the square a chance, several of their cancelled opponents insisted on playing the Old Brentwoods whatever the state of the pitch and they would not be put off. The footballers continue to earn a high reputation for hospitality and quite recently their A.F.A. Cup opponents, who had travelled all the way from Nottingham, were so well pleased that they want the 1st XI to visit them. This despite the fact that they went home beaten by 5-0. These two sections are our great strength and they do a supreme service in engendering a real bond of friendship with other Clubs and in building up a fund of priceless goodwill”.
A goodwill inherited and enjoyed by their successors 30 or more years on. At the A.G.M. in December 1961 Stanley Dunlop retired as Chairman and Peter White (1935-40) was elected in his place. Stanley's contribution to the Club from March 1952 to December 1961 was incalculable and his refusal to take umbrage, plus his placid temperament were an object lesson to us all. His keenness, his sage and balanced judgment, calm demeanour, financial shrewdness and ability to curb impetuosity were absolutely priceless. We owed him a very great deal and he was presented with a silver salver to mark the Club's appreciation of the invaluable work he had done. At that AGM the engagement of a groundsman, Frank Sargeant, was announced and he was introduced as experienced in the care of sports grounds and indeed in the actual laying down and creation of playing surfaces. In the years that followed he did a very good job.
The Club was nine years old on 3rd April 1963 and at the A.G.M. held the next day the important decision was taken to change the name of the Club to THE OLD BRENTWOODS’ CLUB. The Secretary reported to the meeting in the following terms:
“It is pertinent to repeat that the Club is for all members of the Society and not merely for the sporty types - by concept it was created to serve as a communal meeting place for all Old Brentwoods - and your Committee feels that the use of the word ‘Sports’ in the title may well deter likely candidates from joining and this view is supported by independent opinions. It is proposed therefore that we should re-style ourselves THE OLD BRENTWOODS’ CLUB in order to emphasise its fundamental purpose and we hope by so doing to create a universal appeal and attract a wider range of members. There were full and sufficient reasons for the choice of the original title but times and circumstances have changed”.
The Club was indeed for all members of the Society and the change of title emphasised its fundamental purpose and in later years the multifarious use of the facilities at Ashwells underlined the logic of the decision. The A.G.M. took place after a particularly severe winter with loads of snow which caused the Clubhouse and grounds to be completely closed for six or eight weeks.
As reported at the beginning of these notes the tennis pavilion which was divorced from the Clubhouse had been made usable as ersatz changing accommodation but the facilities had for a long time been inadequate and were asked to fulfil demands which were never intended. Finance had always been tight and no money was ever available for capital improvements to the Clubhouse. But in 1960 some manna fell from heaven in the form of compensation for loss of development rights and the General Committee of the Society agreed to release the money to finance an addition to the Clubhouse in the form of new changing accommodation measuring approx 40’ by 20’ to include baths, showers, handbasins, urinals etc., and in 1963 plans were submitted to the Local Authority for planning permission. Work began in 1964 but the compensation money was a once-for-all payment and we not only had to cut the coat to suit the cloth but also we could not afford to cut the coat in the wrong place. The money available was sufficient only to pay the cost of the building and the erection thereof and an ‘awkward squad’ of willing volunteers commanded by Mike Pepper (1944-49) and John Stratford (1946-53) spent many hours of labour in clearing the ground, laying foundations and later on decorating the interior when the work was finished. Of such people is success made and Mike and John had spent many hours beforehand in planning and obtaining estimates. Thank you both.
Through the good offices of an Old Brentwood a discount was allowed off the purchase price of the building and gifts from other well-wishers included a gas boiler, cylinder and sanitary ware. The O. B. Tennis Club was inaugurated in 1965 and an O. B. Squash Club was already in existence and coming events once again cast their shadows before, but a wait of 12 years was needed before domestic Squash Courts were built at Ashwells and it was still longer for tennis courts. At the A.G.M. on 16th March 1966 R.H. Clements resigned as Secretary and put his pen away after 500 pages of minutes. He was succeeded by Don Stacey (1944-52). The retiring Secretary was honoured by a dinner at the Heybridge Country Club organised by Peter White.
Mention must also be made of a notable event in the summer of 1966 in the form of a televised match between an Essex County XI and the International Cavaliers in aid of Brian Taylor's (E.C.C.C.) Benefit Fund. He had given the Cricket Club valuable support in the past and the celebrities and perfect weather attracted a very large crowd to the ground. So another milestone was reached with the appearance of the Burland Road ground on television via the BBC. A number of favourable comments were passed on the fine condition of the ground.
Appeal
In 1965 an appeal was launched to provide funds for amenities at the Clubhouse with particular reference to implementing its fundamental purpose of making it a social centre for all OBs and in 1966 work was commenced involving an extension incorporating two bars, one a mixed bar and the other a comfortable ‘snuggery lounge’ designed to attract wives and girlfriends and hopefully to increase bar takings which were vital from a financial point of view. Partial use of the new facilities was made as work progressed and the completion in April 1967 was celebrated by a cocktail party enjoyed by some 100 people.
Coming events cast their shadows before. In 1967 the Old Brentwoods’ Rugby Club was formed and made such a good start that by 1969 they were looking forward to a full list of fixtures for a regular second XV. By 1969 also the Football Club, like Topsy, had ‘growed and growed’ and was running six sides with the consequence that an outside pitch had to be rented. The Rugby Club was reliant on the good offices of the Headmaster for the use of School pitches for home matches and with the additional needs of the Football Club the writing was well and truly on the wall that sooner or later the question of lebensraum would have to be addressed. And remember that there was also an OB Squash Club and an OB Tennis Club without a home base.
Merger
1969 was also a year of destiny. For many months an ad hoc Committee had been working on plans to form a solid foundation upon which the whole future of the Society's structure could be based, involving the closer integration of all groups of the Society with a more realistic form of overall subscription to the ultimate benefit of the Society as a whole. The Chronicle of 1968 contained a report on the organisation and working of the Society with a proposal to bring Society and Club closer together. The issue was accompanied by a questionnaire for completion and return which produced a heartening response resulting in the following resolution being passed at the following A.G.M.:
“That the report be approved as a basis for reorganisation of the Society, and that the General Committee shall prepare a scheme for such reorganisation for approval by members in General Meeting”. As a result there was an Extraordinary General Meeting at the Club on 7th June 1969 to adopt new rules, the salient feature of which, so far as the Club was concerned, was the surrender of its autonomy and the following resolutions were passed whereby the Club was amalgamated with the Society.
- “That forthwith upon the registration of the Society of Old Brentwoods with the Licensing Justices the registration of the Old Brentwoods’ Club shall cease”
- "That as soon as convenient the Old Brentwoods’ Club shall be wound up and its net assets be vested in the Society of Old Brentwoods”.
The name did, of course, survive as it became vested in the Society together with its other assets and the then Club Committee members gracefully retired in the knowledge that something had been attempted and something had been well and truly done.
1970 saw the first murmurings in the context of a new ground and the following extract is taken from a later issue of The Chronicle.
“In 1970 the Society applied for and obtained planning permission for residential development on its land in Burland Road, Brentwood. The step was taken to safeguard the Society’s most valuable asset in the knowledge that the centre of Brentwood is to be developed in the next decade and that Burland Road may not escape unscathed. The question was first raised in the late ‘sixties’ when the Brentwood Council published plans for a ring road which appeared to impinge slightly on the ground, enough it seemed to be likely to ruin one football pitch. The problem was subsequently given added point by speculation about resiting of the town swimming pool, the Society’s ground being mentioned as a possibility. Most important of all, a new and thriving Rugby Club had been formed. It has always been the General Committee’s policy that the Society’s sports and social facilities should at least be adequate to cater for all reasonable requirements now and in the future. The conclusion was therefore that the Society should not just stop at the obtaining of planning permission, which would have been some help in establishing a development value in the event of compulsory purchase, but should actively look for a new site”.
In the meantime the Club progressed under an energetic House and Grounds Committee appointed by the new management, which was kept busy on the maintenance of facilities at Burland Road, including the renovation of the old changing facilities in the tennis pavilion to accommodate the Rugby Club. With the Rugby Club now playing on Saturdays, on a typical Saturday afternoon in the winter catering had to be provided for about 100 people, leading to improvement in the bar figures and when presenting the accounts for the year ended 30th June 1972 the Treasurer was happy to report a 66% increase in bar sales, showing profits 63% up.
The Club continued to progress and the affiliated clubs prospered until the ground was sold in May 1975 with completion in September 1975 after more than 20 years in occupation. Parting may indeed be ‘sweet sorrow’ and the Honorary Secretary, Michael King (1949-56), in his report to the A.G.M. in 1975 crystallised the feelings of many when he wrote “By the time this Report has reached members the Burland Road Ground will have passed into other hands, sadly ending an era during which a noble few invested much sweat and some tears (metaphorical) in achieving the surroundings which have made a signal contribution to an ever-rising standard of Old Brentwood Sport. But those who have worked so hard to make, little by little, a success of Burland Road are the first to realise that times change, and that, though the effort expended on particular ends may seem suddenly wasted, the eventual move to new and more spacious custom-built premises will in part have been made possible by their faith and hard work over many years”.
After deduction of tax and costs the sale of the ground realised £243,445 which was a most acceptable nest-egg for investment in pastures new.
Interval
A hiatus was necessary to find a replacement ground sufficiently large enough to embrace all possible activities, to effect its purchase and to erect a new Clubhouse thereon. The Club was fortunate in being able to negotiate a three-year lease of the long established Essex Water Company’s Sports Ground a Kenilworth Avenue, Harold Hill, which comprised a Clubhouse, changing accommodation and bar, two soccer pitches, a cricket square, a bowling green and tennis courts. So farewell to Burland Road and look out Ashwells - here we come.
When presenting the Accounts of the Society to the A.G.M. in October 1966 Reggie Ries (1920-24) the then Treasurer, in the context of the appeal in 1965 for funds for improvements at the Club, said: “As Treasurer of the Parent Society I am naturally deeply concerned with the welfare of the Old Brentwoods’ Club. I am convinced that the future of the Society is so closely allied to the prosperity of the Club that the money must be raised, and indeed can be if - apart from the 400 members who are also members of the Club - the hundred and hundreds of other members can recognise that they too have a responsibility to safeguard the survival of the Society and the Club”.
These were wise and prophetic words. Readers will recollect that in June 1969 at an Extraordinary General Meeting a resolution was passed that the Old Brentwoods’ Club be wound up and its net assets be vested in the Society of Old Brentwoods. The precursor of this decision was the appointment by the Society in 1967 (following the production by Peter White, the Chairman of the Club Committee, of a paper critical of “the incoherent form” of the Society’s then organisation) of an ad hoc Committee to investigate the possibilities of creating a more homogeneous body from the various affiliated clubs, that is to say a closer integration of all groups of the Society with a more realistic form of overall subscription to the ultimate benefit of the Society as a whole. The ad hoc committee comprised Colin Maynard (1940-44), David Wells (1959-66) Treasurer of the Society, Peter White (1935-40) Chairman of the Club Committee, and Michael King (1949-56) Secretary of the Society, with “Tubby” Clements (1924-30) as Chairman. In the words of the Secretary of the Society in March 1968 the ad hoc committee “had their heads down working hard” and The Chronicle of September 1968 contained the following report of their deliberations:
“This report to you contains carefully considered proposals for a revision of the Society's organisation and its financial structure”.
“For many years the Society had its being largely through the medium of The Chronicle and through various annual occasions such as the dinner and Old Boys’ Day. James Hough’s great benefaction of the Burland Road playing field enabled the Society to develop further the sporting and social activities of the Society. Many devoted helpers have developed a Club of which Old Brentwoods can be proud”.
The Club
“The establishment of a separate committee to run the Club was thought expedient in the early days when a great deal of preliminary work had to be done. Now, as a result of the sterling efforts of many over the past 15 years, the Society possesses as its main asset a first-class playing field and a spacious clubhouse. Under the present voluntary management these facilities are efficiently maintained for the benefit of a large number of the Society’s members and friends”.
“It is regrettable, however, that over the years the Society and Club have, if anything, tended to grow apart. But there is no doubt that the Club and all that it offers have greatly enhanced the reputation of the Society. Your Committee takes the view that the future well-being of the Society depends to a very great extent on the continuing development of the Club; it is aimed that Burland Road should become the home and hub of the Society”.
The Chronicle
“The costs of publishing The Chronicle have reached a critical level. Past efforts to establish a Chronicle Fund have met with little success and, indeed, had it not been for a few anonymous contributions there would have been no second issue of The Chronicle last year. Your Committee is very concerned that every effort should be made to continue to provide two Chronicles each year to maintain a strong and close link with the School. This has always been a chief aim of the Society and, in these changing and uncertain times, is increasingly important.”
The Present
“Life Membership of the Society now costs six guineas, and this is not nearly enough to pay for a Chronicle throughout a member's lifetime”.
“Membership of the Club is restricted to members of the Society who must, however, pay an additional subscription”.
“It is clear that no progress can be made either with regard to The Chronicle or the Club while membership of the Society is based on a life subscription of six guineas. We wish to show boys leaving the School that there is more to the Society than Annual Dinners and Chronicles. In addition, we hope that many existing members of the Society will make more use of the Club facilities”.
“Your Committee now propose that the future basis for membership shall be:-
- The abolition of the existing separate membership of and subscription to the Club.
- An initial payment of £6, covering an entrance fee and the first three years’ membership subscription.
- Thereafter an Annual Subscription of £1 or £2, to be determined in the light of the response to the questionnaire.
- With regard to existing members, it is realised that payment of the Annual Subscription cannot be made obligatory, but it is expected that all will have the future welfare of the Society sufficiently at heart to agree to making this payment.
- Playing members will continue to pay additional subscriptions as at present”.
“These arrangements should ensure that the Society of Old Brentwoods continues to progress. It is felt that all existing members of the Society will feel a closer bond of fellowship by having a share in a prosperous and lively enterprise. This surely was how James Hough was thinking when he gave us the land, and members owe it to him to make Burland Road a fitting centre for our Society”.
“If there is no response to this scheme, there will be no Chronicle, no Burland Road - and possibly no Society”.
The report was accompanied by a questionnaire for completion by members to ascertain by way of criticism, comment and constructive ideas what support there was or was not for the recommendations enunciated therein. The response was most encouraging and approximately 95% of the replies were in favour of the proposals for reorganisation, and as a result an Extraordinary General Meeting was convened for 7th June 1969 the notice for which contained a detailed schedule summarising the answers to the questionnaire. A resolution to adopt the new rules was passed unanimously. At the A.G.M. on 1st November 1969 the Hon. Secretary recorded “particular thanks to Ralph Vincent (1919-28) for the way he had looked after the legal business of the reorganisation” and that “Peter White deserves a special word. It is a tribute to the soundness of his original idea that the final form of the reorganisation varies little from the principles set out in his first memorandum”.
As a natural corollary arising from the merger resolution of 7th June 1969, the welfare and development of the Burland Road ground became the responsibility of the General Committee of the Society. At the A.G.M. in October 1970 the Secretary advised those attending that the General Committee had applied for planning permission for the ground, first as a precaution against compulsory purchase orders, and secondly to enable the Society, should it so wish, to sell the ground and re-establish on a larger ground with all the facilities which were required. In November 1970 the Committee re-activated the Ground Development Sub-Committee, and when planning permission was received in March 1971 this Committee was mutated into a Ground Development Working Party comprising Keith Boon (1941-48), Colin Finch (1947-53), Michael Pepper (1944-49), Peter White (1935-40), David Wells (1959-66) the Treasurer of the Society, Michael King (1949-56) the Secretary of the Society, with Lewis Bayman (1916-23) as Chairman, with the remit to consider various ideas and to report back to the General Committee as soon as possible. In view of the fact that with the growth of the Football Club teams Burland Road was bursting at the seams and there was no accommodation for the Rugby Club, it was manifestly clear that a new ground was essential, and at the A.G.M. on 4th November 1972 the Secretary, in introducing the subject of a Special Resolution to be put to a Special General Meeting a fortnight later, said “It has always been the General Committee’s policy that the Society's sports and social facilities should at least be adequate to cater for all reasonable requirements now and in the foreseeable future. The conclusion was therefore that the Society should not just stop at the obtaining of planning permission, which would have been some help in establishing a development value in the event of a compulsory purchase, but should look actively for a new site”. In August 1971 the Working Party had reported upon several schemes foremost of which was “the simple transfer of the present operation suitably expanded to encompass rugby pitches and squash courts”. As a result the following Resolution was put to a Special General Meeting convened for 18th November 1971 and carried.
“That the full powers of the Members be and are hereby delegated to and vested in the General Committee for a period of five years from 18th November 1972 so that the General Committee may at its discretion instruct the Trustees in whom the title to the Society’s land in Burland Road is vested to lease sell and/or mortgage this land to enable the said Trustees to purchase and hold on behalf of the Society the title to new land of the General Committee’s choosing”.
The Working Party set to with a will and was destined to learn that in the process of finding and acquiring a suitable site it was going to need for a considerable time iron determination, the tolerance of a saint and the patience of Job. The target was an area sufficient to provide three soccer pitches, two rugby pitches, one cricket square and “such other facilities as are required and appear to be economically viable”. The kind and size of Clubhouse would, in the ultimate, depend upon the capital available which, in the event, was not finally known until April 1979 but an accurate assessment had already been made.
In 1972 the Working Party had estimated that 20 acres would be sufficient but there was opportunity to obtain rather more and, mindful of responsibilities to future generations, negotiations were in progress to purchase some 25 acres inside the Urban District of Brentwood. Complex negotiations were already in process at the date of the Special General Meeting, and early in 1973 the Society possessed options to purchase some 28 acres but the exercise of the options depended absolutely on obtaining planning permission for which formal application had been submitted. Although the proposed development was in the Green Belt, it was anticipated that the recreational objectives underlying the purchase would qualify for such permission which was essential in order for Burland Road to be sold. At that point, Autumn 1975 was the target date for a new ground and Clubhouse, including living accommodation and two squash courts, three football pitches, two rugby pitches and a cricket square, but unhappily it was reported at the A.G.M. in November 1973 that planning permission had been refused for a variety of reasons including “damage to the visual amenities of the area” and disapproval of the squash courts.
The Working Party had been meeting practically every month for two and a half years and this was an unexpected setback and a great disappointment; but it was a blow which was not going to be taken lying down. After looking for other sites the Working Party recommended to the General Committee that an appeal against the refusal should be lodged with the Department of the Environment and this was done in September 1973. It was impossible to indicate when the appeal might be heard but it was expected that it might be at least one year before the result would be known. In the meantime the Working Party was proposing to discuss the matter with the planning authority to see whether an acceptable compromise scheme could be devised. Following discussions with the Society’s Architects early in 1974, a revised application for a smaller building was submitted to the Council which, subsequent to a meeting in June 1974 between the Working Party and members of the Council, was due to make a decision in August but this was prevented at the last minute by an injunction sponsored by objectors to the revised proposals.
The High Court refused to renew the injunction and on 28th July 1974 the report of the Inspector appointed by the D.O.E. included, inter alia, the following, statements of his conclusions:
“Though the appeal scheme is composed of a number of uses, they are of a sufficiently inter-related nature to make the proposal overall, an appropriate use in the green belt and one which by reason of its predominantly recreational character falls within a class of development permissible under the development control policy applicable to the green belt. I do not consider a well-designed building, constructed of traditional materials sympathetic to the surroundings would damage the visual amenities of the area. There already exists a quantity of development in the immediate vicinity and bearing in mind the relatively enclosed nature of the site, it is my view that both the Clubhouse and car park could, with suitable landscaping, be assimilated satisfactorily into that setting. I accept that in a rural situation there is likely to be environmental advantage for the squash courts being part of a multi-purpose building and this is intended in the appeal case. I therefore find no grounds to require the omission of squash courts from the appeal scheme”.
So on 9th October 1974 under The Town and Country Planning Act 1973 on behalf of the County Council of Essex, the Council of Brentwood granted planning permission. 1974 was a traumatic year for the Working Party (in which Michael Snyder (1961-68) had replaced David Wells as the Treasurer of the Society), and its involvement had become far more complex than was ever expected. The members had met nine times, had six consultations on various matters and attended two meetings with the Council. The prognostication of the need of “iron determination, the tolerance of a saint and the patience of Job” had been very accurate, but virtue brought its own reward and the members of the Working Party well deserved the acclamation accorded to them at the A.G.M. in November 1974 for their successful fight against bureaucracy over the 22½ acres of land at Bentley.
As previously reported, Burland Road was sold in May 1975 but the planning permission was only the beginning, a key which opened up a miscellany of problems including the agreement with the Inland Revenue of the total amount of Capital Gains Tax and Development Gains Tax payable on the proceeds of sale, which would have a considerable bearing on funds available for the purchase and development of the ground and the cost of running it. Forthwith on purchase of Ashwells, a Building Sub-Committee was set up under the Chairmanship of Michael Pepper and including representatives from the clubs which would use all the facilities and whose views and suggestions were important. They would represent the bulk of the potential customers whose support was vital to the success of a costly venture. Architects were appointed to prepare plans and to get detailed planning permission covering the erection of a building containing squash courts, changing facilities, bar, kitchen and clubhouse amenities, accommodation for a groundsman and three football pitches, two rugby pitches, a cricket square and car park. The Chronicle of September 1976 included the Architects’ impression of how the Clubhouse would look and the ground layout surrounding it and its relation to Ashwells Road. They also added the following details:
- “The new Sports Pavilion will be a two storey structure with changing accommodation at ground floor level and clubroom at first floor level. Two squash courts are incorporated into the building and separate changing has been provided for squash players”.
- “A single internal staircase links the ground floor entrance hall to the L-shaped clubroom and bar, which can be subdivided into three separate areas by means of sliding folding doors. Toilet accommodation for both sexes is provided at first floor level and a kitchen will provide snacks over the bar or food service for special functions direct into the clubroom. An office for the Club Secretary opens from the first floor landing which also gives access to a viewing gallery for the squash courts. The clubroom and bar (total area 1,850 square feet) overlook the playing field and access to a balcony and the score box is by means of sliding door from both clubroom and bar. An external staircase at one end of the balcony will be used as a secondary escape from the clubroom”.
- “At ground floor level, ten changing areas are provided, each area accommodating one team. Separate accommodation has been planned for referees changing, together with a plunge bath, shower area with fifteen showers, drying area and toilet accommodation”.
“Attached to the building at the eastern end will be a groundsman's bungalow, the link between bungalow and squash courts being made by a tractor store and car port”.
“Permanent car parking space is provided for 30 cars and a further 70 can be parked on specially reinforced grass”.
Detailed planning permission for the building work would take some time, but in the interim the laying out of the playing fields was commenced under the supervision of John Stratford (1946-53). At the A.G.M. in 1976 it was reported that the possible cost of the project was disturbing. Dispensable items had been cut but it was decided that basic facilities would remain unaltered and tenders for the construction work were invited in December 1976. The building contract was awarded in January 1977 with a target date for completion early in 1978.
The new Clubhouse and ground was officially opened on Saturday 10th June by Lewis Bayman who unveiled a commemorative plaque to mark the occasion. The Chairman of Brentwood U.D.C., the Headmaster, the President of the Society (Keith Boon) and some 300 members, guests and friends attended ceremony which was followed by a champagne reception in the Clubhouse afterwards. As Lewis Bayman uncovered the plaque the writer of this history could not refrain from plagiarising the poet and saying to himself “Jimmy! Thou shouldst be living at this hour”. Without him it would never have been.
So the Club was up and running, but one essential ingredient was still needed to cater for most sporting activities, namely tennis courts, which had been planned and discussed ever since Burland Road had been acquired. In October 1980 in order to be able to carry out planned development at the Club the Society opened a Development Fund all proceeds of which would be used to improve and enhance the facilities at Ashwells Road, a prime target of which was the provision of two tennis courts. Donations slowly but surely entered the coffers of the Fund and then, in November 1981, Peter Griffiths (1938-47) was elected President of the Society. He was keen to mark his year of office by identifying himself with a specific development project in the form of three tennis courts at an estimated cost of £25,000 to £30,000. A specific Fund Raising Committee was formed with the objective of contributing £15,000 towards the Fund and provided this Committee raised £7,500 Peter generously undertook to match this sum with his own fund-raising efforts by personal approach to his contemporaries. Matters proceeded apace and ere long £21,000 had been spent, covered by £7,000 loaned by the brewers. The final cost was £26,712 financed by fund-raising and a ‘long loan’ from the brewers which has since been repaid.
Very appropriately at the President’s Cocktail Party on 5th November 1982, Peter declared the courts open and so after 44 long years the pipe dream of 1938 had at last been realised, save for a billiard room and a card room which in this modern day and age would have been anachronistic.
Much hard work had been done and much water had flowed under many bridges but the end product is something of which we can all justifiably be immensely proud. As mentioned in the Prelude to this history, in July 1931 L.H. Duniam Jones (1895-97) in a letter to the editor of The Chronicle wrote “Why not form an Old Brentwoods’ Club? It could be made the headquarters of the Cricket, Football, Athletic and other clubs as well as a congenial meeting place for all OBs”. How right he was. The Clubhouse currently provides, inter alia, for the President’s Cocktail Party, the Annual Dinners of the Football, Rugby and Cricket Clubs, reunions not only of Old Brentwoods but also of Old Brentwoods and girls from the County High School and the Ursuline who were their contemporaries, a Summer Ball and New Year’s Eve Party, family lunches and childrens’ parties etc.
All of which brought joy and delight to a very small band of dedicated OBs who had borne the heat and burden of the day and who had fought so valiantly and determinedly to overcome and defeat some considerable obstacles to emerge as the creators of the present priceless asset.
At its inception in 1971 members of the Working Party agreed that as a general principle it was desirable to use the undoubted professional expertise of members in an advisory and/or supervisory role only and where necessary to instruct professionals unconnected with the Society. However, so far as legal matters were concerned it was considered a positive advantage to employ John Barnes (1949-55), an active playing member, to cover the legal aspects of the various land transactions and, fortuitously, he was one of few solicitors with considerable experience of planning appeals. Thus Colin Finch (1947-53) oversaw planning applications and surveying matters whilst Michael Pepper (1944-49) and John Stratford (1946-53) bore the brunt of supervising the building operations and ground preparation respectively; Keith Boon (1941-48) played an invaluable role in the informal negotiations which led to the original options. Lewis Bayman (1916-23) in agreeing to shoulder the burden of Chairman accepted on condition that he would not be expected to attend the Committee meetings of the Society. The Secretary of the Working Party, Michael King (1949-56), who was also the Secretary of the Society, thus became the key link in reporting on the activities of the Working Party and in drafting reports for the General Committee of the Society, and indeed for all members, plus dealing with the day to day affairs of the Society - a truly Herculean task. A large part of this final instalment of the history of the Club has been derived from the periodical reports by Michael, who was in the hot seat throughout, and whose help has been invaluable to your scribe.
The sagacity of the merger of the Club and Society has been writ large.
By their deeds shall they be known. Let us therefore remember with gratitude.
JAMES FISHER HOUGH. Headmaster 1914-45. President 1926.
How much we owe to Jimmy cannot readily be assessed but his lively and impelling enthusiasm was both the inspiration and the mainspring of the initial success in the purchase of our first ground. He was a real godfather to the School in the true sense of the word, a bachelor who loved it and adopted it as his child and endowed it with countless gifts. All OBs were, in a sense, part of his larger family. He welcomed them all and his affection for them was underlined in his generosity in presenting the Society with the deeds of Burland Road. He was truly a kind, caring and generous man and the Society was blessed in having his unstinting support in all its doings.
HAROLD PARRISH (1911-17) President 1956.
A member of the Society for more than 77 years, its Secretary for 24 years and Jimmy’s extremely able lieutenant. A fund-raiser par excellence whose ability in this sphere was absolutely essential, he was the linchpin which enabled the appeal to be launched in 1938 and happily he lived to see the ultimate result at Ashwells. His obit in July 1994 recorded that “to many OBs of his own and later generations Harold Parrish had become truly a ‘legend in his own lifetime’”.
LEWIS ALFRED BAYMAN (1916-23) President 1952.
A member of the Society for more than 60 years, a benefactor of the School and also a Governor for 24 years. We shall particularly remember him as Chairman of the Ashwells Working Party and on his death in 1984 Michael King, the Secretary of the Working Party, wrote:
“The small group of Old Brentwoods involved at the beginning of this undertaking, which took almost ten years to bring to a successful conclusion, decided to invite Lewis to become Chairman of the Working Party. He immediately and characteristically threw himself wholeheartedly behind the project. Many meetings were held during those years, many of them ‘on site’ in his car. Lewis’s wisdom, experience, determination and dedication were invaluable during this period. Our project at Ashwells caused some controversy in the locality and Lewis was able to disarm misgivings and earn support. It is not an exaggeration to suggest that Lewis’s contribution may have made the difference between success and failure. His unfaltering leadership over a much longer period than was initially expected was recognised by the Society’s invitation to open the Clubhouse which he did in June 1978”.
CHARLES STANLEY DUNLOP (1911-15) President 1951.
A member of the Society for nearly 70 years he was in 1952 appointed the first Chairman of what was to become The Old Brentwoods’ Club and resigned in 1961 after having for nine years very carefully and capably nursed the new arrival through its infancy towards its teens. The formation years were fraught with many problems and as previously stated his keenness, his sage and balanced judgment, calm demeanour, financial shrewdness and ability to curb impetuosity were absolutely priceless in steering the Club to fruition.
RONALD HARRY ‘TUBBY’ CLEMENTS (1924-30) President 1965.
The ‘Founder’ Secretary of the Old Brentwoods Club for its first two years (1952-54) and its General Secretary for a further 12 years until 1966. ‘Tubby’ was also active on the football field for a long period (22 years - June 1931 to 1953) - a key member of the Football Club Committee either as Secretary or Treasurer for 14 years (1940-54). He was President of the Football Club for five years, 1957-62. He has been a member of the Society’s General Committee since 1945 either as a Club Representative or as a former President. He was appointed a Governor of the School in January 1964 and served for 27 years until retirement in October, 1991. For much of this time, he was Governor in charge of the School’s finances. He is proud to have served Society and School continuously for 51 years and says he has enjoyed every minute of it. He has been meticulous and steadfast in everything he has done.