Winchmore Hill Sports Club - Our History

The club started as Winchmore Hill Cricket Club in 1880 and was originally a cricket club alone.

In 1880 the Busk family owned the land in Winchmore Hill known as Ford's Grove. Their head gardener, John Moore, asked Mr. Busk for permission to play cricket in the grounds and Winchmore Hill Cricket Club was formed. The first reported match of the Winchmore Hill Village Cricket club was against North End Finchley, played at the ground to be known as Ford's Grove, on 21 May 1881.

In 1912 the lawn tennis section and four tennis courts were established, two being situated on the site of the present practice wickets (nets). The first recorded club tournament was in 1914, and the ladies singles was won by a Miss Carter and the gentlemen's singles by Mr. J.W. Simmons.

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The four years 1919 to 1922 were important landmarks in the Club's development with the addition of the two winter sports of Football and Ladies Hockey, thereby completing the constitution of the four main outdoor playing sections as they are today. The Football Section was formed in the spring of 1920 and the Grange Ladies Hockey Club became a section of the parent club with each section being self-managing.

In order to provide better dressing accommodation for an ever increasing membership, it was during the winter of 1921/22 that a new pavilion was erected. The building itself came from the wartime army camp at Wimbledon and apart from a new extension of 1974 is still in use today. ​

Mr. W.T. Paulin purchased the grounds when the Ford's Grove estate was auctioned in 1920. His daughter, Irene, became President of the club and secured its future by directing in her will, upon her death in 1960, that a 99-year lease be granted to the club. The club lease, which is held in trust by the club’s trustees, therefore has around 40 years remaining.

We formally changed our name to Winchmore Hill Sports Club in 2013 in recognition of the multi sport nature of the club.

We've come a long way since our current pavilion was first erected in 1922:

1922 pavilion

Here's our pavilion in our centenary year, 1980:

1980 pavilion

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