Clubhouse
“We must have a pavilion in keeping with a Club of our standing” – 1888
1886 – hockey in the grounds of Broomfield House
The first President of Southgate Hockey Club, from 1886-1901 was
barrister Sir Ralph Littler, a formidable and influential man who moved
into Broomfield House in 1874. He provided the first pitch in the north
east corner of what is now Broomfield Park, close to Palmers Green
railway station, which had opened in 1871. A builder’s hut was used as the
first pavilion. Arrangements were made with the landlord of the Cock
Tavern, with its sanded floors and spittoons, for the teams’ changing
facilities – even though it was 15 minutes walk away. The Cock is now a
night club at the junction of the North Circular Road. It was not long,
however, before the players took exception to walking to and from the
Cock Tavern and the committee decided to erect a shed near the pitch
changing and washing purposes. It cost less than three pounds, and
included basins with cold water only The players of those days must have
been hardy individuals. There is no mention at this time of any teas being
provided, but we might speculate that they repaired to the nearby Fox Inn
(which still exists in its rebuilt 1904 building), or to the Cherry Tree, where
Southgate Hockey Club was originally formed.
1888 – 1890: the first pavilion
This was wooden, erected with the agreement of the landlord-cum-
President, and the Committee approved the scheme with a budget of £21.
It was dismantled for Southgate Cricket Club to use at their ground during
the summer. The cricketers paid 2 guineas to the hockey club for this.
1890: the Club moves to the Walker Ground
Southgate Cricket Club had played at Waterfall Road since it was formed
in 1855. Vyell Walker, a member of the famous family of cricketers,
realised that due to the growth of the village of Southgate, recreation
space for the public was going to become limited, and several acres of
pasture land from the family’s Arnos Grove Estate was turned over
permanently for sport. The hockey club gratefully accepted an offer from
Vyell Walker to use the facilities, and moved there in 1890, when £600 was
spent on fences and gates. The land was placed in Trust in 1907, and the
club had found its home for the next 107 years. Changing took place in a
school room on The Green, and teas were provided – at no cost – by the
wife of Eugene White, one of the stalwarts of the club’s early years.
1890 – 1950s: the “tin shed”
Rather than relocate the wooden pavilion, the cricket club decided to
erect a permanent structure, and the hockey club was charged £2 to use
part of it for storage. This survived into the 1950s housing machinery and
equipment, and was known to everyone as the “tin shed”. Apparently it a
was cold, draughty, and wet place to consume tea and buns by the light of
an oil lamp, and accounts survive of Cambridge University Hockey Club
being entertained in the 1890s at the Woolpack in the High Street. In 1900
a groundsman was employed for the first time.
1909 – 1968: the second pavilion
The cricket club, as ‘senior partner’, initiated the construction of a new
pavilion, at a cost of £350. The Press reported: “The pavilion is thoroughly
in keeping with the beautiful old ground, and is constructed of wood and
stucco with dark oak supports and red tiled roof. The main room is 34 feet
long and the dressing rooms are commodious, with a shower bath
attached”. It can be seen in this picture of the 1945/46 1st X1, and its
layout can still be seen today in the shape of the area between the 1967
clubhouse and the equipment shed. In 1928 the cricket club turned down
a hockey club proposal for a telephone to be installed, but in the following
year hot water arrived for the first time when the plumbing was upgraded
for £336. It also seems that a bar was operated for the first time in 1929.
The pavilion was extended in 1935, providing a kitchen, and additional
changing and social space. It was refurbished around 1960, when
electricity was installed for the first time, along with a fruit machine, but it
was clear by then that it would need to be replaced.
1967 – 1997: the modern clubhouse
The club had joined with the cricketers in 1958 to plan a new clubhouse,
and it should be noted that the one of the three members of the hockey
club’s team was Robin Willmott, now Chairman of the Southgate Sports
and Leisure Trust, whose experience in pursuing that scheme has been
invaluable in shaping the Trent Park project. The hockey and cricket clubs
had run the ground between them up to this point – for 70 years or so.
However, when the scheme for a new clubhouse was investigated, it
became clear that the charitable status of the Walker Trust presented a
variety of financial benefits, and it assumed the controlling role, through
the Walker Association, which continues to this day. Funding was raised
by club members, aided by the Inland Revenue’s generosity, along with
grants. It took longer than hoped to get the agreement of all parties to the
project, but the completed clubhouse was opened in February 1967. It
was seen as one of the leading designs of its day, combining changing,
dining and social areas under one roof, which at the time was ground-
breaking. The clubhouse included squash courts – the additional sport
required to secure government funding, and club members had use of
the two squash courts prior to the formation of the current squash club.
The clubhouse was extended to accommodate the Adelaide clubs in the
early 1970s, and further squash courts and ladies changing facilities were
built in 1981. This allowed the formation of the current Womens section of
the club. The bar was extended and refurbished to a high standard in
1994, and is now an excellent venue, with attractive views across the
historic ground.
1998-Present- Southgate Hockey Centre
“It’s been awfully hard work but it’s been worth it” John Willmott
In November 1986 it was decided that due to the changing nature of hockey and the pitches
on which it was being played a long term future at The Walker Ground was not viable. To this end by
January 1989 a new development committee was formed featuring names, some of whom are still members to this day
including James Duthie, Susie Duthie, Richard D’Souza (Stroller), Sean Kerly, Warwick Hoyle, John Willmott, David Lloyd-Williams,
Andy Ockendon, Robert Watson, Rowley Charlton and others besides.
By 1992 a partnership had been formed with Middlesex University who had a site in Trent Park which they had earmarked for
development. By May 1993 planning application had been lodged for a club house and 2 pitches. Work finally began in 1997 after a
successful fund raising campaign with £626,000 given by Lottery Sports Fund.
The first game ever was played on the sand pitch in September 1997, the clubhouse inspired by Swiss Chalet interiors and decked out
by Warwick Hoyle opened in January 1998 and the grand opening was on 29th March 1998.
A herculean effort by a committed group of members, the fruits of whose labours we still enjoy at the thriving Hockey Centre to this day.