History of the Recreation Ground

The history of the Recreation Ground starts properly in 1901 when Francis Greg died and left the Cricket Ground, as it then was, to the people of Bollington to be administered by Bollington Urban District Council. It was one of a long line of services to the Town provided by the Greg family, starting when Samuel Greg junior bought Lowerhouse Mill from the Philip Antrobus estate in 1832 and improved the lot of the mill workers up to 1846. Francis Greg was his nephew living at Samuel’s original home, Turner Heath, a large red brick house still in existence on the Bollington road as you enter the town.

Francis Greg had been a strong supporter of cricket in Bollington. The club based on Gnat Hole, as his ground was then known, had started about 1885 by bringing together smaller clubs in Shrigley Vale and Bollington Cross. Francis generously provided a pavilion, a bandstand and paid £20 for a roller to make sure the summer wickets were properly prepared. The Bollington Cricket Club were mindful of their good fortune and encouraged other activities.
From 1896 the Club organised an Annual Athletics Meet every Whitsun which grew in importance as a money spinner for the Club and by the early 20th Century gained the reputation for being one of the best amateur sports gatherings in the North of England.

Cricket has always been the dominant use of the recreation ground for sport.  In 1905 the Macclesfield Courier carried the report of an astonished journalist: ‘Fancy a village of 6000 challenging and playing a city like Manchester with a population of over 60 times that.’  When the Cheshire County Cricket Club was formed in 1908 a number of County matches were playing on Bollington Recreation Ground.
Big local industrialists like E.L.Oliver of Waterhouse Mill fame, and G.H.Swindells who owned the Clarence and Adelphi Mills were strong supporters. They supported the creation of a Workshops Competition but in spite of this strong local interest the Club’s prominence on the County scene declined.
Many years of rivalry between Macclesfield and Bollington started in 1883 when Macclesfield sent a second team at the Barnaby holiday with only five players, and despite being lent six substitutes lost by 83 to 66. The Clubs remained keen rivals for many years and after Macclesfield won by 151 to 40 at Bollington in 1890; they did not win again until 1900 and did not beat Bollington at Macclesfield’s ground until 1908. Crowds of up to 5000 are reported for some of these Derby matches.
The Recreation Ground Committee of BUDC charged Bollington Cricket Club £85 in 1956 for the preparation of match and practice wickets. Bollington Cricket Club Secretary Mr. A.A. Arnold in April 1958 at their Annual Meeting described the clubs achievements on the Recreation Ground. The Pakistan Eaglets were going to visit. A new Tea Pavilion had been opened and the club’s Second Eleven won the Second division Championship. When the Pakistan team visited in August 1958 Mohamad Ramzan, their captain, scored 66 in record time. September brought success to the First Team; they were champions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Cricket League and winners of the Saville Whittle Trophy. Prize money of £45 was spent on commemorative tankards for the players. In November the Council turned down the Cricket Club’s request to have a Sunday match.
The Recreation Ground has been host to many famous cricketers. The Australian Test Player Keith Stackpole (43 Tests 7 centuries) visited with Ramsbottom Cricket Club in a friendly match in the late 1960’s. Frank Hayes, who scored a maiden Test century against the West Indies in 1973, visited Bollington Recreation Ground many times with Marple Cricket Club.

By the early 1970s the club felt they had outgrown the tea pavilion and set about building a new structure set back on a higher level overlooking the ground. It was a wooden clad structure and became known as the “log cabin” It was in regular use, not only by the cricketers themselves but by the youth club for a meeting place and discos. The construction materials may have been an error in hindsight, as the building was relatively short lived and burnt down in 1980. The cricket team once again had to use the original pavilion (where the toilet block now stands) whilst it wrangled with Macclesfield Borough Council to get a replacement built. The Council had access issues with the site of the burnt out building and eventually settled on a new build pavilion on an area of allotment land. This is the current building and car park, opened in 1984. The base for the log cabin can still be seen if you battle among the self sown trees and brambles next to the Vale Inn beer garden.
Cricket is still one of the strongest elements in the sporting life of Bollington. The Bollington Cricket Club has competed in the Cheshire County League since 2002. As the Chairman says ’we rub shoulders with clubs from Towns with much larger populations as well as wealthy clubs with “no expense spared” facilities. The people of Bollington can be rightfully proud that this town produces such a competitive standard of cricket’.

As well as being a sporting venue throughout its history, the Recreation Ground has played a central role in the life of the Town. The earliest public celebrations were those to welcome the Coronation of King Edward VII. in 1902 and King George V in1911. There are photographs showing huge crowds dressed in their Sunday best with men in three piece suits and women in long dresses and splendid hats crowding the grounds.

During the First World War the Recreation Ground was used as a parade ground and during the Second World War part of it was dug over and planted as part of the Dig for Victory Campaign as well as being used to train the Home Guard.