A well known feature of the village, the recreation ground has hosted many events and activities since the end of the nineteenth century and has served as an open space for general recreational use.
The parish council decided to take the field opposite Black Horse Meadow (the present allotments) in Oak Lane and convert it into a recreation ground in 1897. Previously it had existed as a stony arable field owned by St John’s College, Oxford. After preparation of the field, grass was sown and hop poles were used to fence in the area. George Webb & Co acting on behalf of St John’s College negotiated a lease with the parish council and Upchurch recreation ground came into existence.
Apart from occasional football matches involving village boys on the ground, the only development during the early years was the construction of an iron galvanized urinal which the parish council had erected after complaints from residents about boys publicly urinating on the ground. The urinal became the first public toilet in the village.
After a relatively short period, the parish council viewed the recreation ground as being too expensive to maintain, so after a meeting on 9th August 1906, they decided to abandon it. The parish council gave notice to George Webb & Co and the area fell into disuse but there were calls to re-establish it in 1919. An application was made to George Webb & Co for the site and an agreement was then made for a 14 year lease at a cost of £28 per annum. This included seven acres for the recreation ground and additional land for allotments situated next to it in Black Horse Woods which had formerly been part of the vicarage.
During World War Two as part of the war effort, the recreation ground was taken for food production. Initially, it stood unused then Sid Jenkins from Horsham Farm took it over for his pigs on a lease of £12 per annum in 1942. He held the ground on condition that he maintained the gates and fences and at the expiry of the lease he left the ground in the same condition as when he took it on. A local army unit also got permission to use the area for physical training in October 1942.
At the end of the lease, Sid Jenkins sowed grass seed on the ground and then vacated it allowing it to revert back to recreational use. After this numerous organisations used the area. These included the Jehovah Witness Movement in 1947 and fair proprietor John Body who rented the ground for £5 per annum in 1954. This led to an annual fair taking place on the site. A little later the ground became the home of Upchurch Football Club and they had a basic wooden hut erected for changing purposes on the Bishop Lane side of the ground. The judging of floats and fancy dress parades also took place as part of the village carnival from 1952 to 1982.
During the early 1960s investigations were made into the establishment of a new recreation ground after George Webb & Co refused to renew the lease. Reverend Bradshaw offered The Paddock but it was rejected and farmer Frank Stevens was approached about selling some land at Holywell but he refused. Later in 1963 farmer Vic Mannering from Lower Halstow offered to sell eight acres of ground at Twinney to the parish council. At a public meeting on 29th January 1963 residents argued that the proposed site was too far out of the village and rejected it. Former resident Mrs Robinson then offered some waste ground beside the recreation ground on the site of the present Bishop Lane but the parish council deemed it unsuitable. Finally, George Webb & Co and the parish council made a deal and the former recreation ground became available to village residents again.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Upchurch Football Club used the ground on Saturdays and Upchurch United used it on Sundays for several seasons but when these two clubs folded junior clubs from outside the parish rented the ground for football matches and training purposes. Eventually, organised club football ceased on the recreation ground.
More recently, trees were planted around the perimeter of the recreation ground, a pathway was constructed at each end and gates were fitted at the Oak Lane entrance to prevent unauthorised car parking. Goal posts were erected to encourage youngsters to play football on the site instead of in The Paddock. After this, the parish council had a beacon installed at the Oak Lane end of the recreation ground in 2018.
Upchurch Recreation Ground.
The beacon consists of a four metre high oak post with a steel basket on the top. An arm on the side of the post has a shield with one side showing the trenches and the other depicting soldiers at ease. A memorial bench was later placed beside the beacon.
The lighting of the beacon on 11th November 2018 included a ceremony called ‘Battle’s Over, A Nation’s Tribute’. The names of the fallen were read out and a bugler played ‘The Last Post.’ This was followed by the ringing of the church bells ‘Ringing for Peace’.
Although not an annual event, the next planned beacon ceremony is for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Beacons on Thursday 2nd June 2022.
Issues have arisen over the years such as unauthorised car parking, an incursion by vehicles with caravans and equestrian enthusiasts riding their horses over the area, but the recreation ground has survived and is a familiar and popular open space in the village.
David Wood
