Levelling the Playing Field

Aim

Our 95 year old croquet club is at the heart of our community. We want to level the playing field for everyone and make it more sustainable.

A little about us

Nottingham Croquet Club is a caring club that strives to make everyone welcome. It has recently become a charity reflecting its core value and those of the original donor of the land, Jesse Boot (of Boots the Chemist fame). The croquet lawns are an original feature of the Highfields Leisure Park, created in 1929 for the health and recreation of the people of Nottingham. The picture below not only shows a typical sunny day at the club in May but also shows the original and magnificent rhododendron border, just coming into its spectacular best.

The club prides itself on being welcoming, inclusive and accessible. It has a thriving junior section, an active community programme, a full coaching structure for all abilities, and its members range from complete beginners to international players. There are opportunities for those who just want to have a go, those who play socially, those who enjoy a bit more competition and for those whose competitive instinct takes them far and wide. We host tournaments at all levels and enjoy meeting visiting players and clubs from all over the country. We have also hosted the Women's World Championship and the U21 World Championship in recent years, welcoming players and spectators from around the world.

What we have already done

 In 2020 we embarked on an ambitious 5-year development project to expand into the adjacent disused bowls club, to make our club more sustainable and to improve our facilities so that we were better able to meet the needs of our users. This has transformed the club but it has been a substantial investment, partly funded by the club but also generously supported by the Croquet Association (now Croquet England), Sport England, other grant providers, our Triple-a-Peel crowdfunding campaign and the generosity of club members themselves. The pictures below give a flavour of what we have already achieved:

The Grand Opening of the refurbished pavilions and the four new croquet lawns in July 2021 and the acknowledgement of all those who helped us get there are shown below:

How we are making our club more sustainable

We all have a part to play in protecting our environment by reducing emissions and making sport more sustainable. At Nottingham Croquet Club our petrol lawnmower has been replaced with a battery powered one; we have sunk our own borehole so no mains water is used for irrigation: we replaced all the leaking and inefficient fittings in the old pavilion that we took over; all our lighting is LED and controlled with automatic sensors; bottles and cans are recycled; suitable food waste is taken to feed a member’s hens; grass clippings are composted; and we have installed cycle racks. This final phase of the project will provide a better growing substrate for the lawns and, by using improved, modern grass strains, we will improve drought resistance and reduce the amount of fertiliser we need. Our stretch target also includes a long term plan to install solar panels.

Why are we raising funds again?

Following the pandemic the club worked hard to retain and recruit new members. It can cover its day to day running costs and it has been saving towards this final phase, but the investment in its long term future is significantly more than that. We now seek help towards the cost of the final phase of this project - the renovation and reconfiguration of the original five croquet lawns. The project is explained in the next section below.

With the completion of this final part of our five -year development project, we will have given a disused grade ll listed pavilion a new purpose and brought it back into use; upgraded our existing facilities to provide modern, accessible toilets, changing rooms and kitchens for all our users; provided nine international quality courts; introduced hundreds of people from across our community to the delights of croquet; improved our environmental credentials by reducing our energy, water and lawn feed requirements; and increased the membership of the club.

As we approach our 100th anniversary we will have ensured a legacy for future generations to enjoy, continuing Jesse Boot's vision of providing a place for the health and recreation for the people of Nottingham.

The project

Despite 95 years of love and attention, heavy use, settlement caused by the installation of tram lines on the adjacent University Boulevard and recent flood damage to the banks of the stream bordering the lawns, mean our original croquet courts are reaching the end of their life. In this final phase of our development project, the lawns will be reconfigured on three level platforms rather than the current gently sloping site. The uneven settlement that has affected some of the lawns will be removed and the problem caused to the furthest lawn by recent flooding of the stream can be rectified. The lawns will be extended into some disused ground at the far end of the site so that there is more room for seating around the lawns and the courts can be moved more easily to avoid wear around the hoops.

Tottle Brook needs attention, particularly at the far end where the bank was damaged by flooding, the like of which we have never experienced before, after sluice gates were shut in the autumn to protect parts of the city.

The renovation will include removing the compaction that 95 years of use has caused, and laying a substrate that will encourage deeper, healthier root growth. This, along with modern, improved grass strains, will bring the added benefit of better drought resistance and reducing the amount of fertiliser and water required, thus reducing our environmental impact and making our club more sustainable in the face of changing weather patterns.

The experience we gained from creating the new croquet lawns on the old bowls club gives us confidence that this project will result in croquet lawns that can last into the 22nd century.

Croquet for All

Nottingham Croquet Club launched its ‘Croquet for All’ vision in 2018 to introduce new people to the sport regardless of age, gender, background, ethnicity or ability. In 2022 the club was honoured to be presented with The Sport and Recreation Alliance's national award for inclusivity and diversity by the Earl of Wessex (now the Duke of Edinburgh). 

We have a very successful outreach programme to local schools, now in its fifth year, and an active junior club. 

This short video also shows some of the community impact we have had in other areas, in the words of some of those users:

Thank you for supporting us.

We would love to meet you so come and have a go!

Our first Open Days for 2024 will be on Saturday 6th April and Sunday 7th April. Later dates will be added to the website so please visit Open Days to find out more.

Learn to Play courses will commence on 16th April for Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and Sunday 14th April for Sundays.

Everyone is more than welcome. Clicking on the links above will provide more information.

Nottingham Croquet Club is a Charity Registered in England and Wales (No. 1205537)

This project successfully funded on 28th April 2024