Hertingfordbury Parish News: December 2002
Urgently Wanted - A New Roof !
When Lady Desborough, the last surviving member of the Cowper Family, of Panshanger Estate died, the estate was inherited by her nephew, J.J.W. Salmond. He apparently had little use for Panshanger and sold the estate in many different 'lots'. The Reverend A.E. Fraser bought the field for the Parish of Hertingfordbury and in June 1956 the Hertingfordbury Recreation Ground was set up as a charity administered by Trustees for the use of all those residents of Letty Green, Birch Green, Labby Green, Staines Green, East End Green, Piper's End, Cole Green and Hertingfordbury. It is unfortunate that the Recreation Ground is set on the extreme boundary of the Parish, as its location makes it rather remote to many Parish residents, but it is yours! It is there for your use and enjoyment. Hertingfordbury Cricket Club use the field during the summer, and the Tennis Club is in action all the year round. Anyone within the Parish can hire the Pavilion for parties, meetings, etc. and the Trustees would like to see more of you using the field. The site has been a wonderful venue for the Coronation, Silver, and this year, Golden Jubilee celebrations ….. The Trustees and some marvellous volunteers organise the annual Summer Fete on the second Saturday in June. This event raises money which is used for the insurance of all persons using the field, the property, and it pays for the maintenance of the main pavilion, and the upkeep of the ground. The Cricket Club keep the grass and their pitch to an extremely high standard, which is a bonus! The current pavilion was put up by parishioners in 1965 with a great deal of self help and pride. In recent years it has not been so well maintained as there were very real hopes of building a new pavilion; however, the Trustees have never managed to establish a main grant to which other grants could be added although planning permission has been granted, and will be kept alive. The costs of a new pavilion could be in the region of £200,000 - £250,000 if the pavilion was to adequately accommodate a Cricket Club playing in the league in the 21st Century. The Trustees felt that this sort of money spent on the Recreation Ground would be too much. The field is too small to create car parking facilities, and to justify that sort of expense would mean that the use of the field would have to be greatly increased. The Trustees set a bench mark of £100,000 for a new pavilion, but even then a grant was not forthcoming, although the Trustees have been most grateful to a few local individuals for their generosity. And so the situation is that the current pavilion needs to be refurbished, and there may be people who could help us with this. It is structurally sound, but it requires a new roof and it then needs upgrading within. But the Trustees need help to finance this. Any donations, however small, would be most gratefully received and should be put through the letter box or posted to Robin Addis, Mimram House, Hertingfordbury SG14 2LB OR Michael Searle, Badgers, St. Mary's Lane, Hertingfordbury SG14 2LE Cheques should be made out to Hertingfordbury Recreation Ground. Offers of practical help - Please telephone 01992 582891 This is an urgent appeal as we need £10,000 for a new roof NOW before any more wet weather penetrates the body of the building.Please note: Although the Hertingfordbury Parish News is produced by St. Mary's PCC, the opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the PCC.