Blasts from the Past: The Pavilion

For many years past all connected with the School must have realised the pressing need of a Cricket Pavilion, provided with adequate dressing-rooms, store-rooms, and scoring-box. The Games Committee has often been approached by parents and others, and has at length determined to make an effort to remedy the defect. It has therefore been decided to open a “Cricket Pavilion Fund.” (School magazine, December 1911)

To understand the need for a pavilion, we must go back to the 1890s. Faced with imminent collapse, the school had moved from central London to Wimbledon in 1897 in the hope of rebuilding its fortunes. Outdoor space for organised games was the carrot to be dangled in front of prospective parents, most of whom were now desirous of a healthier environment for their offspring. The gamble paid off. Eventually. In 1896, pupil numbers stood at a meagre 169. Ten years later, there were 269. Although it would not be until the early 1920s that pupil numbers would really start to grow, by January 1911, when the school became independent of King’s College London, there were grounds for optimism.

There were more literal grounds too than there had been in 1897. In 1904, the school had acquired more land for sports pitches on the other side of Wright’s Alley – or the Slips, as this public right of way was more usually known for decades. Wright’s Alley no longer marked the boundary of the school but had become a dividing line between the east and west playing fields. When the architect of the pavilion, George Lansdown FRIBA (OK 1879), came to design the building he was not fazed by this peculiarity. Instead, he turned it into a virtue. Facing two ways, straddling the alley below, it could be both a rugby and a cricket pavilion depending on the season.

To make the pavilion a reality, a dedicated fund was launched at the end of 1911. By March 1914, nearly the entire amount needed, around £500, had been raised. Almost all of it had been donated by parents and alumni. The architect, himself a former pupil, waived his professional fee, presenting his design as a gift to the school. Leopold de Rothschild (OK 1863) gave the most – £26 (around £2,600 today) – but many gave £1 or less. The individual amounts were not that important as almost 350 people contributed. It was a collective endeavour.  

We are glad to see already, before Term is over, signs of the Pavilion we have so long awaited. Strange performances have been gone through with curious instruments, and many holes have been dug, and now the actual walls are beginning to rise. (School magazine, July 1914)

Building work started in June 1914 with plans already in place for an opening ceremony that November. Lord Hambleden, a governor and long-standing benefactor of the school, was to formally open the pavilion after which a rugby match would be played between the school and the Old Boys. World events intervened. By November 1914, Viscount Hambleden, like many associated with King’s, was occupied with military duties.

Whilst there was no formal celebration, the long shadows cast by the First World War did not prevent pupils making use of the longed-for pavilion. It served, and continues to serve, a practical function. More than this, it has also been a home for generations of King’s sports players. We see it standing proud in the background of a photograph of the 1916-17 junior school rugby team; in how many photos since has it played the same role? Countless. On fixture days, a passerby can hear music blasting out from the changing rooms, an integral part of the pre-match preparations. In the summer, pupils in their cricket whites watch their teammates from the elevated vantage point of the balcony.  

The building has remained largely unchanged over the years. In 1980, the then newly-established Friends of King’s facilitated an upgrade to the upstairs tea room. Around 2005, steps were added to allow access above Wright’s Alley (security gates meant it was no longer possible to walk across at ground level). The most meaningful addition, however, came in 1985 when a weathervane was placed on the roof. It incorporates a figure: a man in academic robes holding a rugby ball in one hand and a cricket bat in the other. To those in the know, the chin is undoubtedly that of ‘Duggie’ Dalziel, classics master at King’s from 1927 to 1963. He was also secretary of the Old King’s Club for 17 years, and it was members of the OKC who raised the money to memorialise a beloved teacher in this way, remembering his all-round contribution to the school which continued up until his death in 1984. Next time you walk past, remember to look up!

Over 100 years ago the pavilion was brought into existence thanks to the generosity of parents and alumni; today, we are again grateful to the King’s community for ensuring that it survives for another century. If you would like to play your part in the planned refurbishment, find out more about the Make Your Mark project here.

What are your memories of the pavilion or playing sport at King’s. Please send me your stories at archive@kcs.org.uk.

Dr Lucy Inglis | School Archivist