Rescue Mission: the park chalet

 Places, whether they are sites or individual buildings, have their time and then they are gone; disappeared apparently forever and replaced with something else.

In Clarence Park we are fortunate in that these  structures all remain – the cricket pavilion, the entrance lodge; although the smaller cricket stand and the football stands, neither of the latter two were original 1894 structures.

This aerial photo was thought to have been taken c1946.  The cricket pavilion is bottom left, 
although the jumping sand pits appear not to be present.  The triangular grass patch in front of the football field featured the chalet and very close to it was a tree which most children of the
time will remember.

A further little building did not arrive until the 1920s, and yet is no longer part of the park and has not been so for probably fifty years, which may surprise some of us.  The tea chalet, which lay on a grass triangle between the main cricket pavilion and the football ground, was a popular feature of most family visits, whether there was an event taking place or whether children on their own or families had arrived for an afternoon out.

Today the triangle is more difficult to define; a low curved ornamental wall is in front
of where the chalet used to be, and the much-loved tree has surely been taken down for
those now on the triangle are far too young to be the same age as the Chalet.

It is uncertain why the facility closed and was demolished, nor exactly when.  The chalet was certainly there throughout my childhood and my frequent visits with friends or family; cricket matches, sports days, entertainment events and so on.  The original building is thought to be a small bungalow shape with a pitched roof, but at some point had a verandah added around the outside for shaded outside seating as well as including part of the entrance.

Did anyone take a photograph of the tea chalet?  I very much hope so – we've missed it ever since, and nothing else has successfully replaced the service it offered.  Wouldn't it be great if we could present the chalet in its setting on this page.

Meanwhile, one further image which surfaced shows the front verandah of the chalet.  See below:

Overlooking the part of the cricket ground overlooking the cricket pavilion and the tennis
courts, the photographer is seeing the scene though the front verandah of the refreshment
chalet.  
Courtesy Betty Ewens