history buffs - Hollingbury cricket / tennis

[wardy wonder land]

top of ladies mile, there is the remains of cricket net strips and cricket astro wicket plus what looks like a tennis court

when were these active ?

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Left over from Patcham Fawcett school maybe ?

 

[AK74]

Left over from Patcham Fawcett school maybe ?

Spot on. The red gravel - known in my day as the 'red gra' - was used for playing sports like hockey. The rugby/football pitch was located to the right.

 

[John Byrnes Mullet]

Played plenty of football on the red gra in my days at Fawcett.

 

[AK74]

More Fawcett photos here:

http://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/page_id__10698.aspx?path=0p115p206p1915p

 

[Westdene Seagull]

More Fawcett photos here:

http://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/page_id__10698.aspx?path=0p115p206p1915p

Good grief .... that's made me feel old ! I didn't even go there to school but went to Carden so we went to have our swimming lessons there. I'm pretty sure those chairs were in the pool when we were swimming !

 

[Gwylan]

Where was Patcham Fawcett then? I always assumed it was what's now called Patcham High but clearly not. If it's been demolished, what's there now?

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Where was Patcham Fawcett then? I always assumed it was what's now called Patcham High but clearly not. If it's been demolished, what's there now?

The houses opposite Matalan and the land opposite Asda. Patcham High is the old Margret Hardy Girls School

 

[Gwylan]

The houses opposite Matalan and the land opposite Asda.

You mean the fields at the end of Ladies Mile Road? That's not really Patcham is it? I never knew, there's no trace of the buildings now

 

[Westdene Seagull]

You mean the fields at the end of Ladies Mile Road? That's not really Patcham is it? I never knew, there's no trace of the buildings now

That's because they built houses on the actual school site - Old Boat Way I think it's called.

 

[BN9 BHA]

Spot on. The red gravel - known in my day as the 'red gra' - was used for playing sports like hockey. The rugby/football pitch was located to the right.

Played plenty of football on the red gra in my days at Fawcett.

Amazing that has survived.
That stuff was lethal, many skimmed knees from that. That pitch was always called 'red gra' and I don't think I've heard that other than at Fawcett.

 

[BN9 BHA]

You mean the fields at the end of Ladies Mile Road? That's not really Patcham is it? I never knew, there's no trace of the buildings now

The main entrance to the school was in Ladies Mile Road Patcham, but I would have said the back of the school was Hollingbury.

 

[Dave the OAP]

Remember when the fawcett BOYZ took a beating from the Falmer High massive at the top of ditchlin road one lunchtime. Pwopa naughty that was.

 

[Moshe Gariani]

Amazing that has survived.
That stuff was lethal, many skimmed knees from that. That pitch was always called 'red gra' and I don't think I've heard that other than at Fawcett.

"Redgra" was a common name for that type of surface - similar to "Astro" now.

We had one at WSIHE until at least 1997 as I took some of it home for my garden to make a running track around my piece of Goldstone turf...

 

[AnotherArch]

Well I am old enough to remember those 'downs' as we called them, before the school was ever built. Margaret Hardy and Fawcett schools were next door to each other in the middle of Brighton on the London Road somewhere facing St Peter's, and in Patcham it was just Patcham Seniors which was mixed.

 

[Chicken Run]

Another ex Fawcett boy here, those cricket nets were windy even in the summer, the red gra was evil, my days

 

[BN9 BHA]

"Redgra" was a common name for that type of surface - similar to "Astro" now.

We had one at WSIHE until at least 1997 as I took some of it home for my garden to make a running track around my piece of Goldstone turf...

Have you still got your turf and running track?

 

[Super Steve Earle]

Well I am old enough to remember those 'downs' as we called them, before the school was ever built. Margaret Hardy and Fawcett schools were next door to each other in the middle of Brighton on the London Road somewhere facing St Peter's, and in Patcham it was just Patcham Seniors which was mixed.

As a Patcham Infants and Juniors Alumnus, me too

 

[BN9 BHA]

Well I am old enough to remember those 'downs' as we called them, before the school was ever built. Margaret Hardy and Fawcett schools were next door to each other in the middle of Brighton on the London Road somewhere facing St Peter's, and in Patcham it was just Patcham Seniors which was mixed.

I think the old Fawcett and Margaret Hardy schools near St Peter's Church became Brighton College of Technology ( now city college)
Not sure if the old entrance in York Place is still there.