Tower and Town, July 2024 (view the full edition)Marlborough TennisTennis has a long history in Marlborough. Land at the top of Kingsbury Street was developed into tennis courts in 1911, just after the completion of the new housing at St John's Close which it backed onto. This land was purchased for the benefit of the community, and a trust set up to continue tennis in perpetuity in the town. There were six courts, three hard standing and three grass. By 1963 the hard courts had been sold off to create Cedars and Winds Point and the grass courts with a wooden shed 'pavilion' were all that remained. After Pewsey and Ramsbury developed new facilities, dwindling membership and income forced the decision to sell the site to Gillie Swanton, who built Overton House in the early 1990s.  Ordnance Survey Map post 1914 There followed over 20 years without a permanent home, renting courts from the College, playing and coaching out of school hours. The search for a new location was a long, difficult and expensive process for the committee members at the time, with sites considered near the Football Club at Elcot Lane and later the Cricket and Hockey Club adjacent to Savernake Forest. Difficulties with planning permissions eventually led to a third proposal to convert land originally known as The Piggeries, and then used for golf practice, between the Golf course and the A346 up Port Hill. Plans were drawn up taking into account the environmentally sensitive area and using the natural screening to maximum advantage. A challenging engineering feat, due to the gradient of the slope, has resulted in six all weather tennis courts, staggered in pairs down the hill, using LED on-court down-lighting to minimise light spill and be less obtrusive within the landscape.  New courts c.2019 |